Acnologia, My Childhood Friend
by Line464d
Summary: Lucy runs away from the guild to begin her training to get stronger, when she runs into an old childhood friend, Acnologia. But… Why is he a Dragon? Why is SHE a Dragon? And how does her mother fit into everything?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**This is my first Fanfiction, I hope it's all right, and yes, I know the story with Lucy being a replacement for Lisanna is quite cliché, but I wanted to start out with something a little easy. I'm Sowwyy guys! **

**Anyway, I hope you like my story, and I'd love feedback, but please be gentle, I don't want to lose my cool just yet ;). **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fairy Tail, even though it would be beyond cool. **

**At the guild, Fairy Tail ~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It was a month ago we all came home from Edolas. We had thrown a week-long party for the return of their 'dead' comrade, Lisanna Strauss. Everything was great, and Fairy Tail was as big a mess as they always had been. Everyone was partying and having fun. Except one person, me, Lucy Heartfilia. I was kind of down, because I felt, that ever since we came back from Edolas, everyone just seemed to not care about me. Team Natsu, my team, were always hanging around Lisanna, and they never greeted me, when I entered the guild. In the beginning of the party, everything was as it used to be, except Team Natsu were hanging around Lisanna. However, now everything had changed for me. No one except Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel and Pantherlily even greeted me when I entered the guild everyone else ignored me and my existence. Those five, like me, all came after Lisanna 'died', and so we didn't really have much to talk to her about, but they weren't ignored like me. The Guild Master was the only other than those five that acknowledged me, but I don't think he had noticed just how alone I was.

I sat at the bar at my usual spot, waiting - or rather _hoping_ \- for Mira to notice me. The barmaid had her elbows propped on the counter and her chin in her hands, listening to whatever Lisanna was telling.

"Mira." I said in hope of being noticed. My hopes didn't come true, Mira didn't even hear me. "Mira." I called again. No reaction from the barmaid whatsoever. "_Mirajane!_" I said quite loud, finally gaining her attention. But not the way I wanted.

She looked at me with an annoyed expression. "What?! Can't you see I'm busy? I don't have time for you right now!" Mira replied with a scowl, then turned back to her conversation with Lisanna with her usual bright smile.

"R-right." I muttered and looked down, my bangs covering my eyes conveniently. I felt my eyes water up and tried to fight it.

I heard light footsteps approaching me, even with all the bustling noises from Lisanna's conversation, and felt a little hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Lucy-san. I'm sure Mira-san didn't mean it. I think that she's still shocked by her little sister's revival." A little, gentle voice said, Wendy.

"Yes that probably is true, but that doesn't make it okay for Mira to treat Lucy like that." Carla stated firmly.

"No, no. Of course it doesn't, but I'm sure everything will return back to normal soon. So just cheer up Lucy-san and be a little patient!" Wendy said, having still not moved her hand from my shoulder. I wiped my tears and looked at Wendy's smiling face with Carla sitting on her shoulder, and returned the smile.

"Thanks Wendy and Carla, I'm sure you are right." I said. Yeah, even though I've waited in almost a month for _that_ to happen. I added in my thoughts. I stood up from the barstool and pulled the both of them into a hug. "Thank you." I repeated whispering, a warm tear trailing down my cheek and landing on Wendy's face.

**Wendy's P.O.V**

"You're welcome." I said and hugged Lucy-san back with my arms around the blonde's back, not caring about the drop on my face. I also felt a tear slipping from my eyes, feeling sorry for Lucy-san and her horrible situation.

We released each other and moved to one of the tables in the guild, further away from Lisanna-san. Carla stood on the table in front of me, facing Lucy-san.

"So, Lucy-san how is your novel coming along?" I asked to move the topic away from the rather depressing conversation we had before. Lucy-san's face lit up in a bright smile, it made me feel happy that the beautiful blonde was still able to smile in the way only she could.

"Actually it's finished. I've had a lot of extra time on my hands lately, and, well... I've written the novel to pass some time." She smiled. I was quite shocked to say the least. I didn't know Lucy had finished the novel?

"Oh, I didn't know you finished it. Have you told Levy-san yet?" I asked, without thinking for a second. The smile faded from Lucy-san's face and her features grew solemn again.

"No, we haven't spoken at all since Lisanna's revival." Lucy-san said with sad eyes. I cursed myself for speaking before thinking. However I didn't have time to reply, when Carla suddenly fainted.

"Carla!" Lucy-san and I called in unison. The white Neko was having a vision.

I shook her gently and the Neko's eyes fluttered open, she shot up, surprising the two of us, and panted hard.

"Carla! You had a vision, right? What was it about?" I asked the white Exceed. Carla looked at something behind me with scared eyes.

"Oh no..." She whispered as someone came up from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at the four members of the guild, I expected to see _the least_. Team Natsu and Lisanna-san.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I saw my team, consisting of Natsu Dragneel, otherwise known as Salamander, a strong Fire Dragon Slayer, my dense and reckless best friend in the guild, and the very person who brought me to my new family. Erza Scarlet, also known as Titania the Fairy Queen, a famous Re-quip mage, the steadfast and strong big sister I'd never had. And last but not least, Gray Fullbuster, the Ice Make mage of our team, who had a weird habit of stripping anywhere he was, my caring and loving big brother in the guild, coming up to our table with Lisanna in tow. Natsu had an arm around Lisanna's shoulders, like he'd done to me so many times, and wore his trademark goofy grin. The sight hit something deep inside me, but I ignored it. Erza and Gray followed close behind, with more serious expressions, and Lisanna with her friendly smile.

I didn't quite know what to make of the situation, so I just sent them all my usual cheerful smile. I hoped anyway. That smile had been rather hard to create as of late.

They all looked at me for a second, before Erza broke the silence. "Well, Lucy, we have something to talk to you about." She started off with her usual authoritative voice.

"Okay.." I said, urging them to continue, completely oblivious to the frightened stares of Carla, and what the conversation would conclude.

"Well..." Gray began and then hesitated to continue, scratching the back of his head.

Natsu became impatient and started speaking cheerfully. "Luce! You know how Lisanna's come back and all, and since we decided we'd be on a team together before she 'died', we thought that she could join Team Natsu?" Natsu asked smiling his goofy smile. Erza and Gray shot him a glare, but he didn't notice.

"No, it's... It _can't_ be right..." Carla whispered, still sitting on the table and staring at the four with frightened eyes. I shot her a worried glance, but shook it off, turning back to my team and Lisanna.

"Of course Lisanna can join the team, I understand. I'm sure it'll be wonderful to have you on the team Lisanna!" I said smiling brightly. I hadn't really gotten the chance to speak to Lisanna, as she constantly was surrounded by her nakama. Maybe now I could get to know her? "So when will we go on a mission? My rent is soon due too." I asked happily. Team Natsu remained silent. I looked at them in confusion. Why were they silent?

"Lucy... I think there's something you didn't quite catch." Gray said carefully and slowly, as if talking to a child. "Lisanna is not _just_ joining the team-" He said pausing shortly before continuing, shooting me an apologetic look as he spoke. "You were a replacement for her all along, and now she's back, she'll get _her_ spot back. That's the only _right_ thing to do, so you're out of Team Natsu." He said slowly, as if he didn't really believe what he was saying. His facial expression saying the same thing. I froze.

"W-what?" I stammered, I felt my whole body begin to tremble. I was out of Team Natsu? Why? My gaze alternated between the the three people I thought I knew so well.

I heard a growl in the corner of the guild, and saw Gajeel staring intensely at Team Natsu. He obviously overheard the conversation with his enhanced Dragon Slayer hearing.

"Yeah, Luce you are the weakest point in our team, and Lisanna is _obviously_ stronger than you." Natsu smiled and shrugged. I felt tears building up_ really_ fast, but fought it with all my might. I thought I saw Lisanna smirk next to Natsu, but that couldn't be, Lisanna was a nice girl. Carla was whimpering on the table. Natsu continued his speech. "And we thought that now you can train and become stronger, so we don't always have to save you! And you can also go on Solo-missions, and not worry about us destroying the whole city!" He said and grinned. I looked at him stunned, I was completely frozen, the tears that were meant to fall from my eyes, fell to my heart and ate away at it like poison. I couldn't even respond to what was just said.

Then a beam of iron hit Natsu right in the face.

**So what do you think? How quickly I'll update is pretty much up to you guys, if you love it I'll upload faster, if you don't I won't. Pretty much. ****I think. Maybe I'll just update for fun! ^_^**

**~ Line464d**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**In the matter of less than an hour after I'd uploaded it, I already had the first person to follow AND favorite my story! Let's all give a round of applause for porche1995! And then another round to all of you other followers, favoriters and reviewers! It makes me immensely happy! :') **

**Oh yeah, I've decided to upload twice a week, Tuesday and Saturday here in the start to get the story going, then later I'll go down to once a week, I think.**

**Except in celebration of me getting an A in a Physics/Chemistry exam, I'll post a new chapter tomorrow! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Fairy Tail. Yet…**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

My beam of iron hit the Salamander square in the face and he stumbled back, landing on his butt. "Iron Dragon's _Roar_!" I yelled and came up, standing in front of Bunny-Girl with Lily flying above my head, towering over the Salamander. Like hell I'd let that moron hurt her more than he already _had_! I as well as Juvia, Lily, Wendy, and Carla knew about Bunny-Girl's situation very well, and the six of us had grown quite close the last three weeks. I felt the rage towards the Salamander course throughout my entire body, no idea why I got that mad, as I took a threatening step toward him. "Oi, Flame-Brain! Who the _hell_ do you think you _are_?! You are no friggin' _God_, you can't just walk around _trashing_ people! I overestimated you as well as the rest of your pathetic team, Bunny-Girl is obviously too good for your team, you aren't _worthy_ of her!" I said, still not over the habit of calling her 'Bunny-Girl', and looked menacingly at the three members of Team Natsu.

"What're you saying, Metal-Face?! You agree with me and you _know_ it, but if it's a fight you want - I'm all fired up!" Natsu said his stupid catchphrase, as he got up from the floor, scratches decorating his face and upper-chest. He had already put his fists on fire.

However, I didn't pay any attention to him, I was looking at Bunny-Girl worried, for the first time of my life.

"Bunny-Girl, don't listen to him, he's a dense dimwit and it'll never change." I said, the surrounding people except Carla and Wendy looked at me as if they didn't know me. Natsu didn't even respond to the fact that I had openly called him a dimwit. "Come let's get you home." I said softly and offered Bunny-Girl a hand. The whole guild was watching the scene in a state of shock. _Me_, Gajeel Redfox, being _worried_ about someone, and acting _nice_. Bunny-Girl looked at me with a blank and emotionless face and I instantly knew that she was feeling so horrible, that she had to put up the emotionless facade, to not break down completely, and it made something turn inside me. I frowned.

Why did Bunny-Girl, the usually bright and cheery, happy-go-lucky girl, the bright light in the guild, have to be hurt so bad? Why was it not _me_? I_ deserved_ it more than she did after all the things I'd done. But nothing happened to me, _I _was not the one targeted.

Over the three weeks of being closer to Bunny-Girl, I'd taken quite a liking to her, more so than even the Shrimp, and I didn't know what to make of it. I'd opened up to Bunny-Girl more than I'd ever done to anyone, maybe with the exception of Metallicana, my dad, but I was only a child then. Bunny-Girl had listened to whatever I'd said, and accepted it, even though I'd murdered more people than I could count.  
She'd explained to me how her childhood had been, and what the whole Phantom Lord incident was about, I'd never really understood it to be honest, I was just happy that I got to fight at the time, and it all made me feel worse. But she cheered me up, telling me that it was in the past. Now I would go far, further than I _ever_ would before, to help her in _any_ way possible.

Bunny-Girl hesitated a little before taking my offer, but then took my hand and got up. Unexpectedly for everyone, including me, she _hugged_ me and whispered. "Thank you Gajeel, for everything. But I need to be alone for a while." She smiled up at me a little sadly. She looked at my Exceed. "Also thank you to you, Pantherlily." Lily nodded to her, to indicate he heard her. She reached up and patted him gently behind his ears. I was still too stunned to reply. What was this weird feeling in my chest? Then she looked at Wendy and Carla behind me. "And thanks to you two as well, Wendy, Carla." She said softly. I smelled the salty tears mixed with Wendy's scent. She was crying, right alongside Carla. Lucy looked up at me again with her big brown eyes, still emotionless, but I could see all the emotions flooding through her in her eyes, all too fast for me to name them. "Can you thank Juvia for me?" She asked me. I nodded slowly, having regained some mobility, and she smiled a sad smile.

Why does this feel like 'goodbye?' I thought as I saw Bunny-Girl turn around and walk out of the guild, not even sparing the other members a look.

I looked at Juvia who sat on the sidelines at the bar. She'd followed it all the whole time, and she had buried her face in her hands and was crying.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I walked out the guild doors, still fighting back my tears. I stepped out in the warm, setting sun, feeling it warm up my skin. The people of Magnolia were talking and chatting as usual, all happy.

How could they be happy at a day like this? Why was the sun shining? It should be raining. It would fit the day _perfectly_. Was what ran through my mind as I walked away from the guild, my _home_, in the warm sunlight.

Soon I reached the forest, which lay far enough away from the guild, for the Dragon Slayers to be unable to hear or smell my tears.

I leaned my back against a tree and slipped down, ending with sitting on my butt with my back against the tree. I pulled in my legs and held them close with my arms wrapped around them.

Then I cried out all my grief, in a heart- and ear shattering shriek. I let out all the pain and loneliness I had stockpiled in a scream, which would have deafened the Dragon Slayers had they been here. I screamed until I didn't have any more air in my lungs. I dropped my head and rested it on my knees, I began weeping like I've never wept before, not even at episodes with my Papa, Jude Heartfilia.

My tears fell as if I had a limitless container of water, which just waited to be emptied. Why did they do this to me? What did I do wrong? How can Natsu, my best friend, betray me like that? I thought we were closer than this.

A golden light shone in front of me and I felt two strong arms around me, which made me look up. I couldn't see much through my tears, but I saw orange at the top, and then black and some white the rest of the way with a red stripe.

Loke, my faithful Spirit, the one I probably trusted the most, even though he kept plaguing me with his 'love' for me. "Shh, it'll be alright, everything'll be alright. I'm here for you as well as all your other Spirits. You're not alone." He said and rubbed my back, in an attempt to comfort me. I nodded slowly and snaked my arms around him, crying with my head buried in his chest. I left a wet spot on his jacket, I hoped he didn't mind.

After a while with him rubbing my back, I had calmed down enough to talk. "Loke, why are you here? I didn't call you..." I asked in between sobs.

"I felt your distress in the Spirit World, Princess, and came to help you get better." He said matter-of-factly. With every word I felt his chest rumble comfortably, and I felt warmth spread inside me.

"At least _someone_ cares about me..." I mumbled quietly. Loke pulled back from me and looked at me through his sunglasses. I couldn't read his expression.

"Of _course_ there is. All your Spirits and Fairy Tail cares about you, why would you say such thing? What happened?" He asked worried. I debated on whether or not to tell him, but I decided I would, and so I explained everything.

**Loke's P.O.V**

"How _could_ they?!" I fumed. I'd let her be with those dumbasses for _so_ long, and didn't realize their true intentions? To have Lucy replace Lisanna. "Gray I thought more of you. _Much_ more. I did to them all. I see that was _misplaced_." I said in a fit of rage.

I stood up and was about to walk to Fairy Tail and kick some ass, when a little hand grabbed my wrist. "No, Loke, not right now. Don't leave me." A tear slipped my beautiful blonde master's brown eyes. "Please." She begged. I softened up and knelt down before her. It could wait till later, even though I itched to kick one certain Ice mage's butt.

"I'll stay with you as long as you wish Princess." I told her and brought her hand, which had grabbed my wrist, to my lips gracefully, where I gently placed a kiss. I then clasped my other hand over it. She looked at me with those big brown orbs I loved so much. "I'll _always_ be there for you." I reassured her.

She smiled softly at me. "Thank you Loke." She said silently. A comfortable silence fell between us for a while.

"Let's go back to the apartment and begin packing stuff. I'm leaving Fairy Tail tomorrow, early in the morning." Lucy then said determinedly and rose to her feet. She was still a bit wobbly from sitting down for so long, and was about to fall, when I quickly caught her by her shoulders.

"Are you sure that you want to leave?" I asked concerned with my Master, she was too exhausted to stand up as well as emotionally exhausted. I could understand why she would leave, but I also knew how much she loved and treasured her nakama in Fairy Tail. Maybe, right now, she was such an emotional wreck, that she couldn't think straight. But no matter what she chose, I would support her. _That_ was for certain.

"Yes Loke. I'm sure that leaving Fairy Tail is the right choice." Lucy said, with a faint anger in her words, as if she was trying to hide it. "I need to be away from them for a while. To train mainly, but also to calm down and sort out my feelings." She said, more with sorrow this time. Alright, so she _was_ thinking straight. "I'll miss most of them, especially Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Juvia and Master Makarov. Not so much Team Natsu, excluding Lisanna, it isn't her fault, it's _theirs._" She said, shifting her gaze to lock with mine. I couldn't agree more. "Will you help me train?" I was shocked she even had to ask, but I could see in her eyes that she was uncertain on top of the episode in Fairy Tail.

"Yeah, of course I'll help you. Virgo and all the others also will. You have _all_ you Spirits backing you up, don't forget that." I replied with a soft smile. "Now let's get back to your apartment." I said and swept her off her feet in one swift movement, holding her bridal-style. "And you are too exhausted to walk home, so I'll carry you." I said as I began walking out of the forest towards her apartment with a blushing Princess in my arms.

**So what do you think? Reviews are much appreciated. This story, I like it when there's taken some time off to build up the story, so it might be a little slow here in the start, and I apologize, but **_**please**_** hang on! **

**~Line464d**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**PLEASE READ THIS A/N! – It's quite important.**

**A Guest asked me yesterday when Acnologia will show up, and I guess there's others of you thinking the same thing, and I'm deeply sorry, but as I wrote in the A/N in the end of chapter 2, I'm taking some time to build up the story. And that includes the start… Well, I can make the chapters longer, so it'll be faster. Are you interested in that? Then the chapters will be around the 5.000 words, I think? Please write in the reviews or PM me what you think! Oh, and thank you for bringing this up Guest, you are a pearl!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Fairy Tail. I really have to talk to Hiro Mashima about this little problem.**

**At the guild Fairy Tail~**

**Carla's P.O.V**

I cried as I heard Lucy say her 'thank you's' to the five of us. It was just as in my vision, what they said and what they did.

**Carla's Vision**

_Team Natsu and Lisanna came over to our table, looking at Lucy. Gray and Erza with solemn expressions. Natsu with his goofy smile and Lisanna with a smile._

Then the picture shifted.

_"You were a replacement for her all along, and now she's back, she'll get _her_ spot back. That's the only _right_ thing to do, so you're out of Team Natsu." Gray said. Lucy froze on the spot. _

_"W-what?" She stammered. _

_Natsu picked up where Gray left off. "Yeah, you're the weak point in our team, and Lisanna is _obviously_ stronger than you." Natsu grinned and shrugged carelessly, with Lisanna smirking next to him. _

The picture changed again.

_Lucy was screaming at the top of her lungs, in a forest with tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she cried uncontrollably. She cried like I had never seen her cry before. The tears fell in steady streams down her cheeks._

Then the picture changed again.

_Loke, Lucy's lovesick and extremely loyal Lion-Spirit, kicked the guild doors off their hinges. He was seething in anger and scanning the guild for someone. Then his gaze stopped at Team Natsu and Lisanna. _

_"YOU! YOU MADE LUCY CRY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He roared and ran forward towards them. When he reached each of them, he yelled things in their faces and gave them a beating, even Erza, with the exception of Lisanna, he turned to the guild and spoke to them, and then he left to the Spirit World. I couldn't hear what he had said. _

The scene changed again. 

_I saw Lucy walking through an eerie and silent forest, when suddenly something big came running towards her. The whole earth was shaking and, at first, all I could see was a black spot in the distance, but it came closer fast and out appeared a big black Dragon. It was as high as a two-storied building, and I couldn't see its tail from where I was. The Dragon was pitch-black, with some weird, curly, blue marks here and there. It looked at Lucy and roared, and then it lunged forward at her. _

Then it went all black.

**Back in the guild, Fairy Tail~ **

**Carla's P.O.V**

"No. No it can't be true. It just _can't_." I muttered with my paws on my head. Lucy _couldn't_ be such a wreck, she's _strong_. And she_ wouldn't_ be killed by a Dragon! The vision wasn't true. It was a _fake_.

But I knew very well that _all_ of my visions came true, one way or another, I learned that in Edolas. Wendy's voice cut me out of my thoughts. "Carla, what was your vision about?" She asked carefully, eyeing my reaction.

I hesitated before answering. "It's nothing. It wasn't true. It_ can't_ be." I said flatly.

"But Carla-" Wendy began, but then she read my expression and didn't say anything else.

I hadn't noticed Lucy had left the guild, but as I looked around, she was nowhere to be seen. The usual noisy and rowdy guild was now completely frozen and silent. No one even twitched a pinky.

Then Natsu, dense as he was, didn't feel the mood and pointed at Gajeel. "Ha-ha! You softie! What the heck _was_ that anyway? Metal-Face went all _soft_ on Lucy!" He yelled laughing, and lay on the floor with his hands on his stomach. Gajeel glared daggers at him.

Gray chuckled a little next to Natsu. I was speechless. Did those two not understand the situation they had just created?

At the other side of the guild, a chair was pushed back and fell to the floor. Hasty steps closed in on the two boys, and soon a blue lady stood in front of Gray.

_SMACK!_

Gray became silent, held his hand on his cheek and looked shocked at Juvia, who had tears rolling down from her face steadily. Surprisingly, it didn't rain outside, maybe Juvia had gotten control over it? _And did Juvia just slap Gray?! _

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND _ANYTHING_?! JUVIA CAN'T BELIEVE SHE EVER LOVED ANYONE SO _COLD HEARTED_!" She yelled straight up in his face, he just looked down at her shocked. She calmed down a little and whispered looking away. "Guess that's to be expected, you're an _Ice_ mage after all." She looked up at him with hate glistening in her blue eyes. "Do you even _realize_ what Lucy is feeling right now?" Juvia looked around at the Fairy Tail members with tearful eyes. "Do _any_ of you?" She asked what the five of us had wanted to ask for a long time, and then went over to the table where Wendy, Gajeel, Pantherlily and I were.

Everyone were silent except the few sobs that escaped Wendy. I silently walked to my friend and stroke her with my paw. Gajeel sat down next to Juvia, who reached over the table and also tried to comfort Wendy, even though tears rolled down her cheeks as well. The whole guild, with the exception of Master Makarov, who was attending a meeting with the other guild masters, stared at the five of us. A vein popped at Gajeel's temple.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR _PROBLEM_?! STOP STARING, WE'RE NOT FRIGGIN' _STRANGERS_!" He yelled at them furiously. They all quickly turned away, chatting together quietly, afraid of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

The table fell silent, and Wendy had stopped crying as well as Juvia, they were trying to wipe away their tears. Gajeel stared off into space and voiced his thoughts. "I can't believe they just _did_ that." He muttered. They all knew who he was talking about, Team Natsu.

"I always thought Lucy-san and Natsu-kun were so close, it seems I was wrong." Wendy said silently.

"Yes. I got the same impression." I said and looked at the doors, which were open wide, where Lucy had left not long ago. "I wonder how she's doing right now, it's getting late." I gazed at sky, which had become dark.

**On the streets of Magnolia~ **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke carried me out of the shadows of the trees and onto the streets of Magnolia. The sky had become dark and the first stars had appeared. I'd been longer in the forest than I thought. How long had I been weeping?

As we walked towards my apartment, the people we passed looked at us oddly or smiled, as if we were a sweet couple. I blushed.

"Loke, it's embarrassing, people are staring, put me down." I whined childishly, embarrassed with the looks we got. He just walked on, not slowing down one bit.

"No way am I putting you down, you can barely stand up, much less walk. Besides, I very much like having you in my arms." He stated with a glint in his eyes and a smirk. I knew he was trying to cheer me up, with acting like he normally would. I shook my head with a smile, knowing I wasn't coming down anytime soon.

"Loke you pervert." I said and snuggled up against his chest. "Thank you, though." I said in a low voice. I felt Loke's arms tighten around me a little.

"You're welcome." He said with a rumbling, low voice. I smiled again, although he couldn't see it. We, or rather Loke, walked the way to my apartment in a blissful silence

**Loke's P.O.V**

Soon we reached her apartment. I still refused to put her down, so she reached for the keyhole with her apartment key in my arms. Which was somewhat awkward, but we got to laugh a little, so everything was fine. I was just happy that I got her to laugh.

I carried her to her pink bed and put her down on it gently. Lucy had a hard time keeping her eyes open once her back hit the mattress, the eyelids seemingly too heavy. I smiled amused at my Master. She would soon fall asleep, so I decided to take my leave now, although it pained me to leave my beautiful, blonde Master in such state.

"Well, Princess, I will take my leave-" I said as I was interrupted.

"Loke." She said with a tired voice and looked at me with those cute, tired eyes. I nodded, urging her to continue. "Can you please stay?" She asked and rubbed her eyes. My eyes widened behind my glasses, but she probably couldn't see that. _That_ was unexpected. She moved to the edge of her bed. "This is a one-time offer and-" She paused. "And I don't want to be alone right now." She whispered carefully, as if afraid that I would decline her offer. Like I would _ever_ do that. Pfft. "So _please_?" She ended off and looked at me with those pleading puppy-eyes through her eyelashes. _That_, I couldn't resist, and she _knew_ it. Small, thumping hearts replaced the space where my eyes used to be, and I jumped up and down like a little boy on Christmas day.

"_Of course_ I will Princess! I was _wondering_ when you'd accept my love, seems today is the day!" I said, _mostly_ to make her forget earlier. Then I jumped in her bed in front of her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her up to my chest. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Thank you Loke." She said and closed her brown eyes.

"You're welcome." I whispered, and kept staring at her.

After a little moment of silence, she opened her eyes again and looked up at me. "And don't try to do anything _funny_, okay?" She said and slowly closed her eyes again. She snuggled up to me again, and I couldn't help the smile that crept up on my face.

"Of course not, Princess." I knew better than to take advantage of her, one, it would backfire for sure, two, if it would ever happen, which I doubted, since I was a Spirit and she a human, I would want the both of us to agree on it.

My thought-stream ended, when I heard Lucy's breathing become steady and deep, she smiled in her sleep. I smiled at her again, she looked so peaceful, almost angelic, as she slept.  
"Sweet dreams Lucy." I whispered and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

**I don't know why I wrote Dragon with a big 'D', but I'm just going to go with it, don't feel like correcting it… Besides 'Dragon' looks **_**way **_**cooler than 'dragon'. Like, come on. Just **_**look**_** at it. 'Dragon' just seems powerful and almighty and all, while 'dragon' just seems weak and… well… weak. Flat, boring, lifeless. Nope I'm going to use 'Dragon' not 'dragon', I don't care what my English teacher says!**

**Oh, and something new, I'll thank all you favoriters, followers and reviewers down here, just skip it if you don't care ;)**

**Thank you porche1995, DarkStarnight, Arise-chan, sea-hera, animeluver993, arcangel12, , RingoY, Sommer3Butter, KaylaBow, Little Indian Girl, XxXKiaAmaratsuXxX, SaffireRebel, Fantasyfan100, Shadowtolight, Shugofairy3, Apikins, Xx8CrlmSoN8xX, Bstarrb (Guest), JadeHeartlock, Nalugirl, Articallie, FairyTail123 (Guest), iloveanimeandmanga2000, Priscilla dit lánge de la mor, The-Black-Devil, shadowx25, Roxiefoxie, Truth Behind The Eyes, Starry Panda, Guest, sexyblossom08, BlackBunny9196, Fairy-Tail (Guest) and all you other viewers/readers! You all inspire me to go on writing!**

**Whoop, that was a long one.. I can't believe so many already has read my story. I am happy in the deepest depths of my core! I believe they'll be shorter from now on. Anyway, if I missed someone or spelled wrong I'm deeply sorry, PM me and I'll fix it ^_^**

**PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTION IN A/N IN THE TOP!**

**~Line464d**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**I don't really feel like anyone is reading this part or the bottom, not that I expected anyone to. Well, anyway, I'm going to make the chapters much longer from now on, so we can meet Acnologia a little faster, however I will only update once a week, since they take much longer to write. -.-' ****Sowwyy! **

**Anyway, I'm so…. Overwhelmed I guess, that so many people (40) are already following my story! It's friggin' amazing guys! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, obviously.**

**Lucy's Dream~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_I was on my king-sized bed, back home in the Heartfilia Mansion. I looked up at the white ceiling in my room as I lay on my back, bored out of my mind. My Mama, Layla Heartfilia, was having some important guests today, and I _had_ to stay in my room and wait, like the _nice_ girl I was. _

_Then the door opened at my right, I looked over there, and saw my beautiful Mama._

_Today she'd let her hair fall freely to her knees. She had blonde hair, like mine, but unlike me, Mama's hair was wavy, and like a halo around her perfect body. She had beautiful and warm, brown eyes, like me. She wore a goddess-like white dress, which hugged her curves just the way it should, the dress was a one-shoulder, and the strap was ruffled. The ruffles circled around the dress and the dress reached just below her knees. She wore matching white shoes with high heels. I hoped more than _anything_ else, that when I got older, I'd be just like my Mama. _Perfect.

"_Lucy, honey. We have visitors, please come with me downstairs." Mama's beautiful voice said. My face lit up in a bright smile. Finally something_ fun_ to do!_

_"Okay Mama, I'm coming!" I said, ran up to Mama and grabbed her hand. Mama laughed heartily at her young girls' energy. _

_We went down the stairs and into the big room, where there often were many people and classic music, or important meetings like today. The ball-room, Mama called it. It was big and round, and five big windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling, with equally long dark blue curtains, lit up the big room. The floor was a light marble and the walls pure white. All in all a very light room. In the middle of the room, stood a big wooden table, with 12 chairs around it. 5 on either side and one at each end. _

_On the other side of the table stood two men, an adult and a teenager. I thought he looked like he was 16 years old, the teenager. He had black, spiky hair, which turned blue in the ends, it looked a little weird. His bangs fell over his face, almost reaching his eyes, and pointed in every direction. He had a blue t-shirt on, the same blue as his hair, and black jeans and shoes. His eyes were a dark, almost black, blue color, and they somehow captivated me, just looking into them._

_The man didn't look old either, I thought he looked about the same age as Mama, 25 years old. He also had black hair, but it was brushed back, a little like her Papa's used to and didn't turn blue in the ends. He had dark blue eyes like the boy, not quite as dark, and wore a black suit with a dark blue tie. What's with those two and blue?_

_Mama walked toward the two men and stopped up in front of the oldest. I hid behind her legs, shy with the newcomers. The man took Mama's hand and gracefully brought it to his lips._

_"It's a pleasure to finally meet you again Layla Heartfilia, I've been looking forward to come here. You know me, Kurama Tehepo, but you haven't met my son. This is Acnologia Tehepo." The man, Kurama, said, gesturing toward his son, who bowed deeply with his hand over his heart. As Acnologia was bowing deeply, he looked at me, as I still hid behind Mama's legs, and smiled toothily, but friendly, at me and winked, before straightening his back again, and wearing a serious expression. Kurama continued where he had left off, apparently he didn't notice Acnologia's smile to me. "You must be wondering about the choice of his name, and yes, he _is_ named after his grandfather from all those years ago." The man smiled to Mama. _

_"I see. And yes I _was_ wondering about that name, why is it _that_ name you chose to call him?" Mama asked Kurama, a smile gracing her lips. _

_"Oh, it's quite simple really." The man started. "It is because that name, Acnologia, holds great respect. That Dragon, despite what the_ humans_ may think, was a really honorable Dragon, and he did many good things, that won't be forgotten anytime soon. Acnologia, my son, also looks exceptionally much like his grandfather." The man explained. Mama nodded. Kurama then looked at me, and smiled warmly at me. "That is your daughter, Lucy _Heartfilia_, I presume?" The man asked. _

_"Yes, it is." Mama said and pulled gently with the hand I held, to pull me away from her legs. "Come forward, Lucy. They don't bite." Mama smiled. I looked at Mama and then decided to believe her. I stepped up carefully, and then beamed at the two black-haired strangers and did a curtsey, like I'd been taught to do when I met new people._

_"Hi! I'm L-Lucy Heartfilia!" I said a little too quickly and stumbled over my words. Kurama laughed with his deep voice, I could feel his laugh all the way down in my tummy. I blushed slightly. _

_The boy, Acnologia, knelt down and ruffled my hair with his hand gently. "Hi, I'm Acnologia, nice to meet you." He smiled. I already liked the guy._

**Lucy's apartment~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I jumped awake. The memory of the dream welled over me. I remembered the day _very_ well. It was back when I was 10 years old. It was the first time I met my childhood friend Acnologia, who was 14 then. He and his father had stayed for a week, and then returned home. Acnologia had quickly become my best friend, and we played together every day, all kinds of games. I always teased him with his weird hair. Those were the _best_ days of my life. Come to think about it, it was quite amazing how close we had become in such short time. But the week ended all too quickly and he and his father left. Soon after my Mama died, and I never saw the boy again, my Papa forbade it. I sometimes overheard the maids and guards talk about Acnologia and Kurama, who tried to see me again, but to no avail. I even heard they went as far as to try to break in to get me. None of the attempts worked, however. I had completely forgotten everything about them. Well until now.

I remembered what Kurama said. 'He's named after his grandfather.' 'An honorable _Dragon'_. What does that mean? Was Acnologia really a _Dragon_ or what? No, it couldn't be true, he couldn't be. He was most _definitely_ a human.

Then I noticed that there weren't a Lion Spirit sleeping next to me. "Oh. He must've returned to the Spirit World to rest." I muttered to myself. "Hmm, we never really began packing yesterday, I'll do it when I've been at Fairy Tail and gotten my insignia removed. First I'll write letters to a few people." I blabbered on to myself and felt a pang in my chest as I talked about the removal of the Fairy Tail mark. I got up from the bed, took a quick shower and changed into a plain, white top and a pink skirt with a pair of flats. I put my hair up in a high ponytail with my favorite ribbon, instead of the usual side ponytail. I sat down at my desk and began writing, one for the whole guild, one for Gajeel and Pantherlily, one for Wendy and Carla and one for Juvia. I laid them on my kitchen table. I was sure Team Natsu would break into my house someday, and then they'd find those letters. I laid the novel next to the letter for the guild. Then I debated on whether or not I should take Gajeel and Pantherlily's, Wendy and Carla's and Juvia's letters with me, and ask Master Makarov to give them the letters.

I decided that those five deserved to know faster than the others, and took them with me to give them to Master Makarov.

I walked out of my apartment and was actually in a somewhat good mood, considering what I was about to do. I felt _free_ to be honest. As if a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulder.

I even greeted every person I met on the street with a happy smile. It had been a long time since I'd been _that_ happy, it had been three weeks. And that was a long time for Lucy Heartfilia.

I reached the guild and stopped outside the doors. The building towered up over me, and I looked at the banner over the entrance with the Fairy Tail insignia, resembling a fairy with a tail. I held up my hand, so my pink insignia covered the one on the banner.

"This'll be the last time in a long time that I'll see that insignia. I wonder if I'll miss it." I muttered to myself before pulling my hand down again.

I looked at the doors again and gathered up my courage. "Okay Lucy, you can do this. Piece of cake." I pep-talked myself and opened the doors to my so called home.

I met an almost empty guild, only the barmaid and a few others were there, no Team Natsu member in sight. I felt relieved, I had yet to be able to face them.

I walked up to the counter of the bar and stood in front of the barmaid, demanding her attention. I didn't take the time to say 'good morning' to Mira, mostly just for the sake of payback.

"Mira, is Master Makarov in his office?" I demanded to know, I looked straight into Mira's eyes. She was polishing glasses like she usually did in the morning. Mira looked at me for a moment before answering, the bright and cheery smile nowhere to be seen.

"No. He hasn't come back yet, the meeting dre-" Mira began, but was interrupted as I walked away with a nod. I sat down at the table where I, Wendy and Carla sat the other day, when...

The guild doors opened once again, and in came a little elderly man dressed in white. Master Makarov.  
I jumped up from my seat, and walked over to Master. "Master. Can I speak with you for a second?" I asked and then looked around, eyeing the few members that were already up. "In private." I then added.

The guild master looked at me, sighed and nodded. "Yes, of course child. Let's go to the office." He said and we went to his office.

**Master Makarov's office~**

**Master Makarov's P.O.V**

I went into my office and Lucy followed me, closing the door after her. I sat on my desk with my feet dangling over the edge and looked at the girl, eyeing the letters in her hand. She didn't act quite like she usually does, something was up. She sat down on one of the chairs in front of me and hesitated before saying anything.

She took a deep breath and then spoke. "Master, I want to leave the guild." She bluntly stated. I froze and dropped my jaw with wide eyes.

"Wait, WHAT?!" I yelled shocked. I just stared at the girl in front of me. "Why would you want to_ leave_ the guild?"

She closed her eyes, sighed and then opened them again. "It's kind of a long story but-" Then she began explaining how the latest three weeks had been for her. Who didn't talk to her anymore. Who she had begun speaking more to, mainly Gajeel and Pantherlily. And at last what happened last night. When she ended her tale, I was fuming with anger directed at Team Natsu, but also myself, for not realizing this earlier. How could I _not_ have seen? Was I_ that_ bad a father?

Lucy pulled me out of my thoughts. "So I've decided to leave the guild for a while to train and become stronger, but also to sort out my feelings and thoughts. I doubt I can do that when I see Team Natsu _every_ day. So, you see, I_ need_ to get away for a while." She said with a little smile directed to me.

I felt sorry for the poor girl for what she was going through. And what she was _going_ to go through. I looked into my child's eyes and saw raw determination in the brown orbs. I nodded silently.  
"Okay, child. Give me your hand and I'll erase it for you." I said sadly with tears stinging the back of my eyes. Lucy gave me her hand without hesitation. I placed my hand over her insignia, and focused my magic in my hand. A sphere of golden light surrounded our hands and when I removed my hand, her hand was bare.

She looked at me and smiled a warm smile. "Thank you, I know this is hard for you." She said and paused. Then a light bulb appeared over her head and she stuck the three letters over to me. "These are letters for Gajeel and Pantherlily, Wendy and Carla and Juvia, can you _please_ give these to them when they're all here. Also, could you wait with telling the guild about my... Leave, until someone asks?" Lucy asked with an apologetic look in her eyes. I nodded.

"Of course Lucy." I smiled, although it pained me to be unable to call her my child anymore. She hugged me and turned around to walk out of the office. "Lucy." I called before she reached the door. She turned around and looked at me confused. "Do you know when you'll be back?" I asked hopefully. She shook her head.

"No, but I'll come back when I'm ready." She replied. I felt my smile falter a bit.

"Be careful, and I'll look forward to see your progress."

"You too Mas-Makarov, I'll come back stronger than ever." She smiled and went out the door.  
When she closed the door after her, I let go of the tears I had held back throughout the whole conversation. I sobbed quietly at the loss of my blonde child. And it was soon S-Class exam too.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I walked out of the guild, which still had only very few members, holding the hand, where I had the Fairy Tail insignia on before, close to my chest. I got back to my apartment in record time. I reached for one of my keys.

"Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" I called out. A flash of light appeared in the middle of the room and before me stood my favorite maiden Spirit, Virgo.

"Hello Hime-Sama. Is it time for my punishment?" The pink haired Spirit asked and bowed with the chains dangling from her wrists.

I sweat dropped. "No, no punishment today, Virgo. I need to pack some of my things, I'm sure Loke has explained why, and I thought I could store it in the Spirit World?" I asked my Spirit.

"Yes, Hime-Sama, Brother has told all of us. You can store some of your things in the Spirit World, but you can't have too much. Maximum is one bag." Virgo told me monotonously. I smiled.

"Alright, thank you. I don't need more than that either way." I walked over to my bed and pulled out the bag I had under it along with the sleeping bag that I'd used when I ran from my Papa. I began stuffing clothes into the bag and other necessities, Virgo helped me out along the way.

When I was finished packing I gave the bag to Virgo.

"Hime-Sama. Brother said to wait calling him in some time, he has some business to take care of." Virgo said with her monotone voice.

"Oh okay Virgo. Thank you." I smiled. Virgo saluted and disappeared with my bag to the Spirit World. I packed a little bag that could be added to my belt with some jewels, and found my whip and put it in its place in the belt. I found my purse with my keys and added it to the belt as well, right next to the little bag. I put on my white leather-jacket that I hadn't used much this last year and swung my sleeping bag over my shoulder.

I looked around in my apartment to see if I'd forgotten anything. When I didn't find anything, I left and locked the door after me.

Walking down the street, twenty meters away, the Landlady's house lay, a little yellow brick-house. I knocked on the dark wooden-door and soon a little, fat woman with purple hair and glasses, dressed in a red dress, stood at the door. "Yeah, what is it?" She asked, not even trying to hide how annoyed she was.

"Hi, sorry to bother you Ma'am, I'd like to return my apartment key to you. I'm moving out. Could you possibly leave the apartment as it is for a month, I've left some letters for my- for _members_ of the guild Fairy Tail there, and if they don't find it before that month, can you please send it to Fairy Tail?" I babbled on. The Landlady looked shocked that I wanted to leave, but then nodded.

"Yes, I'll deliver it to Fairy Tail, but I'll only wait a month." The Landlady said.

"Thank you, I'll see you around." I smiled and waved. The Landlady went inside her house without throwing me another gaze. I sweat dropped.

I decided to call out Plue. "Open the gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said, and before me stood Plue in all its ''might''. It was a little snowman-looking thing with a carrot for a nose. It couldn't keep steady on its feet, so it swayed from side to side.

"Puuun~" It said.

I squealed at its cuteness. "Kawaii!" I picked up the little Spirit and carried it all the way to the train station.

It was still quite early in the morning, so there weren't many people on the station. Luckily I didn't see any Fairy Tail members there either. One of the train guards told me to call back my Spirit, because _animals_ weren't allowed on the trains. I really wanted to give him a Lucy-Kick to the face for calling my Spirit an animal, but did what I was told and called Plue back.

I boarded the first train that arrived, found a booth and looked out of the window at the passing landscape. It had been a pair of hours, maybe more since I'd gotten my insignia removed. Was the guild member awake now? When would they realize I was gone? _Would_ they realize I was gone?

**At the guild, Fairy Tail~**

**Carla's P.O.V**

It was in the morning, for Fairy Tail anyway, the rest of Magnolia was probably up and buzzing long ago.

I sat in the corner of the guild with Juvia and Wendy. Gajeel was sulking in the shadows, in the corner on the other side of the guild, chewing on some metal, he'd gotten from who knows where, with Pantherlily close by.

The mood in the guild had been a little tense the other night, but it was back to normal now, although no one went near Wendy, me, Juvia, Gajeel or Pantherlily, as if they were afraid of us or something.

Team Natsu, including Lisanna, sat near the entrance of the guild. Natsu and Gray were butting their heads against each other as always, and throwing insults at each other. Erza was sitting on the bench eating strawberry cake, talking to Lisanna who was giggling at the boys' antics and Happy was with them eating a fish. Natsu still had a few scratches from taking an iron-roar in the face, but was healing nicely. They hadn't asked Wendy to heal him yesterday, because of the tension between them, so he was healing the natural way, that much he _had_ felt. Gray also still was a little red where Juvia had hit him, but it didn't seem to be a bother.

Cana was drinking booze from a barrel as always and Wakaba and Macao were watching her drink from afar, little Romeo was with them. Mira was serving at the bar with her bright smile. Alzack and Bisca were chatting at one of the tables. The Raijinshuu, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen, were all chatting hushedly to each other. Team Shadowgear, Jet, Droy and Levy were sitting together at the bar, Levy reading a book and the two others watching her. Elfman was standing near the bar and kept on telling Mira what was 'manly' and what was not.

Wendy, Juvia and I were silently watching the other members of our guild, when the doors were kicked off its hinges, and a black suited man with a red tie and orange uncontrollable hair that looked similar to a mane, stood where the door, which now lay on the floor, once were. He had a red aura around him, filled with anger. Loke, Lucy's Lion Spirit.

I gasped. It was like in my vision, also the door being pushed off its hinges.

The whole guild fell silent and watched Loke, as he scanned the guild for something. I already knew what he was looking for. He found his target and his anger rose even more, if possible, just by looking at them. "_YOU_! YOU MADE LUCY CRY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He roared on the top of his lungs, he walked over to his target, like a Lion hunting its prey, and gave Erza an uppercut under her chin.

The whole guild gasped or looked wide eyed at him for his bravery at hitting Erza like that. He roughly grabbed her chin to look into her eyes as he spoke. "Erza _Scarlet_, also known as _Titania_, the _almighty_ Fairy Queen of Fairy Tail.'' Loke said mockingly. "Do you know what you _were_ to Lucy? _DO YOU_?!" He hissed in her face. "You were like the big sister, she never had. A BIG SISTER, Erza. YOU should know how much she TREASURES her nakama and ESPECIALLY the members of Team Natsu!" He yelled and let go of her, leaving her speechless.

He swiftly moved to Gray and kneed him in the gut. Gray coughed some blood up from the impact. Loke pushed Gray down with a foot on his chest. "Gray Fullbuster, someone I THOUGHT was a loyal friend. It _seems_ I was mistaken, go find another partner for the S-Class exam, there's no way in HELL _I'm_ going with _you_!" He spat in his face then leaned down to get closer, Gray just stared at him unable to say anything. "But this is not about me. It's about _Lucy_." Loke said more calmly. But it was a _deadly_ calm.  
Master Makarov came out of his office and saw the scene before him, but did nothing, he just watched with sad and disappointed eyes.

Loke continued, not noticing Master Makarov, or not caring. "Do you know what you _were_ to her? You were her, and I quote what she's told me _several_ times, _'loving'_ and _'caring'_ big brother." Loke said with his scary calm voice. The aura of pure anger that was around him had not calmed down whatsoever. He stepped off Gray and looked disappointed at him. "Think about _that_ for a while." He said. He turned around and faced Natsu. His anger seemingly skyrocketed and Natsu cowered in fear. _Natsu_ cowered in _fear_. Something only Erza could do. _Normally_.

I looked stunned at Loke, he did _everything_ he did in the vision, down to the smallest detail. Everything he said seemed to hit spot on, that Lion had a way with words.

Loke growled, very similar to a Lion, and looked at the frightened Natsu through his sunglasses. "_YOU_." He started menacingly. "You are the one of you all who _disgust_ me the most." Loke grabbed Natsu's vest and lifted him off the ground in a display of brute strength. "_You_ were supposed to be her _best friend_. _You_ were supposed to see how _lonely_ she was, _you_ were supposed to cheer her up! But you _didn't_! You let _someone else_ take the trash and cheer her up. And to them I am thankful. But YOU on the other hand-" Loke pushed Natsu up against the wall and punched him in the face, a cracking noise was heard, and Natsu cried out in pain.

"Natsu!" Lisanna cried out and was about to come to Natsu's rescue, when Loke shot her a warning glare. She went back to where she sat, terrified of the Lion Spirit, and Loke fixed his gaze on Natsu again, whose nose was now bleeding.

He continued. "YOU, of all people, are the _thrash_ around here." Loke let go of him and he fell to the ground with a grunt. "Get _out_ of my sight. I don't want to_ ever _see you again, unless it is to beg for forgiveness. _Any of you_." He said and looked at the two others, to indicate that the same conditions went for the other two. Loke's gaze lingered a little longer on Gray, he then shook his head in disappointment and turned his back to the three of them. That simple action seemed to hit Gray harder than a knee _ever_ could.

Loke fixed his suit jacket and looked at the rest of the guild members, gracefully skipping Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel, Pantherlily and I. He then spoke to the whole guild. "I know you know that Lucy was the beacon of light for this guild from day one. Even I knew it, and I tried my best to avoid her. You have all hurt that beacon, take a minute and think over your actions." Loke said and then disappeared back into the Spirit World.

Everyone was stunned with the show and unable to move or say anything. They just looked at where Loke was just a second ago. Lisanna was the one to break the silence. "Natsu!" She ran over to Natsu, who had a broken nose. She turned around and looked at Wendy, as the first person of the day to do so. "_Wendy_! Come and heal him!" Wendy was about to stand up, but I blocked her with my paw and shook my head, tears rolling down my face. Wendy sat down again, and looked away from Natsu. The guild slowly began to regain mobility, and many ran to Team Natsu to help with the injuries. They helped getting the three to the infirmary, and I just watched with slight disgust at it all.

What _happened_ to Fairy Tail? Why were they _helping_ those who went behind someone else's back? Why were they helping the _traitors _instead of the one person who really _needed _help? The one who was looking right into the eyes of death in the form of a black Dragon.

I was just about to tell Juvia and Wendy about the vision that I was now certain was true, but was stopped by Master Makarov. "Gajeel, Lily, Wendy, Carla and Juvia, please follow me to my office, I have something to talk to you all about." We all nodded and followed Makarov. I sighed in exasperation, Wendy looked at me questioningly and I just shook my head.

We all went into the Masters office and sat down. I in Wendy's lap and Pantherlily on Gajeel's head. Gajeel sat in the middle with Wendy on his right and Juvia on his left. Master Makarov stood on his desk with his hands behind his back. He looked alternately at the three mages, and then held out three letters to each of them without uttering a word. Gajeel was the first to take his. _'Gajeel and Pantherlily'_ were written beautifully on it. The two girls reached for theirs. I read the names on the letter Wendy was holding, _'Wendy and Carla'_ were written with the same beautiful writing as on Gajeel and Pantherlily's.

Wendy and I exchanged gazes, we both knew who wrote those letters.

Gajeel broke the silence. "Oi, Ojii. What's this all about?" Gajeel asked in his usual rude manner. Master Makarov sighed.

"They're from Lucy. Open them and read, I'm certain they'll explain the situation." He then said and we all opened the letters.

**At the guild Fairy Tail, Master Makarov's office~**

**Juvia's P.O.V**

Juvia opened the letter Master gave them with Juvia's name written beautifully on the cover. Juvia took out the paper inside and began reading.

_Dear Juvia.  
I know we haven't spoken much before, but in the last three weeks, I've come to feel for you as a sister, I wish it hadn't happened in such circumstances, but nonetheless I'm thankful. I don't know if you had a suspicion about this, but I've left the guild._

Juvia moved her hand to her mouth and a tear slipped from her eye and landed on the paper. Outside it began dripping ever so slightly.

_By the time you're reading this, I'm already off on a train and to explore something new. I'm going to train and become stronger, you won't even recognize me when I come back! Anyway, I'm going to miss you as well as Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Pantherlily and Mas- no it's just Makarov now, isn't it? Oh yeah, you have Gray all for yourself now! At least I won't be one of your Love-Rivals. Please don't go looking for me, I need this time to be alone and sort everything out. Come to think about it, you aren't so much the one I suspect of coming looking for me as it is a certain Iron Dragon Slayer. I don't know when I'll be back, but I _will_ be back, so just have a little patience with me. Also, don't tell the other guild members until they ask about me, I've left something for them in my apartment, but I want them to figure it out themselves. However they only have one month, then the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Lucy Heartfilia_

The tears were pouring down Juvia's face, when Juvia reached the end of the letter. The rain was beating the window in a fast, but steady, rhythm. But Juvia didn't want Gray all for herself. "Lucy." Juvia whispered.

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

I opened the letter and began reading, with Lily reading on my head.

_Hey Gajeel and Pantherlily.  
These past three weeks I've gotten to know you two a lot! Gajeel, you've opened up to me in a way Natsu has never done before. Sure he talks a lot about Igneel and how much he misses him and all, but he never really told me anything else than that. Anyway, thank you for being there when I needed someone the most, I am happy to say, that you have taken Natsu's spot as my best friend Gajeel and Pantherlily you've taken Happy's._

I smirked toothily as I read it. I'd taken the Salamander's place in Bunny-Girl's heart. I was proud of myself actually. Lily too was proud and smiling at the knowledge of him having taken Happy's place. Our smiles quickly faltered as we read on.

_I'm sorry I haven't told the two of you before, but I'm leaving Fairy Tail for a while. Don't come looking for me, please, I'm already far away as you read. I need some time alone right now, but I'll come back. Stronger than ever! Maybe we can have a battle? I don't know when I'll come back, but please be a little patient. Also it would be much appreciated if you don't tell anyone in the guild until they ask about my whereabouts. I've left a letter in my apartment, and it'll lie there for a month, if Team Natsu or anyone else doesn't find it until then, the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Your Best friend Lucy Heartfilia_

I just stared at the letter, trying to find some hidden message, telling me it was a lie. I found none. I noticed the rain plummeting outside, and knew Juvia didn't have the same control over the weather, as she did the other day. I could smell the salty scent of tears in the room. I felt a drop of water trailing down my forehead and all the way down my face. I could smell that it was Lily's tear I closed my eyes and bowed my head, making sure Lily wouldn't fall off in the meantime.

"Bunny-Girl." I muttered.

**Wendy's P.O.V**

Slowly and carefully, I opened Carla's and my letter, I already knew who this letter was from, and I had an idea about what it would tell us. I held the little paper low enough for Carla to be able to read at the same time.

_Sweet, sweet Wendy and Carla.  
You two are an amazing pair of girls. The last three weeks I've gotten even closer to the two of you, and you're both like sisters to me. I don't know how I would've survived these days without the two of you. I'm going to miss the both of you, and I'm sure you already know what I'm about to say._

Carla's eyes widened and she tensed in my lap, I felt a tear trail down my cheek. I closed my eyes shortly to get the tears away and began reading again.

_I've left Fairy Tail, I'll come back, I don't know when, but I'll come back some day. I know that Gajeel will go looking for me as soon as he gets the chance, but please stop him, it's for his own good. I am already far away now, I'm still uncertain about where I'll go, but I'll train and come back stronger than I was before. Please don't tell the rest of the guild until they ask, I've left a letter for them at my apartment, and if no one finds it after a month has passed, the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Lucy, your sister._

I had a hard time reading the last sentences, because the tears kept blurring my eyes, but I did read them. I'd known for a while that it would end like this, Lucy-san leaving Fairy Tail, but it didn't make it less painful. I heard the rain drumming on the window, faster and faster. I could smell the tears of Juvia-san and Pantherlily. Carla was completely frozen in my lap, she didn't say or do anything.

"Lucy-san." I whispered before I too joined the crying.

**I don't know how old Layla really is when Lucy is 10, so I'm just going to say 25. Yes, I know that is quite young, but there'll come an explanation for that later, I promise. ;)**

**I'm not sure if I spelled 'Raijinshuu' or 'Ojii' correctly either, but please bear with me if I didn't and tell me if I did! **

**Thank you StitchedSanity, Merilwen-Vendethiel, Anonymous (Guest), nelly99, Zades, Your Ojou-Sama, GingerLily01, BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Coolanime14, manic kitty, BubblesDoujinshi, huntybutt, Zoheleth, The Hand Of Chaos, MissSuzugamori and all you other readers out there! As I said before, you all inspire me to continue writing! ****^_^**

**~Line464d**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Phew, it takes so much longer to write these chapters (Brushes off imaginary sweat on my forehead), but it's certainly worth it. **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail or anything in it.**

**At the Fairy Tail guild, in Master Makarov's office**

**Master Makarov's P.O.V**

I watched silently as my children grieved at the loss of their precious friend and family. I myself had no more tears to cry, I'd taken care of that earlier. I looked out of the window and at the falling rain, wondering where the blonde could be now. After a while of sobbing, the crying died down a little.

"She came into my office early this morning and got her insignia removed." I said with a hoarse voice. Even though I couldn't cry, my voice acted as if I had. "It pains me to say that she's probably better off not being in the guild for some time.." I trailed off. A crash was heard, and Gajeel stood up with Pantherlily on his head, trying to keep his balance. His chair lay on the floor, and he wore a pissed expression.

"She can't just tell me _that_ and then up and leave! I'm going _after_ her!" Gajeel said and turned around to walk out of the door, but was stopped by a red blade. Pantherlily was in his Battle form and blocked the entrance with his sword. He shook his head.

"Gajeel, she said to _not_ go looking for her, the least you can do is to accept her word and respect them." Pantherlily said. Gajeel glared at him, but then gave in huffing in annoyance, picked up his chair and sat down again. Pantherlily went into his Chibi form and stood on Gajeel's head with crossed paws and a scowl.

I smiled at the sight. I wondered what it was that Lucy told Gajeel, that could gain that reaction from him, but I said nothing. Wendy did however.

"What did Lucy-san tell you, that is so important?" She asked, looking at Gajeel with red, puffy eyes.

Gajeel looked at her and grinned. "Gihi. She told me that _I_ had taken _Flame-Brains_ place." He ruffled the little bluenettes hair. "And Lily is now the new Happy!" He added, grinning wider. Pantherlily nodded and smiled a satisfied smile as well, still with crossed paws. Everyone dropped their jaws, with the exception of Carla, who was still frozen on the spot.

"Y-yo-you- WHAT?! You _replaced_ Natsu?!" I yelled in utter and complete shock. Since _when_ did _Gajeel_ take _Natsu's_ place in the young blonde's heart? I looked at Pantherlily. "And you took Happy's?! WHAT IS _HAPPENING_ HERE?!" I continued in frustration. Well, isn't this ironic? If Gajeel and Pantherlily had taken Natsu and Happy's place then...

"I guess that _is_ to be expected," the black Neko said on Gajeel's head. We all turned our attention to him, Juvia and Wendy wide eyed. How could the little guy _expect _something like this? "Since Natsu kicked her off the team like he did, and Gajeel and I have been there for her instead of Natsu and Happy. It's only natural I'd say." He ended with a nod.

I considered the black Neko's words, and then nodded in agreement, there were some truth behind his words. "You have a point there Pantherlily. But it _is_ Natsu and Happy we're talking about, it is quite a feat you two have made." I then smiled my signature nice-old-man-smile. Gajeel grinned at me. A silence fell over our little group.

"Oh yeah, there's the S-Class exams soon, so you should begin to get ready." I told them, breaking the silence. Gajeel's face lit up. Carla seemingly got out of her frozen state, and looked around confused.

"Is there going to be battles?" Gajeel asked eagerly, almost jumping in his seat. Wendy and I sweat dropped.

"Yes Gajeel, there'll be battles." I confirmed. Gajeel almost sprang up from his seat and was about to walk out of the room, when Carla stopped him.

"I have something to say, Gajeel you may want to hear this." She said and looked at him from where she sat on Wendy's lap. I had kept an eye on the white Neko, she'd been a little out if it ever since the incident with Loke, and she still looked shaky.

"What is it my child?" I asked concerned with my little family member. She hesitated long enough for Wendy to interrupt.

"Is it about the vision you had yesterday?" She carefully asked. Carla looked at her with slightly widened eyes. The white Neko nodded slowly and looked down at her paws.

"Yes, that's right, it's about my vision." She looked up at me. "I got the vision right before Team Natsu kicked Lucy off the team. It showed me Team Natsu and Lisanna walking up to our table, as the first thing. Next it showed me when Gray told her Lisanna replaced Lucy and Natsu told her she was weak." Gajeel, who was standing near the door, scowled as he probably remembered the whole thing. "Then I saw Lucy in a forest, screaming out her grief and crying like she'd never cried before. Next came the scene with Loke and Team Natsu, you know, what happened just now. The last scene I saw-" she shuddered. "Was the part I didn't want to believe, it's the reason I did not believe the vision to be true, but when Loke did that scene exactly as he did in the vision, I just couldn't ignore it." A tear fell from the poor Neko's eye. "I-I saw L-Lucy walk through an eerie f-forest, and s-suddenly a D-Dragon appeared a-and roared. Then i-it lunged at L-Lucy, and then the v-vision ended." She sobbed and wiped her eyes.

I stared at my child. Lucy... She's going to be attacked by a Dragon. She's going to... She's not strong enough to...

I couldn't end my train of thought as Gajeel yelled. "HELL NO! I'm not letting Lucy _DIE_ by the hands of a friggin' _Dragon_! You _can't_ stop me now! I'm going after her!" Gajeel yelled and stormed out of the door, Pantherlily following close behind.

The rain that had calmed down a little began pounding again, as Juvia, who had remained silent through it all, cried again. Wendy reached for her and stroke her arm as tears fell from her eyes as well. I walked to the two girls and pulled them into a hug.

I decided that I'd stay in my office with the three girls, if anyone could reach Lucy in time, it'd be Gajeel. But it's so long ago she got it removed, maybe it's too late.

**In the train**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I stared out of the window and remembered all the good and bad times I'd had with Team Natsu and Fairy Tail.

"So _those_ times has come to an end, have they?" I muttered to myself, watching the passing landscape. A warm glow suddenly enveloped my booth, and I felt a strong arm over my shoulder, and the presence of another person. I looked at the person next to me.

"Sorry Princess. I had an... _Errand_ I had to take care of and it took longer than expected." Loke said with a smile. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting Beautiful." He flirted. I huffed in annoyance. Why did he always have to do that?

"No, no it's fine. What was your _errand_?" I asked, quite curious about what my Spirit had to do.

"Oh, there were some people I had to _talk_ to." He said, emphasizing 'talk'. "Nothing too important." He said with his bright smile. I looked at him, and knew that I wouldn't get more out of him.

"Whatever you say." I muttered while wondering who he had business with. I lay my head on his shoulder and found comfort in his presence. The two of us sat in silence and watched the people passing by our booth. Two children ran past it several times. They looked around the age of 10 or so. There was one blonde and one black-haired.

"Rogue! Have you found a booth yet?" One of them yelled at his friend.

"No Sting, they're all taken." The other answered his friend calmly.

"Okay." The first said irritated. "Then we'll just _have_ to sit here then." He said and a thump was heard as he fell to the floor. The other boy seemingly hesitated, but then joined his friend on the floor.

I decided to invite the two boys into our both, as there was more than enough place in our booth. I opened the door and looked at the two boys sitting on the floor. "You two." I called out to them. They looked at me quizzically. The blonde had sky-blue eyes, and his hair shot out in every direction, a little like Natsu's. He wore a sand-colored t-shirt that sat a little tight on his already well-developed body. He wore light gray shorts and flats. The black-haired boy had blood-red eyes and his hair lay flatly on his head, his bangs covering his right eye. He wore a loose gray t-shirt, loose black jeans and black sandals. "You can come into our booth, there's enough space for you too." I smiled at them. The blondes face lit up in a bright smile.

"Thank you _Lady_!" He said and jumped up. The other boy got up more calmly. I held the door as the blonde boy ran into the room and sat on the opposite seat of Loke. The black-haired stopped up in front of me and looked at me with his blood-red eyes expressionlessly. He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"Hello Miss. I apologize for my friend's rude behavior." He said, the blonde pouted and stuck out his tongue. "I am Rouge Cheney." He said and gestured to his friend. "And this is my friend Sting Eucliffe. Thank you for sharing your booth with us." He said politely. I was taken aback by the boys' wide vocabulary and manners.

I quickly regained my composure and shook the boys' hand, with my signature smile. "Hi Rogue. I'm Lucy Heartfilia and this is my Spirit, Loke." I said as Loke raised his hand in a greeting manner. "And you're welcome." I let go of Rogues hand, and he went to sit down next to Sting. I closed the door behind me and sat down again next to Loke.

The two boys looked curiously at me. Sting tilted his head as his blue eyes pierced my brown ones. "Where have I seen you before?" He asked me outright. I was baffled by his question, but didn't get to answer as Rogue spoke.

"You said Loke is your Spirit. Does that mean that you're a Stellar mage?" He asked. I nodded slowly, uncertain about what the boys were thinking about. "You shouldn't be the Stellar mage of _Fairy_ _Tail_, are you, Miss Heartfilia?" He then asked. My eyes widened slightly at the boys question, and Loke's arm, which was resting on my shoulder again, tensed.

"Yeah, I was _that_ Lucy Heartfilia, and please call me Lucy." I smiled at the two boys. Their eyes widened, and this time even Rouge grinned.

"So do you know Natsu/Gajeel?" They asked simultaneously, Sting asking about Natsu and Rouge about Gajeel. I giggled at them.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Natsu _was_ my best friend, now Gajeel is." I smiled as the two boys' faces lit up even more, if possible. Loke, however, pouted next to me.

"What about me, Princess, am I not your best friend?" He asked, faking a hurt expression. The two boys giggled at him. I smiled to him warmly.

"Loke, our bond can't be measured in friendship. You're my _Spirit_, our relationship is closer than _'friends'_." I said, and then realized my mistake. Loke threw his arms around me and purred like a cat. A _big_ cat.

"We're closer than friends? Aww Lucy, have you finally realized your love for me?" He purred at me. I tried pushing him away, but couldn't as he was much stronger than me physically. The two boys were caught in a fit of laughter at Loke's purring and lovesickness.

"No, Loke I didn't mean like in _love_, I meant like in-" I cut off and looked at my Lion Spirits' smirking face. "You know _exactly_ what I mean!" I then said in a high pitched voice. He let go of me and then held his face between his thumb and index finger in thought, resting his elbow in the palm of his other hand.

"I have to think out a way for you to _realize_ your love for me." Loke muttered thoughtfully, sending the boys into another round of laughter. I giggled a little at the two boys and my Spirit as well.

After a little while, the laughter had died down, and Sting then seemed to realize something. "You said that you _were_ the Stellar mage of Fairy Tail, what do you mean _'were'_?" Sting asked curiously.

Rogue seemed to realize too and added to his friend's question. "Yeah, you also said that the Salamander _was_ you best friend, and that Gajeel now _is_. What does that mean?" Rogue asked, he'd fixed his face into the serious expression he also used before.

I looked between the two boys, contemplating whether I should tell them or not. I decided to let out a little white lie.

"Yes, I have decided to take some years off to train and become stronger, because I felt I let my team down a little." I said. It was only a half lie, I sometimes really felt that I drew my- Team Natsu down, when I was on the team, and I also _was_ going out to train. Loke looked at me with concerned eyes hidden behind his glasses and his arm around my shoulder tightened a little in a comforting manner, Rogue seemingly noticed, but didn't say anything. "And Natsu have been my best friend for a long time, but over these past three weeks I've spoken a lot with Gajeel and gotten to know him, while Natsu was hanging with an old childhood friend that had been lost, but has now come back. And so we kinda just... _Slipped_ away from each other." I smiled weakly at the two boys. Sting formed an 'o' with his mouth in understanding.

Rogue nodded. "I see, but _I_ don't think you're weak. You've kept your Spirit, Loke, out for a while, haven't you?" He asked and sent Loke a glance.

Loke smiled widely. "No, my Princess is definitely _not_ weak, it's just something she's walking around thinking for some odd reason, but actually I'm using my _own_ power to be out right now. It's because our bond is forged with love~!" Loke exclaimed and tried to hug me again, but I held him away with one hand on his head and sighed exasperatedly. Sting grinned at the lovesick Spirit.

"What he's _trying_ to say is that our bond as _mage_ and _Spirit_, not _love_-" I said and shot my Spirit a glare. "Is so close that he can freely go in and out of his gate with his own power, two of my other Spirits are able to do that as well." I explained as Loke gave up and pouted, having a gloomy aura around him. Sting kept up his goofy grin, and he looked surprisingly much like Natsu.

"It's quite rare for a Spirit to be able to do so, isn't it?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, it is." Loke answered with a toothy smile, suddenly over his gloominess. Rogue and I sweat dropped at his sudden change of mood.

A silence fell on the booth, as no one had anything to say. After a while I felt I had to say something. "So where are the two of you going?" I asked.

"We're going to Sabertooth in the city Galiavas!" Sting said eagerly and with a grin plastered on his face. "Originally we wanted to be in Fairy Tail, but then we heard about the guild's super strong mages and how it had potential to be Fiore's _strongest_, so we decided we'd try it out. Then maybe we will also get to fight Natsu and Gajeel!" He then added.

"Oh, so you want to be mages? What kind of magic do you use?" I asked genuinely curious about the boys' magic.

"I'm a Light Dragon Slayer and Rouge's a Shadow Dragon Slayer!" Sting exclaimed happily. If I had had water in her mouth, I would have sprouted it all over the young Dragon Slayers' faces. I looked at them wide eyed. Loke seemed surprised as well.

"_You're_ Dragon Slayers?!" I asked in complete shock. They both nodded, Sting with a proud smirk. "Wow, I never expected that. You two will become _strong_ mages, I'm sure of it!" I said with my warm smile. Rogues lips curved up a little.

"Thanks Lucy. Where are you going?" Rogue asked. I thought about that for a moment.

"I don't know actually." I then decided to say. "Wherever fate decides to take me." I smiled.

"Well _that's_ reassuring." Loke muttered sarcastically under his breath, which earned him a punch to the face by me, whose vein had popped. Sting giggled again at the two of us. Were we really _that_ amusing to watch? I asked myself.

"Well, that sounds exciting." Rogue said kindly. Then our conversation was set on a halt as the radio sounded.

"We have reached the city Galiavas, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat. We have reached the city Galiavas, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." A monotone radio-voice said.

"Oh well, this seems to be our stop." Rogue said with a hint of sadness tinting his voice. "It was nice speaking with you, Lucy." He smiled genuinely.

"Yeah it was! I'll remember you!" Sting chimed in. He got up and hugged me, surprising everyone in the booth. He looked up at me with his beautiful sky-blue eyes. "Thank you for letting us in your booth!" He then smiled. I replied with a smile and ruffled his and Rogue's hair.

"It was my pleasure. I'll remember the two of you too." I said with a soft voice.

Ding-ding

Then the train stopped, and we'd reached Galiavas. The boys waved goodbye and walked out of the train. I waved back at them from my booth and watched them leave, and still stared out of the window as the train began rolling again. Loke still had his arm draped over my shoulder, making me feel comfortable in his presence.

**At the guild Fairy Tail~ **

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

I stormed out of Ojii's office and walked fast to the double doors of the guild, with Lily in tow, earning weird looks from the people in the guild hall. I didn't care though, I _had_ to find Bunny-Girl. Most preferably _before_ anything happened. I was not letting Bunny-Girl die by the hands of a Dragon, not as long as I was a Dragon Slayer. Dammit, that was what I was trained to do! Slaying Dragons!

The doors still lay on the floor from Loke's fit of rage, so I just went straight out in the cold rain. I tried to sniff out Bunny-Girl's scent, but it was being washed away by the constant raining.

"Do you smell anything?" Lily asked while floating with his angel-like wings next to my head.

"Damn." I muttered. "I can't find her scent because of the rain." I sniffed around a little more, and finally I caught her scent of vanilla and strawberries. It was already extremely faint, as it had been raining a lot and it was quite some time ago she made the trail, which also meant that she could be just about _anywhere_.

"There!" I yelled and we followed the trail, ending up at her apartment. I could smell that it had been hours since she'd been there.

I followed the trail that led away from the apartment and ended up at a little yellow house. I couldn't smell who it belonged to, and couldn't figure out why Lucy had been there, but decided to brush it off and follow the faint trail of her fading scent.

The rain was still pouring, not as much as before, but still a lot. I was soaked from head to toe, and so was Lily, but we didn't care. We were at risk of losing the one person, we did _not_ want to lose.

After walking a while, following the trail, I ended up at the train station.

"Damn, damn, _damn_!" I muttered as I knew that it would be near _impossible_ to find her, if she took the train.

Lily went to the ticket booth and asked the man if he'd seen Bunny-Girl, but he answered that he had just shifted with someone else, and that he couldn't have seen her. After getting over the shock of a talking cat with wings.

I had heard their little conversation with my Dragon Slayer hearing, of course, and felt my magic pressure rising in anger and defeat. I was too late.

I stomped out of the station and ran into the nearest forest in the outskirts of Magnolia, not caring if my Exceed followed me or not, my magic pressure building higher and higher all the way.

I went deep into the forest, and when I felt I was far enough away from everything, I roared at the sky. I roared out all of my _anger_ at the Dragon and Team Natsu, pain of the _loss_ of someone precious and _disappointment_ in myself, all mixed up with my skyrocketing magic pressure.

The small iron-atoms in the ground were pulled up from underground and swirled around me in an uncontrollable inferno of wind and metal. Surrounding trees and wildlife were pulled up from the ground by their roots, and swirled around me in a frenzy, making it deadly to go near me.

From the outside it looked like a tornado had trapped me in the center of it with trees, plants and small clads of metal swirling around me in a whirlwind. But when you came closer, you could feel the pressure of my magic, and would be pinned to the ground by its gravity.

I had never had a surge of power like that ever before. It felt fantastic and horrible at the same time. I could feel it course throughout my veins, leaving a trail of warmth. At the same time my whole body ached in pain, especially in my chest was the pain extraordinary.

Finally I had no more air in my lungs, and as my roar fell silent, the tornado of magical energy also subsided, along with the rush of power and pain I'd felt. Except the one in the chest, it still hurt.

I fell to his knees panting and with my hands in my hair, grabbing it roughly, as I felt a wave of fatigue flood over me with the sudden loss of magic.

Small dots appeared in my vision, and I fell into the calm blackness.

**At the guild Fairy Tail~**

**Juvia's P.O.V**

Juvia cried as Gajeel stormed out of Master's office. She had lost control of her magic, and the rain poured outside. Love-Ri- No, Lucy-sama can't die. It is just a misunderstanding. Carla misunderstood the situation. And weren't the Dragons all gone? Yeah they were. But, Carla's visions always come true...

"No!" Juvia yelled. Master, Wendy and Carla pulled back and looked at Juvia. Wendy and Carla with red, puffy eyes. Master with blank eyes. "Juvia _refuses_ to believe that Lucy-sama will die!" Juvia exclaimed. They both looked stunned at her.

"Lucy-_sama_? Since when did you stop calling Lucy-san _'Love-Rival'_? And what's with the _'sama'_-part?" Wendy asked and looked at Juvia questioningly. Juvia turned her gaze to Wendy.

"Since right _now_." Juvia said. "Lucy-sama will _not_ die by that Dragon. Juvia _refuses_ to believe it." Juvia repeated. She raised her hand in the 'L' symbol of Fairy Tail.

"Yeah!" Wendy said and raised her hand as well. Carla shook her head, but did the same with a smile, as well as she could with her paw.

"Yes. Lucy will _not_ die by that Dragon! Gajeel will reach her!" Master yelled and raised his hand in the 'L' symbol.

Then an iron clad hit the window and when Juvia looked out of the window, she saw a wild wind. Iron clads flew around and smashed into buildings and whatever else they could hit. The people on the streets struggled to cover themselves and ran around like confused chickens to find somewhere to hide. But there was _something_ about it all. It seemed heavy somehow.

"Juvia thinks that is no _ordinary_ wind." Juvia said, noticing that the others had seen it all too.

"No Juvia, _that_ is no ordinary wind, I feel a great magic pressure behind it." Master muttered.

"And those Iron clads..." Wendy added.

"Gajeel!" They all said in unison, looking at each other. Carla still stared out of the window.

"Then... He was too late?" The white Neko said with sad eyes. Just as she finished her sentence, the wind fell silent, and the rain-clouds were gone. The sun shone again in Magnolia. But for six people and Exceeds, that sun had no meaning, they had their own personal ever-lasting cloud over their heads, which kept pouring.

**The infirmary ~ **

**Natsu's P.O.V**

I was almost carried into the infirmary, because Wendy didn't want to heal me. Why didn't she anyway? She _always_ healed me, what's different now? And what the _hell_ made Loke so mad? What did it have to do with Luce? Aghh! It's so _confusing_.

Elfman, with the help of Lisanna and Jet, lifted me up in one of those white beds. Mirajane, Freed and Bixlow helped Erza in one next to me and Levy, Droy and Cana, surprisingly no Juvia, helped Ice Princess in the bed on the other side of the room.

"Why are Erza and Gray in beds? They weren't hit so badly." Bixlow asked somewhere at my right.

"I don't know actually. But they need to rest I guess." Lisanna said, looking at him, I think. She shifted her gaze to lock with mine. "Are you okay Natsu?" She asked me with a concerned look in her beautiful, blue eyes, that I just couldn't seem to get enough of.

I moved my hand to my nose. "Yeah I think I-" I tried touching my nose, but pulled my hand away quickly and winced in pain as they made contact. "Ow! Alright I'm not _quite_ okay..." I admitted. My nose throbbed in pain, and all I could smell was my own blood. I looked at it, and it didn't sit where it used to. I looked up at Lisanna again. "Why can't we just get Wendy?" I asked.

Everyone in the room, except Lisanna, Erza and Ice Princess, sweat dropped.

Lisanna sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me. Her pretty white hair hanging in small bangs almost covering her eyes. "You see, Natsu. Wendy is talking with Master right now, but anyway, she's not healing you, because she doesn't have enough magic to do so." She smiled at me. I was confused, hadn't Wendy healed me many times before? Why couldn't she heal me now? But I decided to believe her, and just thought that she'd been training or something.

"Can't we get _Porlyusica_ then?" Every person in the room paled.

"Eh... Natsu. You know Porlyusica _hates_ humans, she won't come here to heal _your_ nose." Mira said somewhere behind Lisanna.

"Oh yeah. That's right, I forgot!" I smiled my toothy smile. "But what about my nose then?" I asked and pouted, but immediately stopped as it made my nose hurt even more.

"Well, _I'll_ just have to fix that." I saw Mira step into my view. She had a dark aura around her, her eyes were hidden in shadows, but two yellow lights could be seen, and she cracked her knuckles. Was her hair floating around her head? Everyone stepped away from her, afraid of Demon Mirajane. I was terrified right alongside them. What did I do to _deserve_ this?!

I smiled at her the best I could, while being terrified out of my mind. "That isn't necessary Mira. My nose is _fine_, actually." I patted my nose with my index-finger, but winced in pain as soon as I made contact.

I looked hopefully at Mira, but she still had her devilish aura. She stepped up to the bed, and immediately her devilish aura was gone, instead she smiled her usual smile. Everyone sweat dropped, I don't know why.

"This is going to hurt a _little_." She said kindly. She reached out for my nose, and in a swift movement, she'd taken my nose in between her two hands and straightened it out. I cried out in pain, and felt a little hand stroke my leg. I looked down and saw Lisanna. She looked at me apologetically.

"You know it had to be done. Or you'd run around with a broken nose the rest of your life." She smiled her kind smile. I nodded and sent her my signature grin. It'll be fine. I looked around in the room for a certain blonde. She wasn't there. She's probably on a mission. She said her rent is due, right?

A weird wind was blowing outside, the windows were hidden behind the curtains, so I couldn't see it. It didn't matter anyway, it's just a wind.

**In the train~ **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke had just left to the Spirit World to restore his magic. Even though he's been in Earthland in three years straight, give or take, he told me that it hurt when he was out too long. Besides, he, as well as my other Spirits, also got tired from their loss of magic.

So now I sat down in the train all alone, nothing to keep me from thinking about Fairy Tail and its members.

I remembered the Phantom Lord incident, where my Papa wanted me back in the mansion, so I could marry some stranger. How he found out I was in Fairy Tail is beyond me. Likewise with the fact that he hired a guild to take down Fairy Tail. A guild whose Guild Master hated Fairy Tail.

"We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat, we have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." The speakers interrupted my thoughts.

"Might as well." I muttered, then stood up and got ready to leave. I decided that Saraj was where my training would begin. After a night sleep, that is. The sun was already setting, and soon it would become dark.

After getting out of the train station as one of the few, I looked around for somewhere to stay. The town had an old style, which made it all very pleasant, surprisingly. The houses were small and made in wood, with the exception of a few with red bricks. Not many people were walking around the streets like in Magnolia.

After some searching I found a good looking inn, an old lady kept. I paid for one night and went towards my room. I'd gotten a big lunch on the train, so I wasn't hungry now.

My room was little with a big bed, a drawer and a desk. It was all I would need for now, also I only planned on staying here for one night.

I locked the door, wrote a letter to my Mama, stripped off my clothes and went to sleep.

**In Saraj, next morning~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I felt something on my shoulder. It was shaking me. It was annoying.

"Stop..." I muttered half asleep. It didn't stop, it kept shaking me. I turned my back to it, I think, and lay on my side. "Just five more minutes.."

"Hime-Sama, wake up. I've made breakfast for you." A female voice said flatly. Huh? _'Hime-Sama'_? Oh, Virgo!

I opened my eyes drowsily and looked at the pink-haired Maid Spirit. She was leaning over me with a hand on my shoulder.

Behind her I could see the breakfast she'd made for me. When I thought about it, I could also smell it. "Punishment, Hime-Sama?"

"No, Virgo not today. And thanks." I got up and went to the desk where Virgo had prepared the breakfast. I ate it and quickly took a bath and changed into the clothes Virgo had brought. A tight navy-blue top with a golden curly pattern and a white skirt. I made the same high ponytail as I'd worn the day before

"Hime-Sama, there's a forest west from here, it seems empty and it's quite wide. It is a great training spot." Virgo said, staring at me with her blue, piercing eyes. I smiled at her.

"Thanks Virgo, I'll go there and train. You can go back now." I said. Virgo saluted and disappeared in a golden light.

I packed the last of my things, even though it wasn't much, as I had stored it all in the Spirit World. I put on the white leather-jacket from yesterday, I had grown quite fond of it.

I went out and walked towards the west, and soon I found the forest. Saraj was at max a quarter the size of Magnolia, and was surprisingly fast to guide through.

The forest seemed somewhat scary. The only tree to be seen were pine-trees, and _only_ pine-trees. A heavy fog surrounded the trees and lay close to the ground, making it impossible to see more than a pair of meters into the forest. It was also completely silent, not even the rustling of a breeze was heard, it had an eerie feeling to it. Even though the sun was high in the sky, the forest seemed dark, as if it was in the middle of the night. All in all quite an ominous forest.

"Oh well. Why not go into the scary and ominous forest and train? Yeah, good idea, Virgo, _thank_ you." I said sarcastically, but even though I said that, I went into the forest.

I think I had walked for over an hour. Loke had made a short visit some time ago to tell me he had a meeting with Moustache-man, or more commonly known as the Spirit King, and said he'd be unable to be with me for the day, but that the rest of my Spirits were happy to come keep me company, except Aquarius, maybe.

So now I was walking alone through this damn creepy forest, because I didn't want my Spirits to be bothered by my complaints.

My feet hurt and I was tired. I froze because the sun wasn't there to warm me up, and this forest was so scary. I walked a little further, and soon I found a little clearing. And it was really a clearing, the fog wasn't floating over this part, and it wasn't as dark as the surrounding forest. A ray of sun hit the ground, and as I stood under it, I felt it heat up my face.

"This is where I'll stay and train, but for now, I'll just rest in the sun." I said out loud, as a breeze blew my hair in my face, and I fell down on the ground, lying on my back and looking up in the sky. "This is so nice." I whispered and closed my eyes in comfort.

**Alright, I have to go on a 14-days-long vacation with my family in a few days, so I'll post a new chapter just before I leave, which is in 4 days, if I got my math right, and then I'll post a chapter as soon as I get home. Is it okay with you guys? Most likely NONE OF YOU ARE READING THIS, but I'll just write it anyways~ **

**I thought it would be nice if Sting and Rogue appeared in this train. Just for the fun of it all. And as the city where Sabertooth lies in hasn't been mentioned, I just wrote a few letters and then ended it off with other letters, pretty much. ^_^' Yep, that's the easy way to make new names.**

**We'll meet Acnologia in the next chapter, guys. So keep hanging around! **

**Thank you to Natzuko, xxPerfectMistakexx, Lindzii, Guest, TheNewBlueMoon, sdren, Zades, Kimbooslice, TheWolfThatRunsFree, theawesomeguest (Guest), westerngoddess, Psychodella, Hayley Le, Guest, Ilovenagihiko08 (Guest), LittleBuddy12, booklover21567, myth48, blackcat486, KaylaBow, animegamernerd15, Eren23, Dishon, chibi Kirkland, blamekailey, xsphinxlady, Shugo Fairy 4eva, XxZoruaTheEpicxX, AM (Guest), Your Ojou-Sama, Flamestar072, Jakyrazzz, HannaHNEMI, XxmidnightssexynessxX and all you other readers for reading my story. (I apologize if I wrote something wrong, please tell me if I did!)**

**~ Line464d**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Yeah, as I said- no **_**wrote**_**, in chapter 5, I'll be going on a two-week long vacation sometime tomorrow, and I won't be able to upload a new chapter or anything while I'm there D':. Gomenasai minna! But I WILL be working on it there, that's for sure! And thank you SO SOSOSOSOSOSO much for following and liking and reviewing to this story all of you out there! I can't believe I'm already over 60 followers! All of your reviews has been AMAZING and they just light up a sunny day, almost making a drought (A comfortable one btw!)! – so that's why I'm always so thirsty… I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima still doesn't share**

**Somewhere~**

**Someone's P.O.V**

I felt a breeze on my dark scales. My nose caught a new, sweet scent. It was carried by the wind. It seemed familiar somehow, something I'd been longing for.

I rose to my feet and shook off the dirt and what else was clinging to me.

"**Well let's see who my visitor is.**" I muttered. I spread out my wings and flapped them a few times to get in the air.

I lazily flew in the direction of the scent. I could still smell it. Vanilla and strawberries. It was a sweet scent, and it just irritated me how familiar it seemed.

No matter what it was, I'd be able to handle it.

Soon I could see the clearing where I often lay, because the sun shone down at the ground at that spot, and could smell the sweet scent came from there. I landed a little away from the familiar scent, as I didn't want to scare whatever it was.

People and animals usually ran away from me, I scared them. Well, I guess I wasn't the _nicest_ looking of my race, I _knew_ that, but I wasn't _that_ bad, was I? I thought I looked quite bad ass, as a matter of fact.

I walked as lightly as I could towards the smell, even though the ground still shook under my weight. Nothing I could do about it. As I walked, I tried my best to avoid breaking any trees, but it was quite hard, and it was no use, really.

I knew I was close to the scent, it was quite strong, but, as I expected, fear was now mixed into it. I sighed and walked forward and into the clearing. I looked down, and in the middle of the ray of sun stood a beautiful blonde-haired girl with brown eyes and a curvaceous body. She had a belt with a whip and two small bags. She stared up at me with wide, frightened eyes. I looked down at her. It can't be _her_, can it? It's impossible, why would it be _her_?

Her scent welled over me again. It _is her_. The scent is the same. Why _didn't_ I realize? How could I forget _her_ scent?

I roared in victory, I had _finally_ found _her!_

**In the clearing~ **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I lay in the ray of sun, letting it warm up my skin. Weird that a place like _this_ was found in the middle of a forest like _that_. Another breeze brushed past me and in the opposite direction of where I'd come from.

After a few moments in the delightful, silent warmth, I felt the ground shake. "An earthquake? No, there are no earthquakes around here. Then...?" I trailed off as several tremors, that seemed to get stronger and stronger, seemed to come closer to me. Is something big coming? Like, _really_ big?

I got up, and stood in a stance, ready to fight. I probably had no chance, if the thing was big enough to shake the ground like this, but I _had_ to fight. Didn't I?

A black shade appeared above the fog, and it was approaching me. So I was right, it _is_ a monster. I prepared myself for the oncoming fight to the death, for me anyway.

Soon the black shade was only few meters away, but the fog made it impossible for me to see what it was. It stepped out of the trees, and in front of me stood a Dragon in all its might.

It was black with curly, bright blue patterns here and there. It was bigger than the trees, maybe even the guild. Its belly was white and it had long sharp claws at its feet, I guessed it had razor-sharp teeth as well. At the sides of its head it fanned out in 5... Well, I don't know what to call them… also with the same black and those blue marks, two big and three smaller, the same with the end of its tail, except it was only two. And it looked at me with its black eyes. I shuddered under its gaze. I was dead meat.

We stood and stared at each other, me with wide eyes, but then it broke the silence with an almighty roar at the sky. It almost sounded _victorious_. Yeah, it _knew_ it had the upper hand.

I moved my hand to my whip, but the Dragon lunged at me almost instantly. I couldn't react, I was frozen on the spot. So _this_ is how I'm supposed to die, is it? Everything was in slow motion, as I looked at the Dragon and its face came closer and closer in a fast speed. It closed in on me, never hesitating as it came just an inch from my face.

Then it shone in a dark light and instead of having my head ripped off, strong arms circled around me and pulled me close into a hard chest. I was just utterly and completely stunned. _What just_ _happened?!_

"I _finally_ found you." A deep male voice muttered, I could feel the chest of the man holding me rumble as he spoke, it seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out _who_ he was. Most likely because I couldn't see him. "I finally found you." He repeated. I didn't know what to do or say. But I felt I had to say _something_.

"Uhm.." I started with a weak voice. "Excuse me for asking, but..." I hesitated a little before continuing. "Who are you?" I finally asked. I felt him tense, and then relax as he pulled back. Our gazes locked with each other's.

He had dark blue, almost black, eyes, which just captivated me somehow. He had a handsome face. His hair was black and then turned the same blue as on the Dragons' blue scales in the ends, it pointed out in every direction. He wore a bright blue shirt, matching the color of his hair, it clung to him in a way that showed his well-built torso, but still not too tight, and with a black leather jacket over it. He wore black jeans and black sneakers with the same blue colored laces. He was around the same height as Laxus, maybe a little lower and he was lean. He looked _very_ toned, but I didn't know for sure, as his leather jacket covered it quite efficiently. I _knew_ this guy. I knew him well, even though it's _years_ ago I last saw him.

He had a hurt look in his eyes and a soft expression. "You don't remember me?" He asked, his sad eyes looking into mine. He sighed and shifted his gaze to the sky. "Well it _is_ long time ago, and you were _so _little-" He was cut off as I jumped and threw my arms around his neck, with tears rolling down my smiling face. I pressed my cheek into his. The fact that he was a Dragon just moments ago forgotten.

"Acnologia! I've missed you _so_ much!" I laughed while crying. I felt his arms carefully snaking around my waist. He dropped his forehead, so it rested on my shoulder.

"Lucy." He whispered and tightened his arms around me. "_Lucy!_" He laughed and twirled me around.

We both laughed in joy at our reunion. It had been 7 years, almost 8 since I saw him. I was 17, so he would be… 21.

He put me down on the ground gently and cupped my cheek with one hand, while the other tugged a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He smiled a soft and caring smile. I looked into his captivating blue eyes I had missed so much. I had only been with him in a week, yet he was so precious to me. He was the only other child I'd known in my childhood. My Papa hadn't allowed any visitors under the age of 20, so Acnologia was an _extremely_ rare exception. That was probably also why I had come so close to him so fast, I looked up to him then.

"I've missed you so much." He smiled. "Where have you been? Last I looked in the Heartfilia Mansion, Jude told me you weren't there." He asked concerned. I still hadn't removed my gaze from his. Those dark blue eyes, imitating the sky in the early night, flooded me with comfort and relief.

"I ran away from Papa a little over a year ago, then I met a boy named Natsu Dragneel, and I joined the guild Fairy Tail." I smiled warmly at my childhood friend. He formed an 'o' with his mouth.

"That figures, you always spoke so much of that guild. I should have looked there." He said in a low voice. Even though he had kind of said it before, I hadn't heard him.

"You were looking for me?" I asked incredulously. Why would he do that?

He looked at me surprised. "Well of course I was. I have all this time." He said as if it was obvious. I just lifted my eyebrow urging him to explain. "The first year after _that_ week, which I'm sure you heard from your maids, my father and I tried to get into the mansion-" I nodded. "First by asking of permission to meet you, but Jude forbade it. Then we decided we'd try to break in and get you out of there, but there were too many guards. Then we trained for a bit and tried again, but my father was caught and now he's in jail under the Magic Council's watch in Crocus." Acnologia said with sad eyes, he averted his gaze to the ground. I reached out and stroke his arm for comfort. I hadn't spoken much to Kurama, Acnologia's father, but from what I had gathered he was a nice man. Acnologia continued his tale. "I went out to train, up until a half a year ago, where I decided to try again, but then you weren't there." He said still with sad eyes. That expression quickly faded and was replaced with an amused glint which appeared in his eyes. "I think your father's company went bankrupt after that ever so slowly." He grinned. I giggled a little. Then he pulled me into a hug again resting his chin on my head. I was pressed up against his hard chest, and I put my hands around him. We stood like that a while in blissful silence.

I found comfort in my long lost friend's strong embrace. It all was a little weird, as we were almost like strangers, yet it didn't feel like we were strangers at all, it felt natural. He had become so strong, I could feel his bulging muscles under his jacket and his chest was firm. His voice had become so deep, nothing like the boyish voice I remembered from when I first met him. He'd become so handsome since I last saw him! Wait.. _What_ am I _saying_?

I suddenly got the feeling that Acnologia was the last steadfast person, the last one I could really count on to always be with me. Yes I knew this was crazy, I just met the man after seven years, for Mavis' sake! But somehow I felt an unwavering trust in him, there was no way to explain it, I just did. I guess he was like what Igneel was for Natsu. Speaking of Dragons... How the _hell_ could I forget that?

"Acnologia?" I asked a little weakly and still in his arms. He didn't let go, just gave me a 'Hm?' for me to continue. "Why the _hell_ were you a _Dragon_ just now?!" I almost yelled. I felt him grimace at the loud sound. I'd been too caught up in our reunion to remember he had just been a Dragon. How forgetful can a person be?

Acnologia chuckled above me, I felt it through my whole body. "I was wondering when you'd ask." He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "It's a long story, really." He paused and he seemed to be having an inner discussion about something. Then he focused his gaze on me again, with those amazing night-blue eyes. "I'll explain back at my cave, it's not long from here. I'll fly us there-" he grinned at me toothily, like the first day we met all those years ago. "-if _you're_ up for it." He teased. I grinned back at him.

"Oh, _I'm_ up for it. It's _you_ who's the problem." I teased back. He smiled wider, if possible, and a black light enveloped the both of us, and soon, instead of the human that stood in front of me, stood a black and blue Dragon with a white belly. It towered above me grinning. Now it was up close it could see it had night-blue eyes, not black.

To be honest, I was _far_ from used to the Dragon form of Acnologia, and I was a bit scared he would eat me for a second. But then he laid down flat on his stomach. "**Come on. Get up.**" He said with a deep voice, much deeper than before.

At first I was startled he could speak, but then remembered all Natsu's stories about Igneel. I nodded and crawled up on his back with difficulty, as his stomach was twice as big as me. I got up and sat where his neck connected with the rest of his body. I grabbed his scales tightly to steady myself. He spread his wings wide and looked at me with the corner of his eye. "**Are you ready?**" He asked grinning, I think.

"Yeah." I smiled. He nodded, and then flapped his wings a few times so we levitated above the ground. With another powerful flap of his wings, we rose above the trees. We flew slowly to his cave, maybe he was nervous I'd fall off. I giggled at the thought. I looked down at the forest. It looked like a big fluffy cloud with trees growing on it. It didn't look ominous from above, actually it looked pleasant in some way.

I enjoyed feeling the wind fly past and tugging my hair. I was calm, surprisingly, even though I was so high in the sky.

Soon I could see a mountain in the distance. "Is your cave in that mountain?" I yelled in the wind not sure if Acnologia could hear me.

"**Yeah, it's in that mountain.**" He told me, he didn't need to raise his voice, as it was crystal clear even with the harsh wind against us. I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see it.

We closed in on the mountain, and Acnologia slowly descended as we came closer. Soon he landed softly on the ground in front of a big cave.

"**Let's go inside.**" Acnologia said as I slid down from his back and landed on the ground.

"Right." I replied, I was getting quite impatient to get the story of him being a Dragon explained. The black light enveloped him again and as it faded away, he was in Human form again.

**In the guild Fairy Tail – One day after Lucy's leave~**

**Wendy's P.O.V**

It's been a day since Lucy-san left. We found Gajeel-kun, in the forest at the outskirts of Magnolia, knocked out. After the wild wind we knew he made, we went out to look for him, I could easily follow his scent to the train station. Pantherlily had come up to us, panting like he had been running for his life, and was scratched all over. I quickly healed him, and then we followed him into the forest, where we found Gajeel-kun.

Master had taken him with us home to Fairy Tail and put him in the infirmary, Team Natsu was already out by then luckily. Gajeel-kun had exhausted his magic greatly, and he needed to rest in a few days to regain it.

The rest of us had been in a gloomy mood all day and today too. Gajeel-kun had failed in reaching Lucy-san in time, not that it was his fault, and we had no idea where she could be. She was probably walking straight into the jaws of that Dragon.

I just _couldn't_ believe it. Lucy-san would die, and there's _nothing_ I could do about it. The rest of the guild members still hadn't noticed Lucy-san's absence and it made me furious. Especially Team Natsu was the target of my anger. Weren't _they_ so close to Lucy-san? Weren't _they_ her best friends and almost-siblings? Weren't _they_ supposed to be the _first_ to notice?!

But they hadn't. They hadn't said a _thing_. _Nothing at all_. They didn't even see me seething with anger.

It was the first time I'd ever been so mad. I usually didn't get mad, but this time they went over the line. I knew the others felt the same way.

I was sitting at a table with Carla. We weren't saying anything, just sitting and thinking. Or more likely grieving over the loss of our friend, and the knowledge she was going to be killed, without us being able to do anything.

Carla suddenly lay down on the table on her back with closed eyes. So she got too tired of standing? I guess that's a perk of being an Exceed, you could just lie anywhere you wanted to.

I looked at her the way she laid there, and then she shivered and opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, and then a smile crept to her face. Why was she smiling? What was there to _smile_ about?

I was just about to ask her those questions, but she cut me to it. "I had a vision." She said plainly. The smile on her face grew wider. I straightened up in my seat, looking intently at the white Neko. "The continuation of the other." She said. I widened my eyes. Why was she _smiling_?! She _saw_ Lucy-san DIE! That's nothing to smile about! I didn't get to say anything as she sat up straight. "Go get Juvia, I'll get Pantherlily." She kept smiling as she spread her angel-like wings and flew to the infirmary, where Pantherlily stayed with Gajeel-kun.

I looked after her as she flew. Then I shook my head and walked over to Juvia-san, who sat at the bar, not stalking Gray as she had used to. "Juvia-san." She looked at me with dull, lifeless eyes. I looked back at her with equally dull and lifeless eyes. "Carla had a vision, we're meeting at the Master's office." I said in a flat, monotone voice. She nodded at me and stood up. Together we walked to the Master's office.

Walking up the stairs, we saw a smiling Carla and a tired Pantherlily heading our way. We reached the Master's office at the same time and I knocked on the door. A faint "Come in" could be heard from the other side of the door. We entered the office, and Master looked alternately at all of us, his eyes lingered on Carla a little longer. He gestured for us to sit down.

"So what's this about?" He asked without the usual life and happiness his words always held. Carla spoke up.

"I've had a vision." She said eagerly, everyone turned their attention to her as she continued. "It was the continuation of the other one." She smiled. Master looked at her with sad eyes.

"Child, I'm sorry for what you have seen, please try to forget it although it will be hard." He said slowly. He thought the same as me, that Carla had seen Lucy's head be ripped off her body.

Carla shook her head. "Why would I? It was beautiful." My eyes widened at her statement. She'd gone crazy.

"Carla..." I started looking at the Neko. She looked at me, and then realized something.

"Oh right, you think she died." She said calmly, but still with that wide smile.

"What else is Juvia _supposed_ to think?" Juvia-san asked confused. Pantherlily slowly started to curve his lips into a small smile, maybe he understood what Carla was saying.

Carla answered Juvia. "Try to imagine the Dragon transforming into a _boy_ around the age of twenty, before it hits her, and throwing his arms around her _protectively_. Then a _happy_ reunion of two old friends." Carla said with a wide smile. We just stared at her speechless.

"Care to explain further in detail or what?" Pantherlily asked with his paws crossed. Carla nodded and then explained.

"Well, first I saw Lucy in that creepy forest and in that clearing. Then the Dragon roared, in what I now recognize is victory, and rushed towards her, when it was just a few inches from her face it was surrounded in a black light, and instead stood a young man with his arms around her as if she could disappear any given moment, and whispering "I've finally found you" or _something_ like that. Then the picture shifted to her throwing her arms around him with tears rolling down her eyes and saying "Acnologia! I missed you so much!" I think." Master eyes widened at the mention of the boy's name, but Carla took no further notice of it as she continued. "Then he said he had missed her too after giving her another tight hug. If you can call it that. Then the picture changed again, and this time I think I saw Lucy's _past_ from her point of view. She was holding hands with a stunningly beautiful blonde woman who looked an awful lot like Lucy, except older. They went into a big circular room where a man and a boy were waiting for them. They spoke a bit, but I couldn't hear them for some reason. Then, as the boy bowed, he looked straight at me, or Lucy, as we were hiding behind the woman's legs. The boy was a younger version of the Dragon-boy. I'd estimate him to be around the age of thirteen or fourteen then. That is about it" Carla finally finished. She had explained the whole thing without taking a pause, and spoke quickly and eagerly.

There was complete silence, then we all began to crack a smile, and soon we were laughing. Lucy-san was alive! We knew better than to not believe Carla's visions. And this one clearly indicated she _wasn't_ dead, and wasn't going to die anytime soon. But I wonder who this Acnologia guy was? Whoever he was, if he's Lucy's friend, then he's mine too.

Tears of relief ran down our faces as our laughter died down. I felt warmth in my heart, relieved like I'd never been relieved before.

Then Master Makarov frowned at something. "Was it _Acnologia_ you said the boy's name was?" He asked. Carla nodded confused. "Curious. _Very_ curious." He muttered to himself, the only reason I could hear it was because of my enhanced hearing.

A loud thud was heard from the room to the right, then a lot of curses. "Juvia thinks Gajeel is awake." Juvia-san said. The others nodded.

"He's nowhere _near_ healthy enough to stand up. He _has_ to lie down." I said, knowing that Gajeel-kun would go searching for Lucy-san, and that wasn't necessary now. She would live!

Pantherlily nodded. "I'll go get him in bed before he can hurt himself - _more_." He said and sweat dropped.

"Yeah we'll go with you. I need to check his condition anyway and Carla needs to tell him the vision." I said and smiled.

"Juvia will help as well." Juvia-san said with determination. Master chuckled lowly. We went out of the office and found Gajeel-kun trying to crawl out of the infirmary on the floor, apparently he couldn't stand.

We stopped up and looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer, he stared at us with his red and piercing eyes. Then he dropped his face on the ground with a 'ugh' and we sweat dropped.

Pantherlily flew over to his friend and picked him up slowly and flying into the infirmary with him. We entered the room with them and stood by the bed.

Gajeel-kun looked up at each of us then grunted and looked away to the side. "Why can't you just let me go?" He muttered.

I sighed. "Because you are in no condition to go looking for her and-" I was cut off.

"_My_ condition doesn't matter! Bunny-Girl is walking straight into a _Dragon's_ territory! _Let me go get her_!" He yelled and thrashed around under Pantherlily grip, he'd changed into Battle form to keep Gajeel-kun down.

I sighed again. "Gajeel-kun." I got no reaction from the man. "_Gajeel-kun_!" I tried again, this time I got his attention he lifted a studded eyebrow. "Stop. You don't _have_ to get her." Gajeel-kun widened his eyes and was about to say something, I cut him off. "Carla had a vision. You'd _want_ to hear it, it's the continuation of the other." I smiled. Gajeel sent me a weird face as Carla began explaining the vision again.

When she was done explaining, Gajeel-kun was wearing a frown as he looked up at the ceiling. I asked him what he was thinking about.

"Well. He's a Dragon, _apparently_, Dragons are _extremely_ territorial, and the two of them are probably going to be together for some time." He voiced his thoughts, still frowning. Juvia-san and Pantherlily smirked at him. He noticed their expressions. "_What_?"

They grinned at him smugly. "Juvia thinks Gajeel is _jealous_." She mocked him. Pantherlily nodded. Gajeel-kun's face heated up, I smirked as I noticed the tint of pink on his face. Well _this_ is _something_.

"_Heck no_! It's _not_ like that!" He yelled at us, not looking anyone in the eyes.

"What _is_ it like then?" I asked imitating Juvia-san's tone.

"Not you too Wendy!" He complained. Pantherlily looked down at his friend, urging him to answer my question. "It's because if this guy decides that he likes Bunny-Girl, then there's the possibility that we _won't_ see her again." He explained plainly. Oh, he had a point for once.

Juvia-san furrowed her brow. "Juvia doesn't understand, why would we not see Lucy-sama again?" She asked. I was still not used to Juvia-san calling Lucy-san for 'Lucy-sama'.

Gajeel-kun rolled his eyes at her. "You know how emotions, senses and everything else is enhanced for us Dragon Slayers, right? Well, for Dragons it's ten times worse, and, whether they like it or not, they're _extremely_ territorial, _especially_ the males. If, Acnologia was it?, wants Bunny-Girl as his ma- eh, _girlfriend_, which there's high possibility of judging by how they _reunited_, then he'll maybe be so possessive that he won't _let_ us see her. Just saying." Gajeel-kun explained in one long go. I knew all this, so it didn't surprise me, but the others were surprised.

That guy, _Acnologia_, could very well be as possessive as Gajeel-kun _thinks_ he is, but maybe he isn't, we don't know. Yet anyway. Gajeel-kun continued. "But I think that Bunny-Girl could convince him, she has a way of doing that kinda stuff. She _promised_ she'd come back, so she'll come back." He nodded with crossed arms.

Yeah he's right. Lucy will come back, I'm sure of it.

**Gajeel, you party-pooper! Why can't you just let the others be happy that Lucy's alive, huh? Is it that hard? Oh well, I guess it is, 'cause I wrote it. And he follows MY EVERY COMMAND! MUAHAHA! **

**I was laughing my ass of myself when I wrote about Gajeel's face-plant. I can't even tell you why! I know it might be kinda weird – but you guys better get used to it! Why? 'Cause I'm weird! And a retard at some points too ^_^**

**Anyway, if we just forget what I just said above, I hope you're annoyed that you still don't know why Acnologia is a Dragon… Okay that sounded sadistic – Well, anyway, I'm sorry, I just had, no **_**have, **_**to figure out why he is a Dragon first. ****RANDOMNESS LONG LIVE! – Naw, I have an idea already~ **

**I hope my story is different from other 'Lucy gets kicked off Team Natsu and goes out to train, where she meets the thing she least expected. A Dragon.' stories. If it isn't yet, then I hope it will be later on. Or rather, it WILL be later on, starting with the next chapter! – I hope. **

**If you haven't already figured out, then every time something BIG like a Dragon speaks, I'll put the letters in bold, just to point out that it is something big. ;)**

**Thank you to Dyeni, Mooshkazz123 (Guest), NiyomiWolfSlayer, xsphinxslady, WishtToBeWizard, Guest, Zades, KaylaBow, NerdyGoodies, AM (Guest), xxPerfectMistakexx, Akako Hama, Guest (12), otakujudy, Terrixghost hunt1353, Howl-of-the-golden-wolf and all you other readers for… Well… Reading and following and favoriting and reviewing. I got especially many reviews this time compared to the other times, arigatou for that people!**

~** Line464d**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Ahh, finally back from my vacation~. And lemme just say, it was amazing, and I've transformed to a fellow nigga, no offense to black people, I think you're awesome! ;)**

**If any of you ever go to Alanya (I think that's how it's spelled?) in Turkey, and don't know what hotel to stay in, pick Kahya Hotel – That's where I was. It is an amazing all inclusive hotel with a great pool with slides, you can go up and get cola or any other drink you'd like for free, and there's served food four times a day. There's a lot of activities during the day, for both adults and children, and in the evening there's always some kind of show. Fakir show, karaoke and a lot of other things. It also lies really good, you only have to step out of the hotel, cross the street and you've reached the beach. If you go to either the left or the right, you'll walk straight into the little 'downtown' area, with cheap shops, bars and you name it.**

**Eh… I don't think they'd mind free advertisement, do you? In any case, good place, consider going there, it's fantastic. **

**Oh, and there's one thing I just have to share with you guys… I ATE TURKEY IN TURKEY! Just so you know ^_^**

**Also, I found out why Acnologia is a Dragon, now it's just up to you guys to read and review! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: My friend, Hiro Mashima, has yet to decide to share Fairy Tail with me. Ohh, that Slowpoke. (Not a Pokémon reference at all, nope)**

**In Acnologia's cave~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Acnologia and I went into his _gigantic_ cave, it was big enough for him to stand up as a Dragon. In other words, there was _more_ than enough space. It was just plain gray rock walls in a big semi-circle. In the end of the cave, which was only about five meters from the entrance, there was what I would call a nest. It was a big bundle of plants and things like that. Again, it was big enough for him as a Dragon. I guessed that was where he slept. I dropped my sleeping bag at the entrance.

Acnologia went to the nest and sat down in it, with me following close behind. It was surprisingly comfortable, the nest. I could _easily_ sleep here if it came to that.

"So." I said slowly to break the silence between us. "Why were you a _Dragon_ just now?" I asked with curiosity written all over my face. He stared out in the forest with a smile on his lips.

He turned his beautiful night-blue gaze to me. Wait… _What_ did I just think? "Well, it's a rather long story actually, and I'm not quite sure where to start.'' He said then seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Well I guess I could start with the Dragons and all." He nodded to himself. I pulled up my legs and rested my arms on my knees, focusing on my friend. "So, in the Dragon Community, we're divided into Clans by our element. The 12 biggest elements are the bigger Clans of Dragons, they're leaders of all the Dragons, that's because they are the original Clans. From there on a lot of smaller elements and Clans, which were made after the original ones, because some Dragons gained new or different powers. Every Clan, big as well as small, has a Head Dragon that represents his or her whole Clan. The original elements are Fire, Water, Sky, Earth, Lightning, Metal, Light, Shadow, Ice, Poison, Chaos and Peace. The last two also has other names. The Peace Dragons sometimes are referred to as Life Dragons and Chaos Dragons as Death Dragons, it's a story from long ago. Dragons with one of the original 12 elements are usually stronger than those from smaller Clans, of course there is always exceptions.'' He explained. I felt it would take some time for me to progress _all_ the information I would get the coming hours. I could almost already feel the migraine I'd get.

"What does it mean that a Clan is _'original'_?" I asked, wanting to know more, even though I would probably forget most of it. Or not, we'd see.

"That just means that the Clan's ancestors fought in the war against Zeref 400 years ago. Also, their magic is slightly different from that of the smaller Clans." He told me.

I nodded. "Okay, what can these smaller Clans be?" I asked as he didn't continue his story.

"Well, for example the Script Dragons or Celestial Dragons. They can't like the 12 originals attack with a Dragon's Roar, because they are not an element like that." He told me. Celestial Dragons? I had got to check _that_ out.

"How do they attack then?" I asked, getting quite curious with these Celestial Dragons.

"Well, they can gather up their magic in their claws, tails and other body parts and attack physically like that. I also _think_ they can use a little magic from their own element, but I'm not sure. I don't know much about them, as I only just became a Dragon myself." It still felt weird knowing Acnologia was a Dragon. "And got pushed into all of this." He muttered afterwards.

"Alright. What Clan are you part of?" I asked. I'd have to look up on Celestial Dragons, maybe I'll ask Crux for help.

"I'm part of the Chaos Clan." He said with pride shining in his eyes and a wide smile. My eyes widened.

"You're a member of one of the _original_ Dragon Clans? How did you become _that_?" I asked when I had passed the first wave of shock.

"It lies in my blood. My father is a part of it too." He smiled. The blood, huh? So Kurama is a Dragon too? That'd be the most obvious thing.

"So when did you know about the Dragon inside you?" I asked out of curiosity. He looked outside of the cave.

"I've known from the beginning." He said slowly. "I only just became able to transform into a Dragon five years ago, almost just after I had attacked the Heartfilia Mansion with my father, where he got caught." He added. "Father taught me about it when I was very little. I always knew he was a Dragon, and that I would become one too someday." He said sorrowfully. He missed his father, that much was obvious. "He was the head of our Clan, the _strongest_ Chaos Dragon. Now that he's away, I'm the Head, as I would have become _eventually_, when my father had… Passed on." He said with difficulty. Even though he didn't look at me directly, I could see all his sorrow in his eyes, just thinking about it. "It's just too soon, I'm only 21 and have been able to transform into the Dragon for five years, normally the leader has known his or her Dragon for 45 years. Besides, my father isn't _dead_." Acnologia almost whispered the last part. He looked down at his feet. Acnologia is head of his Clan? What does he do? When does he represent his clan? And how could Kurama be _over_ 45 years old? He didn't look a _day_ over 25. I decided not to ask, I'd find out another day, right now was not the time.

I moved over next to him, I knew how it felt to lose your parent. Too well, in fact. I put my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder. He tensed a little at my touch and looked at me in confusion. "We'll get your father out, I _swear._ I'll do whatever I can to help." I smiled to him, the usual warm and friendly smile. He relaxed and got his arms around me as well.

"Yes, we will." He looked at me with a soft smile. We sat like that for a while. Not saying anything, just enjoying the silence.

"Why are you here, in the forest, anyway?" He finally asked. I looked up at him. My brown eyes met his night-blue, captivating eyes, surrounded by his black and blue hair.

I smiled. "Well, it is a rather _long_ story." I copied Acnologia. "But it started out with me running from my Papa, as he had gone all business-mode after Mama died. I ended up in Hargeon, where I got caught up in a Charm spell." Which still embarrassed me. "Natsu Dragneel, the guy I mentioned earlier, saved me from that man and brought me back to Fairy Tail." Yes, this is the _very_ short version of it all. "Soon I came in a team with Natsu, another guy Gray, and a girl, Erza, and let's just say we've been through _a lot_ of adventures during this little year. But around a month ago, we went to this parallel dimension called Edolas, I don't know if you know it." He shook his head gently. "Alright, well, I'll tell about it later if you want. Anyway, one of their lost teammates had somehow ended up there and we took her with us back to Earthland." I felt myself slow down as I remembered the last three weeks very vividly. "As she had come back, we held a week-long party for her." Acnologia raised an eyebrow. I giggled, Fairy Tail was a little crazy from the outside. Well, it _was_ known as the place for hooligans to gather after all. "Yes, I know, but that's just how Fairy Tail is. During that week and the next two, my team and the rest of Fairy Tail slipped away from me slowly, and only a few still acknowledged me." I said as a tear fell from my eyes. Acnologia wiped it away and stroke my arm, offering me much needed comfort. "Then two days ago, my team, who I'd grown so close to, they _were_ almost like my siblings and Natsu _was_ my best friend, told me I was nothing but a _replacement_ for Lisanna, the girl who had returned, and that I was weak. They kicked me off the team without hesitation." I looked away from Acnologia and down on my knees. "Then I ran away to train and become stronger, which is how I ended up here, in short." I smiled sadly, still not looking up. This time it was Acnologia's turn to hug me, except he didn't have tears rolling down his face when he told his story, I did.

"It's okay, I understand. You don't have to say more if you don't want to, I'll be here for you from now on. They won't hurt you again, I promise. Not while _I'm_ here to prevent it." He reassured me. I nodded weakly knowing my voice wasn't quite ready to be used again. I didn't know if he actually understood what it was I was telling him, but I didn't care right now, I just found comfort in his words and embrace.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I didn't quite understand how close Lucy was with this _Fairy Tail_ and that _team_ she was on, but I knew, just by looking at her, that she had cared deeply for them. And that they'd thrown her away calling her weak and a replacement for someone else. Those were two mean accusations, and then from her best friends too. I couldn't understand how people could do that to each other, but what I _did _know was that I wouldn't forgive them any time soon. I would avenge Lucy, _that_ was for sure.

I put my attention on her again, as she began to speak. "But I have to return after my training." She whispered. Why would she want to return?

"Why would you want to _return_? After what they did, I can't see why you would go back to them?" I asked completely dumbfounded with the way she was thinking. She looked up at me with her beautiful and puffy brown eyes.

"There are five people waiting for me. Gajeel Redfox, Pantherlily, Wendy Marvell, Carla and Juvia Lockser. They helped me through those last three weeks, and I promised them I'd return stronger than ever." She said in a low voice. I saw the determination in her eyes and heard it in her voice. I nodded, there was five people she had made a promise with, and I didn't see her breaking any promises.

"I see. Well, whenever you feel you want to return there, I'll come with you and join as well." I said, it wasn't even up for discussion. She would need someone to kick this Nratso, or whatever's, ass, and I'd be glad to lend a foot. She giggled and nodded. "And if you want I can help you train?" I then offered slowly, not sure if she would accept. She looked up at me with wide eyes. Then nodded and smiled widely.

"I'd _love_ to! Thank you Acnologia!" She said and tightened her hold around me slightly. I became aware of the fact that I hadn't removed my arms from her when I had tried to comfort her, so as soon as she relaxed a little I pulled back.

I smiled at her. She was still a lot like the bubbly and cheery girl I knew from all those years ago, except in a woman's body, not a child's. A _beautiful_ woman's body even… Wait – What am I _thinking? _I shouldn't be thinking about her _that_ way_. _But then again, the Dragon Community…

I looked outside, thinking about the Dragon Community and my father, I quickly pushed the thoughts away and thought about Lucy's training, which would begin tomorrow. We could go into the Dragon Realm and train, it'd give her double as much time. But then again it_ was_ the Dragon Realm, where my Clan and all the others were waiting for me to bring back _The Lost one_. She'd finally be back, but how would the others react? She wasn't quite ready to meet them yet, or their expectations. Maybe I could talk with the other Clan Heads, I'm sure at least Grandine would understand.

I cut off my thoughts there, and looked at the sky, it was soon going to be dark, and we had a long day tomorrow, so we'd better go to sleep early. I looked at Lucy, she sat with her head on my shoulder and an arm around my back to steady herself. I don't think she was aware of what she was doing, just as I wasn't aware of the arm around her before right now, she was probably lost in her thoughts as well.

"Lucy." She came back to reality and blinked twice before looking at me. "We have a long day in front of us tomorrow, we better go to sleep early." I said. She looked at me confused, and then she realized something.

"Oh yeah, we begin tomorrow?" She asked. I nodded. She stood up and walked towards where she had dropped her sleeping bag "Alright I'll just-" She was cut off as I transformed back to my Dragon form. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I looked at her from above.

"_**What**_**?**" I asked confused. She giggled at me.

"Why did you turn back?" She asked in amusement, of what I have no idea.

"**Well, I have a hard time keeping it up at night, so rather than **_**squashing**_** the life out of you during the night, I'll just be transformed now and it won't be a problem." **I said. She nodded with an amused grin.

"Alright, I'll lie on the floor in my sleeping bag right-" She folded her sleeping back out right next to my nest. "Here. _Hey_!" I picked up her sleeping bag with my tail, and held it up where she couldn't reach it. "Come on Acnologia, put it down." She pouted. I chuckled, which made the ground shake a bit.

"**No, I'm not letting you lie on the **_**floor**_**. Why do you think I'm in a nest? It gets cold at night.**_**" **_I answered. She looked at me incredulously.

"So you want me to sleep in _your_ nest. _With_ you?" She asked with her eyebrow raised again. Good thing I wasn't in my Human form now, or I'd have blushed. I hadn't realized how perverted it made me sound. "I swear, you're _just_ like Loke." She muttered. I wondered who '_Loke' _was, but guessed he was someone from the guild. I already didn't like the guy, if that was what she related him to.

"**I don't know who this **_**Loke**_ **is, but I'm sure he doesn't want you to have a cold tomorrow either. A bad one at that too.**" I said, and then folded out her sleeping back next to me in the nest. "**I don't, and whether **_**you**_** like it or not, you're going to sleep here in the nest.**" I said calmly, as if I hadn't realized how perverted I sounded when I said that. She huffed in annoyance and pouted, but after a while, she gave in and crawled up in the nest and into the sleeping bag. She looked at me.

"Now, please don't try anything funny, okay?" She asked, suddenly uncertain it seemed.

"**I'm a **_**Dragon**_**, Lucy. You can be quite sure nothing 'funny' will happen.**" I reminded her.

"You _could_ bite my head off." She said. I sweat dropped.

"**Now, **_**why**_** would I do that?**" I asked, shaking my head. Where did she get that imagination from? She shrugged. "**Goodnight Lucy.**"

"Goodnight, Acnologia." She smiled. I smiled down at her as well as I could. Then I lay my head on my feet and held my tail around her, and my wing sheltering her from the cold wind I knew would come.

After some training in the Dragon Realm, she would….

"Princess! Have you missed me? The Spirit King let me go ear- What_ the_-?! A _DRAGON_?!" Someone yelled _just_ as I was about to fall asleep. You don't wake me when I'm about to sleep. You just don't. And most certainly not now, with my new visitor. Now, I'm pissed.

**In the Spirit World~ **

**Loke's P.O.V**

"**Yes Lepo, I'll help out with training my old friend's Master, Lucy.**" The Spirit King said and nodded while playing with his moustache. "**I have a feeling she can become the strongest Celestial mage the world has ever seen. Besides, I feel another, strong magic inside her.**" He added. I nodded, yes I had felt it too. It was a mighty power, which could overcome even Gildarts' with some help.

I had asked the Spirit King for help to train Lucy, as I knew he would be a great help. I was surprised he had agreed to train her. I had asked him, but I didn't expect him to agree.

I bowed at the Spirit King. "Thank you, Spirit King. Your help is much appreciated." I stood up straight again. "But I think we should find another place to train, as time passes by too fast here in the Spirit World." I said. One day here was three months in Earthland, so it was basically ridiculous to train here.

"**Yes, you're right. Hmm..**" The Spirit King went through his archives. He found what he was looking for and took it up. "**What about the Dragon Realm?**" He suggested. I looked at him with wide eyes. Wasn't that dangerous? "**One day in Earthland is two there. Besides, I think there was something about there being Celestial Dragons there.**" He looked down at me, and noticed my wide eyes. "**And no, Leo, it isn't dangerous for her. Despite what you might think, the Dragons are actually quite peaceful.**" The Spirit King smiled.

"Phew, you had me worried there for a second." I brushed off non-existent sweat on my forehead. "That seems like a good place. _Celestial_ Dragons, eh? I've never heard of them, but I guess they would know a thing or two about Celestial magic." I said as the Spirit King went through some of his paper. He found a paper and held it out in front of him.

"**Ahh, **_**here**_** it is. Yes I was right. She won't age when she is in the Dragon Realm, for reasons that are still unknown. It is only Dragons which can age in the Dragon realm.**" He said, and looked at me, playing with his moustache again. "**The Celestial Dragons knows things about Celestial magic, that even **_**I**_** don't know. They also have some special keys you can't find anywhere else.**" The Spirit King said with a nod.

"Well, that's nice. I appreciate your cooperation in Lucy's training. Now, if you'd excuse me, I will go back to my Master, she's all alone." I said and gathered my magic to open my Gate. The Spirit King chuckled behind me.

"**Now, don't kill the guy, okay Leo?**" He said in amusement. I lifted an eyebrow at him. What did he mean? What _guy_? I ignored it and went through my gate to Earthland.

I had a sensation of flying and then I saw a golden light, which I knew was Earthland. In a flash, I stood in Earthland. It was late in the evening, and the sky was getting dark. I could feel I had my back to my Master.

"Princess! Have you missed me?" I turned around to face her. I pushed my glasses up with two fingers. "The Spirit King let me go ear- What _the_-" I saw a big black… _thing_, in a nest and I could feel Lucy's presence with it. Then I recognized its features. The head, wings, claws, tail. "A _DRAGON?!_" I yelled in fear of my Master having been swallowed whole by the thing.

The Dragon looked up with an annoyed expression. It moved its tail and wing a little closer to itself, but glared at me with pissed eyes. Okay, that wasn't my _smartest_ move of the day, I'll admit that. The Dragon was black with bright blue curly marks decorating its body. It had long claws and now it was showing its just as pointy teeth at me. Its wings were wide and its belly was white. It looked intimidating, _very _intimidating.

"O-oi, I didn't mean to wake you up, Mr. D-Dragon. I'm j-just looking for a fri-friend." I trembled. Yes, even Leo the Lion is afraid of Dragons, especially this one. It didn't move at all, it just stared intimidatingly at me.

"**You should know better than to enter a Dragon's den. I don't-**" The Dragon was cut off.

"It's okay, Acnologia." A beautiful woman voice said somewhere near the Dragon. It looked down at something under its wings, probably the source of the voice. "It's my Spirit Loke." She said. Is that _Lucy_? How does she know a Dragon? What the _hell _did I miss?

"L-Lucy? Is that _you_?" I asked. Some noises of footsteps on leaves were heard and out from the protection of the Dragons' wings came my favorite blonde stellar mage. She nodded and smiled at me. I ran up to her and held her close into my chest. How'd I let a Dragon so close to her? And that name… She giggled a little. "How do you know that – that _thing_?" I asked while glaring up at the Dragon, which thumped its tail in annoyance. It glared down at me with its dark eyes. She pulled a little back from me.

"Loke, meet my childhood friend Acnologia Tehepo. Acnologia, meet my friend and Spirit, Loke, the Lion Spirit." She said and gestured between us as she mentioned our names. She was friends with a _Dragon_ as little?! She looked up at Acnologia. "It might be better if you're in your Human form." She said apologizing with her eyes. It had a Human form?

The Dragon huffed in annoyance. "**Right.**" A black light surrounded the Dragon, and instead of the mighty creature, stood a young man with black hair which turned blue in the ends, a blue t-shirt with a black leather jacket and black jeans. He was lean and toned, more than Natsu I think. He walked over to us and stretched out his hand to me for a handshake, he was almost as tall as Laxus. I took his hand and we 'greeted' each other silently and glaring at each other.

Now I know what the Spirit King meant with 'Don't kill the guy', I really _wanted_ to kill that Dragon-boy right now. He was a threat to my Princess, just by being a Dragon.

I turned my attention back to my Master, as she was a _far_ better sight than that Dragon. I looked into her brown orbs through my sunglasses. "The Spirit King has agreed to help you train." I smiled. Her eyes widened as I said that. "And we've found a good place to train. One day here is two days there, it's called-" I was cut off by none other than _Dragon_-_boy_.

"The Dragon Realm." He smirked. "Exactly the place _I_ had chosen to train her." He kept up the smirking. I squinted my eyes at him. _He_ had chosen to train her, huh? Well, that wouldn't be necessary now.

Lucy didn't feel the tension between the Dragon-boy and I, she just jumped a little up and down where she stood. "I'm going to train in the _Dragon_ _Realm_! With Moustache-Man, my Spirits _and_ Acnologia! Yay!" She cheered and was overly happy. Even though Dragon-boy and I didn't particularly _like_ each other, we shared a glance, and then chuckled at the blonde Celestial mage. "How did you make _Moustache-Man_ agree to that, Loke?" She asked without having calmed down at all. I smiled at her eagerness.

"Well, I just had to ask, and he agreed, saying, 'Yes Leo, I'll help out with training my old friend's Master, Lucy.'. I think you're the first Celestial mage he has agreed to train with." I smiled at her.

Dragon-boy cleared his throat to get our attention. "Who is this, '_Moustache-Man'_ you're talking about?" He asked. He didn't know the _Spirit_ _King_? Well, he _is_ also just and overgrown lizard, so there can't be much brain up there.

"Moustache-man, or better known as the Spirit King, he's the biggest and strongest Celestial Spirit, which is why he is the King, and no one owns his key." Lucy explained with a smile. Dragon-boy nodded in understanding. I hope he isn't just as dense as Natsu, 'cause I don't feel like dealing with that _again_.

"Right. The training starts tomorrow, and as I'm sure you know, Loke, was it?, you need a _Dragon_, to enter the _Dragon_ Realm, so we need to rest." Dragon-boy said with a smirk as he turned around to his nest and let the black light envelop him again. He had transformed back to his Dragon form and lay down like he had before. "**Lucy you should get in your sleeping bag.**" He said, sending a smirk to me, and tapping the ground lightly with his tail. No, I _didn't_ know you _needed_ a Dragon to enter the Dragon Realm. _Damn_ you, Spirit King! You had this _all_ planned out, didn't you? I could almost hear him laughing in my mind. Lucy nodded and went over to her sleeping bag under his wing, _much_ to my dismay.

Dragon-boy curled his tail protectively around _my_ Master, without her noticing. It made me fume in anger inside. How _dare_ he do _that_ right in front of me? But he was just smirking.

"Goodnight you two." She said, as she cuddled up in her sleeping bag.

"Goodnight Lucy/Princess" Dragon-boy and I said in unison. Lucy giggled her sweet giggle at us. We glared at each other, none of us dropping our gazes. After a while we heard Lucy's drawn out and sleeping breaths. Dragon-boy had turned his gaze to her, and was looking down at her softly, with emotions in his, eh, _'face'_ that I couldn't quite place. I didn't know how to feel about it, but didn't say anything.

"**Loke I have to tell you something.**" Dragon-boy then said in a low voice, completely out of the blue. He hadn't removed his gaze from Lucy. I nodded, urging him to continue. Finally he looked away from Lucy and at me. "**I haven't told Lucy yet, but I will tomorrow before we leave, it is quite important she knows.**" He said slowly. I crawled up in the nest and leaned against a big branch. I didn't say anything, I just waited for him to tell me what it was, he would like to share. "**Well, as Lucy said, we are childhood friends. She was 10 years old when I met her and I was 14. My father, Kurama Tehepo, the Head of the Chaos Clan back then, and Lucy's mother, Layla Heartfilia, were good friends and were **_**finally**_** able to meet after a long time. However, I don't think Lucy knows an important… **_**Part**_** of her mother. Layla Heartfilia was a Peace Dragon, and she was the Head Dragon of her Clan.**" Dragon-boy explained. I widened my eyes. "**You know about the Dragon Community, right?**" He asked. I nodded, still too stunned to speak. "**Good. **_**Originally**_**, my father and Layla were supposed to be mates, because there had been several quarrels between the Chaos Dragons and the Peace Dragons, and that pair **_**would**_** mark the end of that. However Layla fell in love with a human, Jude Heartfilia, and they married. Layla threw away her last name, Mau'Te Rongo, and took her husband's name, Heartfilia.**" Dragon-boy explained.

"So, wait. Lucy's last name is in fact _Mau'Te Rongo_, and not _Heartfilia_. And she has a _Dragon_ inside her, like _you_?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. Dragon's last name always went through the generations, it was much stronger than what humans thought of it.

Dragon-boy nodded. I looked at my hands. So _that_ was the power the Spirit King and I had felt in her? Shit, _how_ do you _tell_ her this kind of thing? "**Yes, exactly. So, continuing on, Layla and my father were obviously not mated, instead, when the other Heads found out the two had gotten children of different genders, it was decided that **_**we**_** mate.**" My head jolted up and I glared at the Dragon. They were supposed to be _mated_?! The _HELL_! How would Lucy react to _that_? What's more, I wouldn't accept that! Well, except if Lucy thought it was okay then… "**Yes, I know it's quite sudden. So my father and I were sent to meet Layla and Lucy, when we were both still very young. Lucy didn't know anything about her mother being a Dragon, **_**or**_** herself for that matter, because when Jude found out Layla was a Dragon, he forbade her to transform into it and to **_**ever**_** tell Lucy about that other side of her. Jude didn't know my father and I were Dragons like Layla, and that we actually were there to rescue her and Lucy from Jude. However, Layla refused to go back to the Dragon Realm, she still loved Jude, and she wouldn't leave him, even if it meant giving up on being a Dragon. She said she would rather **_**die**_** than leave.**" Dragon-boy said, sorrow lacing his voice. I looked at the mighty Dragon, it was weird. Talking to a Dragon like this and seeing its expression of sorrow.

"Which she did." I then said, remembering what Lucy had told about her mother.

The Dragon nodded. "**Yes, she became very sick, because she wasn't allowed to go into her Dragon form for **_**so**_** long. We Dragons need to be in our Dragon forms **_**at least**_** once a week for an entire day, if we want to survive, but it isn't good if we are in our Dragon forms all the time either, it's about the natural balance between the two. Layla hadn't been in her Dragon form for many, **_**many**_** years, which in itself is a miracle she had survived, and soon she died from a sickness no human could ever heal. Jude found out that my father and I were Dragons, and forbade us from ever seeing Lucy again. He also wouldn't let Lucy use magic, as it will trigger her Dragon, when she becomes strong enough. That's what he thought anyway. My father and I tried to break into the Heartfilia Mansion and rescue Lucy, but to no avail. It was too heavily guarded, and with all those guards, no matter how mighty a Dragon it was, it wouldn't have been able to get through.**" Dragon-boy paused and closed his eyes for a while then looked outside in the dark forest. "**One time, when we tried breaking into the Heartfilia Mansion, my father was caught and sent to the Magic Council and was put in jail in Crocus. He is still there now. I'm still trying to figure out how to get him out, and Lucy has promised to help-**" I cut the Dragon off.

"You have _my_ help as well, Acnologia." I said. I had been moved by the Dragon's story, and I began to feel I could trust him. Besides, wherever my Master went, I'd go too. That was part of being a Spirit. The Dragon looked at me and smiled, I think, gratefully.

"**Thank you Loke. Anyway, since my father is being held in Crocus by the Magic Council, I have been appointed the new Head of my Clan, the Chaos Clan.**" I widened my eyes as he told me he was from one of the original Clans. Well isn't this something? I guess I should have figured it out, since he told me his father _was_ Head of the Clan before the whole thing. "**My father had that spot before, but after he got caught, he had no way of being there at meetings and what else. As the new Head of this Clan, and the **_**only**_** one left who knew who Lucy was, I was told that it was my task to get her back to the Dragon Realm. I would have done that anyway, even if the rest of the Dragons hadn't given me that task. So I went out to train and become stronger, and a half a year ago, I tried breaking into the Heartfilia Mansion again. This time, I alone was strong enough to get through it all being Human, as Jude had lessened the defenses a lot. The reason why father couldn't break through before was because he wasn't used to being Human, and so couldn't fight very well, however like a Dragon, he would be a **_**beast**_**. But he couldn't change into his Dragon form at the Heartfilia Mansion, Jude had some magical barrier over the whole thing that prevented us from transforming. Anyway, when I broke through the defenses and reached Jude, he told me that Lucy had run away, but didn't tell me where. So I began searching for her, but soon I discovered my Dragon and I hid here in this forest.**" He ended off.

"And then she just showed up?" I asked. He nodded. "Alright. This is going to be hard to explain to her, but I'll help as much as I can." I said as a cold wind blew in and made me freeze to the bone. I clenched my jaw, so my teeth wouldn't chatter. "Well, as nice as it was speaking with you, I think I'll leave now." I said slowly and tried the best I could not to sound like I was freezing.

Acnologia raised his eyebrow at me, I think. "**So you're just leaving her with me?**" He asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Yeah, I trust you to protect her against whatever would peek its head in here." I smiled. I knew how possessive Dragons could be, and I beloeved this Dragon liked my apparently-a-Dragon Master, so she's safe.

I waved goodbye to the Dragon and went into my Gate, had my flying sensation, and ended up in the Spirit World. "Oh, Lucy _Mau'Te Rongo_, what have you gotten yourself into?" I asked the Lion constellation that I could see clearly from where I stood.

**(Remembering disclaimer) Actually talking of Pokémon, my lil' bro was playing the second generation, I believe, and he was screaming he had found Lugia, which made me think we need a pairing name for Acnologia and Lucy, like Natsu and Lucy (Nalu) and all those. Don't ask me how Pokémon made me think of this, I have no idea. I've come up with LuGia (How **_**creative**_** of me, hm?), the 'traditional' AcLu and AcY, if you come up with ones, I'd be delighted if you share. Unlike Slowpoke. Maybe I'll make a poll about what I'll call them. (If I can figure out how to do **_**that**_** -.-'. I'm really hopeless, aren't I?) Unless, of course, there's already a name for them, which I doubt, but in case, please **_**do **_**tell me. **

**Ah yes, a Guest (He/she was the first) and a lot of others has asked me about whether the pairing was AcnologiaXLucy or not, and if wasn't already obvious, with the thing above ^, then yes, it is indeed an AcnologiaXLucy this one, so I wanted a pairing-name for them ^_^ **

**YOU GUYS PROBABLY WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS… I THINK! IT'S TRANSLATIONS!**

**Layla's last name 'Mau Te Rongo' means 'Peace' in Maori, a language spoken in New Zealand, if I remember correctly, I'm too lazy to look it up. Yeah, I know, it's no good. Sowwyy~. Also, Kurama and Acnologia's last name 'Tehepo' (Really 'te hepohepo', but it just seemed too much) means 'Chaos', I forgot to mention that. :3**

**Thank you xsphinxlady, Proto105, MoonStar1312, Guest, DarkStarnight, Guest, , BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Candumullo09, CelestialGoddessFT, Kurasabe, mariposa28280, RedRose43, slytherintriumvirate, be my lovely, Kayle (Guest), Fairygodmother32, Xx8CrmlSoN8xX, xxPerfectMistakexx, Your Ojou-Sama, Daddys little crazy bitch, Nathy-Chan, snowleopard314, verner2, Gilgamesh The King of Heroes, Tsingy-Me, Angel of spring, Kuragari Uchiha, The Midnight Huntress, belle ride, Metallic Snow, inuyasharocks123, CloudCanivore and all you other readers! Look at all these people…. You warm my heart everyone, you really do. I came home to over 30 mails, all about Fanfiction. You can't even imagine how happy I was and still am! ****Thank you wonderful people! **

~** Line464d**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**I dunno what to write up here… ALL HAIL THE RANDOMNESS!**

**There might be some weird words, but I will explain that in the A/N in the bottom. – Never mind that. Actually **_**do**_** mind that, there are some other translations in the bottom and there was in earlier chapters too, which should be seen. I edited in the translations in the story, so it shouldn't be so annoying to scroll up and down now. Thank you for reading! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: My good friend, Slowpoke, I don't know if you know him, he's pink, has a Derp face and is extremely slow. Yeah, well this friend is so slow, he doesn't realize how good an idea it would be to let me own Fairy Tail. (No offense to Slowpoke, by the way. I love the guy)**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I woke up in the early morning hours. I could see the sun about to rise just above the pine trees. I pulled in the wing, that I had folded out for some reason, and was about to move my tail, when I felt something on it. I looked at my tail, and saw a blonde girl using it as a pillow. Who _is_ she? Why isn't she afraid of me? And why the _heck_ is she using _my_ tail as a pillow?

I tried to figure out who this girl was, when the other day's events flooded my mind. Right, I had found Lucy! And I had to tell her about her mother and everything… Yay? Oh well, it had to be done, might as well be as sooner rather than later.

I could feel that Lucy had become a little cold, so I moved in closer to her and let her use my wing as a kind of cover, hoping to warm her up. It was a little awkward even though she was asleep, and I honestly didn't really want to know how bad it would be when she woke up, but I couldn't have her getting a cold when she was supposed to meet the Heads of the 12 original Dragon Clans and this Spirit King. Ugh, I hoped Metallicana could keep her a secret, he's so troublesome sometimes, that old geezer. I sweat dropped at the thought of the Iron Clan's Head Dragon. Well, it'd be fun to experience. I think.

I felt Lucy begin to move around a little under my wing and looked down at her, sticking my head a little closer. Then she fluttered her eyes open and looked at me. "KYAAAAA!" She screamed and jolted up, backing away from me and falling over my tail. I laughed at her, even though I just scared the life out of her. She looked up at me with wide eyes as I laughed, and then the realization of who I am seemed to rush over her, and she relaxed, dropping her head on the nest sighing. "For Mavis' sake, Acnologia, don't _scare _me like that." She giggled lowly.

"**Sorry Lucy. I actually didn't mean to do it, you just woke up and screamed.**" I laughed. She pouted at me, but a smile crept onto her face. Soon she was laughing with me.

After a while the laughter calmed down, and Lucy wiped her eyes. I felt the heavy matter I had to talk about with her weighing on my shoulders. I tried my best to ignore it, but it was really heavy.

"I'll just get some food ready." Lucy said and moved her hand to her belt.

"**How do you plan on doing that? There's no food in the cave.**" I asked her. She smiled to me.

"I have my ways." She said teasingly. She opened a little pouch that was put on her belt and I saw 14 keys in gold and silver hanging there. Keys? Why was she carrying a bundle of keys around? Oh wait, Layla had them too, so were they-

I was cut out of my thoughts as Lucy had found what she was looking for, a gold key with some weird decorations on it and a heart-like figure at the end. There was a weird symbol, kind of like an 'm', but with other lines in the mix too. Let's just say I had no idea what it all meant. "Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" A golden light appeared in front of her and a maid appeared. She had pink hair and very blue eyes. From her wrists dangled some chains, which made noises as she bowed. She was holding some female clothes in her hands.

"Is it time for my punishment, Hime-Sama?" She asked in a monotone voice. Lucy sweat dropped and I just looked at the weird maid. Punishment? Did Lucy punish her?

"No Virgo, there's no punishment." The maid straightened her back and looked at Lucy. "Virgo, I don't know if Loke already told you, but this is my childhood friend Acnologia. Acnologia this is my Spirit, Virgo the Maiden." Lucy said and introduced us. Virgo nodded and looked up at me. Then she bowed.

"Hello, Acnologia-Sama." She said, not at all affected by me being a Dragon or anything. Then she turned her attention to Lucy. "Hime-Sama, I have brought you your clothes and prepared breakfast for the both of you, shall I bring it?" She asked Lucy, without giving me any time to reply her greeting. Lucy's so much like her mother…

Lucy smiled at her Spirit as she took the clothes the Spirit held. "Yes Virgo, thank you, that would be wonderful. I take it that Loke already has told you, then?" Lucy asked again.

"Yes, Brother had explained that we shouldn't be alarmed if we saw a big black Dragon with you." Virgo said. "I'll get your food." She saluted and left in a flash of golden light. I sweat dropped.

"**Is she **_**always**_** like that?**" I asked. Lucy turned around and looked at me.

"Yeah, she's _always_ like that." She sighed, but with a smile. "I'll just go change." She said and walked towards the exit of the cave, she turned around and looked at me. "No peeking." I, against my will, imagined Lucy changing, and quickly felt my face heat up, luckily I was a Dragon though, so she couldn't see anything. Not sure if I could trust my voice, I just nodded. She smiled back at me and went out.

Shortly after she came back in a black top, which sat tight, a pair of short shorts and the white jacket she wore yesterday. She let her golden hair fall freely and had a ribbon around her wrist. She looked so beautiful…

A golden light appeared again and Virgo appeared with two plates of food. She gave one to Lucy then looked up at me expressionlessly.

"Excuse me, Acnologia-Sama, but you will have to turn back to your Human form." Virgo said in a monotone voice.

"**Of course.**" I replied. How did she know I had a Human form? Had Loke told her? I let my dark magic surround me and transformed into a Human. Virgo nodded and gave me my plate. She then saluted again and left. I looked at the empty spot where Virgo was just before and shook my head. "Well, she's special." I said to Lucy and sat down on my nest next to her.

Lucy nodded. "All my Spirits are. They each have their own special quirks." She smiled. "Which is why I love them all so much." She added. I looked at her. She really meant it; it was evident in her eyes. We slowly began eating the food Virgo had brought us. It tasted really good.

"Lucy, there's something I need to tell you, before we leave to the Dragon Realm." I slowly said, I had decided to tell her now, so she had a little extra time to progress it all. She looked at me with those big, brown eyes.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked innocently. Damn, this was going to be hard.

"Right, please let me say everything I want to say, and then you can ask questions afterwards. Okay?" I asked. She nodded slowly, feeling how heavy the thing I wanted to tell her was. I began explaining everything to her, watching the different emotions pass over her face as I told her everything I told Loke. First shock and then hurt, probably because she felt betrayed that her mother didn't tell her something so important, then more shock and confusion, then _more_ shock and then hate, compassion, most likely with her mother, then sadness as Layla's sickness was mentioned, and at last hate directed at her father. I let out the part of my father capture, as she already knew about that.

She looked like she was on the verge of tears, when I ended my story, but at the same time she really seemed mad. "That old man! I'm going to-" I stopped her before she could go deeper into her hatred to her father.

"Lucy, I know you hate him, but just forget him. Hurting _him_ won't make _you_ feel better, believe me." I said out of experience, with a hand on her shoulder. I didn't feel any better about my father's capture after having beaten all the guards at the Heartfilia Mansion. "It has the opposite effect." Then the tears began to fall. She covered her face in her hands and cried silently. I pulled her into a hug, to try to comfort her, but as I sat in an awkward position, I moved her to my lap, and held her close to my chest. Her little body trembled in silent sobs. A golden light appeared near us and Loke appeared. We exchanged gazes, where I silently told him that I had told her.

He nodded and placed a hand on her back reassuringly. "It's alright, Lucy. We won't let your father hurt you again. I know your life has changed a lot in just a little time and that you feel you've been lied to your whole life, but find the bright points in this." Loke said. Lucy turned her head from my chest and looked at Loke, she didn't say anything about him having come without her calling him. I chose not to say anything as I hadn't seen her in 7 years and didn't know much about her, while Loke did.

"_What_ bright points?" She asked with puffy and tearful eyes.

"The bright point, that you have an _awesome_ power that's just waiting to be discovered, which you can beat Team Natsu up with any day. You have a big bunch of new people- Dragons you have to meet. You'll probably meet a lot of Dragons that will become like a new nakama and you have a family, that won't use you as a tool. You don't have to carry your father's name around any longer, to have that reminder less of the bastard. You have an exciting, new adventure in front of you. And your Mama died fighting for something she believed in, even though it was your a-hole of a father." Loke smiled. Lucy seemed to consider his words, then nodded and smiled weakly at him. Not bad Loke, not bad at all. He had a way with words, which was quite clear. He seemed to hit spot-on with every word. She looked back at me with her now wet, brown eyes.

"When are we going to go to the Dragon Realm?" She asked me eagerly, with excited eyes. Seemingly she had forgotten all about her father. I smiled at her, happy that she'd gotten over her sadness, even though it had ended surprisingly quickly.

"We can leave right now?" I suggested, almost getting as eager as her just by looking at her. Her face lit up at my question. She nodded and stepped away from me to give me space to transform. I chuckled lightly at her eagerness and began transforming. In an instant my body had transformed into that of a Dragons.

I looked down at her from above; she gaped at me with wide eyes. I could smell fear in the air. She's still not used to this? Well, she's going to have a hard time in the Dragon Realm then. Then the scent of fear disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

I picked her up gently with my tail, trying not to frighten her, but she squealed anyway. I did the same to Loke, when she was placed safely on my bag. Much to my disappointment, he didn't squeal.

"**Are you two ready?**" I asked as I walked out of my cave. I felt two sets of feet on my back, moving closer to my neck. One sat where Lucy sat on her first flight, and the other right behind, with his or her legs on either side of the other one. I glanced back at them, and saw Lucy closest to my neck and Loke right behind her and with his arms around her waist. Something moved in the pit of my stomach and it wasn't comfortable.

Lucy smiled her warm and cheery smile at me. "Yeah!" She said loudly. I smiled toothily, ignoring the weird feeling, and then I spread my wings out as we'd reached the outside world. I flapped my wings in two powerful strokes so we floated above the trees. Then I flew higher into the sky, and soon we were over the clouds. I slowed down a little, so we were levitating above the clouds, not moving an inch. Not even a breeze brewed up here, there was as calm and beautiful as always.

I began channeling my magic to a spot in front of us, which every Dragon could do instinctively, and soon enough the portal appeared in the sky in front of us. "**Alright, I'll open the portal to the Dragon Realm. There'll be a weird feeling as if you're shooting through the air weightless. You won't fall off me, there's some weird gravity there.**" I babbled on. "**Anyway, here we go.**" The two didn't get a chance to answer as I shot forward and plunged into the portal with my wings held close into me to get a greater speed. It was a big void-like circle, the portal, you could see stars and blue and reddish shades twisting around in it.

**In the sky above Saraj forest, Earthland **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I watched as a black hole appeared in the sky in front of us. So _that's_ the portal? It looked like the stars were twisted around with streaks of red and a dark blue, almost black color. It was a little like Acnologia's eyes, but darker, if ever possible. The two colors wrapped around each other and blended together to create a dark purple color, which mixed with the red and the blue and twisted around with the two colors. Stars twinkled in the midst of the color-frenzy.

As I admired the vortex, I noticed Acnologia had been explaining something. "**You won't fall off me, there's some weird gravity in there.**" I heard him say. "**Anyway, here we go.**" He said, and before either Loke or I could answer him, he shot forward and plunged into the vortex with his wings pressed into his sides, to gain a greater speed. When we were inside the vortex, he spread his wings out again, to keep balance and to slow down the speed again. The span of his wing was amazing, 100 meters at least. And that was one of them.

I felt this weird sensation, as if I was flying through the air in an incredible speed weightless. I quickly latched onto Acnologia's scales and grabbed them in a vice grip in fear of falling off.

Loke was chuckling behind me. "Were you even listening to what he was saying?"he asked close to my ear, so only I would hear it. I looked back over my shoulder at him and saw the amused glint in his eyes through his sunglasses.

"Of course I was!" I exclaimed. I did hear some of what he said, so it wasn't a complete lie. Wait – '_You won't fall off me_.'. Oh, he probably meant now, in the portal. I slowly released my vice grip on Acnologia's scales and straightened my back.

Loke chuckled behind me again; he obviously knew that I hadn't listened. "Whatever you say, Princess." Loke teased.

All of a sudden, the feeling of shooting through the air weightless stopped, as if we had crashed into a wall, and instead of the twisted colors of the vortex, we now hovered over a wide field. The field had fresh, emerald-green grass and many flowers in beautiful colors scattered everywhere. A little farther away, I could see a river with crystal clear, glittering water twisting in soft curves, on the other side of the river bank, there was a gigantic forest with tall trees with a deep green color of leaves and mighty crowns. The sky was a soft blue color and a few fluffy and white clouds flew around. The sun shone brightly down at the field and lit it all up. Everything in Dragon-size, meaning everything was _gigantic, _but nonetheless a beautiful sight.

"Whoa…" I muttered, mostly to myself, in awe.

Acnologia slowly dove down and landed carefully on the ground. "**Yeah, I know. I have that very same expression every time I get here.**" He said slowly. "**Welcome to the Dragon Realm you two.**" He chuckled. Loke and I bumped up and down in tact with Acnologia's laughs. He quieted down in an instant and stared hard at the forest on the other side of the river. "**Someone's coming. Stay silent and hide.**" Acnologia muttered to us. Loke nodded and sent me a glance, telling me I could call him if I needed to, and then disappeared to the Spirit World. I slowly and carefully crawled under one of Acnologia's wings and hid there. I could only just see the ground from my sitting place, but not much more.

Acnologia looked sideways towards the forest, hiding me from the sight of the incoming Dragons.

Soon I heard flaps of wings, more than one pair, 5 I think. The sounds came closer in a somewhat fast pace. I felt a gust of wind, even under Acnologia's wing, playing with my hair and saw 5 sets of Dragon legs and feet landing. One in a light blue color, two in a darker blue, but still light, and two black. Well that's just _perfect_.

Acnologia pressed his wing a little closer to me, and thus hiding me completely from the sight of the Dragons and reversed too.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

5 Dragons landed in front of me. The Sky Dragons usually had the guard duty, to see who entered and left the Dragon Realm through the portals, but today two Chaos Dragons followed along with three Sky Dragons, and even more surprising, one of those Sky Dragons was the Head Dragon, Grandine Rangi. Why was she on the guard duty? Isn't there other things she needs to attend to?

"**Acnologia. I thought you were told to only come back when you had found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" Grandine said with her soft and kind voice. Even though her words were a little harsh, she spoke politely and kindly, not threateningly at all. Many thought she was the most beautiful of the Head Dragons. I often thought the very same thing. Grandine had light blue, almost white, scales covering her long and elegant body. She had a long neck and a long tail. Her wings were angel-like, made up of the purest white feather, although they were a little draconic in their form. She had the same pure, white feathers trailing down her neck and down to the end of the tail, only adding to her gracefulness. The feathers was the trademark of the Sky Dragons, they all had them somewhere on their body. Her horns were long and curved first down and then up, the end of it pointing in the sky. They were a soft purple color and her long claws were the same soft purple color. Her eyes were a sky blue color, maybe a little lighter.

"**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine.**" I greeted and bowed my head slightly. "**Ae (Yes), I know I was told to only come back when I've found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one), **_**but I have an errand I need to take care of.**" I lied. I always hated lying to Grandine; she was the one of the Dragons that was the first to come to me, when my father was put in the Magic Council's jail. Grandine looked at me with a slight frown on her beautiful face and then nodded.

The little Chaos Dragon next to Grandine was jumping up and down in excitement and with sparkles in its eyes. The little Dragon was jet black, just like me. He had swirly patterns, which were connected all over his little form, a little like the marks I had, they were a dark blue color. His wings were more traditional than mine, although a little extra pointy in the ends, they were covered in the same patterns as on the rest of him. All the way down his back and to the middle of his tail, there were those fan-like things I also had on the end of my tail and my head, they were the trademark of the Chaos Dragons and, just like with the Sky Dragons, we had them somewhere on us. They were the same dark blue color as his swirls. Basuril's horns were small, since he was still young, but the curled slight down and around and were a dirty white color, his claws likewise dirty white. His eyes were a bright shade of yellow

I recognized the little Dragon as my cousin Basuril Tehepo. He was a prodigy among the Chaos Dragons, he had discovered his Dragon at the age of 7, which is highly unusual, normally we first discover our Dragon at the age of 15 or later, but this little guy had at half the time. It didn't surprise me that out of all the Chaos Dragons, he was the one to be on Guard duty, he didn't particularly excel in fighting, but he was extraordinarily fast, so he could fly back and pass the message if there was trouble.

He stared at me with those sparkly eyes as he couldn't contain his excitement. He was 8 now, and he had always seen me as his big brother, for some reason that is still unknown to me, and he looked up to me like he looked up to no other Dragon.

I smiled at the little Dragon as he happily skipped over to me. "**Ac-nii-chan! I've missed you so much!**" He exclaimed happily and nuzzled into my leg. He only reached to about my shoulder, since he was so young. Luckily, he had chosen the opposite side of Lucy.

"**I've missed you too Basuril. It's been a long time, hasn't it?**" I smiled down at the little Dragon.

Basuril nodded quickly, but with even more sparkles in his eyes than before. "**Way too long!**" He exclaimed. "**It's those stupid Head Dragons' fault! They shouldn't dump the task of finding **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_** all on you and then forbid you from coming to the Dragon Realm **_**without **_**her!**" He added. I sweat dropped at the little Dragon's energy and his bravery for saying something like that about the Head Dragons, when one of them was in his presence. Grandine cleared her throat behind the Dragon. Basuril whipped his head back and stared at the Head Sky Dragon. Then he beamed innocently at her. "**Except you, Grandine-sama, you're **_**always**_** nice and kind!**" He reassured her. I shook my head at my cousin. Basuril, Basuril, Basuril.

I looked at the three other Dragons. The other Chaos Dragon was Basuril's father, Dragovin Tehepo. He, like his son, was black and with a dark blue swirl pattern, although it was a darker shade of blue and bigger and wider. He was basically just a bigger form of Basuril. His wings were the same, halfway traditional Dragon wings and also covered in the swirls. He had dark blue fans going down his back, which stopped halfway down his tail. His horns were the same dirty white as Basurils', except full-grown, and his claws likewise. His eyes were also yellow, although a lighter shade of it.

The other two Sky Dragons were the twins Hasora and Gasarem Rangi. They looked an awful lot like each other, they were both a sky blue color, which was a little darker than Grandines' eyes. They had a gold-ish belly. Their wings were the traditional Dragons' wings, with fours 'fingers', as I preferred calling them. Their wings were the sky blue color on the back and the gold-ish color on the inside. They had small feathers on the back of their heads, a little like my fans, and on the back of their legs, just under where they connected with their torso, and down to their knee, in a bluish white color. The only differences between the two, was that the small replicas' of Grandine's horns were that Hasora's were light gray and Gasarem's were a darker gray, and their eyes, where Hasora's were a mix between pink and purple and Gasarem's a cerulean blue and the fact that Hasora was a girl and Gasarem a boy.

I glanced at Grandine and locked gazes with her. She silently asked me if there was something I wanted to tell her, and I nodded slightly. She looked into my eyes again and then nodded. She cleared her throat to get the attention of the surrounding Dragons, mainly Basuril, who had skipped over to Hasora and Gasarem and chatted happily with them about completely unrelated thing, pissing them slightly off in the process.

All Dragons shifted their gaze to the Head Sky Dragon. "**The four of you can go back now, I need to speak with Acnologia.**" She said, making no room for discussion. The surrounding Dragons nodded, except Basuril, who was pouting.

He shook his head defiantly. "**But Ac-nii-chan just came back! I wanna be with him!**" He exclaimed disobediently. Dragovin stepped forward and was about to say something, when Grandine beat him to it.

"**Basuril, go back with your father. This is not an offer, this is an order.**" She said firmly, but not harshly. The little Chaos Dragon was just about to say something, but stopped himself and looked at the ground, muttering an apology. He slowly walked toward his father, who looked disapprovingly at his son.

Basuril looked up at me with sad eyes. "**Goodbye, Ac-nii-chan.**" He said to me with a low, sad voice.

I chuckled a little at the little Dragon. "**I'll see you later, Basuril.**" I said as I knew I was going to stay in the Dragon Realm for a while. He beamed at me, suddenly changing his mood completely, earning a sweat drop from all of the surrounding Dragons.

The four Dragons spread their wings and flew off. I watched as Basuril sped off away from the others and wondered what the little trickster was up to.

When they were out of sight, I turned to Grandine and faced her. "**So what is it you wanted to tell me?**" Grandine asked with her kind eyes, urging me to share my little secret under my wing.

"**Well, you see Grandine-**" I started as I began relaxing my wing and moving my tail to wrap it around Lucy's waist gently. "**I have actually already found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (the Lost one)**_**.**" I said and pulled Lucy out from under my wing.

**Over the forest, Dragon Realm **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I flew over the forest,Socubedo, with my father and Hasora and Gasarem. I smiled, I had a plan. I sped up, flying a little faster over the forest. I looked back over my shoulder at my father. "**I'm going to the playgrounds!**" I said as I quickened my speed. My father nodded and I went full speed.

After flying for a little while, I looked back over my shoulder at the smaller and smaller adult Dragons. When they were out of sight, I quickly dove down in the forest and flew silently back to where I had come from. When the others flew past me, I hovered motionlessly in the air hidden under the tree-crowns and waited till they were gone. Then I sped up and flew in a faster pace back to the field. I dodged every tree effortlessly, and soon the Socubedo forest thinned and I knew I was getting close.

I landed on the ground without making any noises and walked silently closer to the field, where I saw Ac-nii-chan and Grandine-sama looking in the direction of where we had flown. Then they turned and looked at each other. "**So what was it you wanted to tell me?**" Grandine-sama asked.

"**Well, you see Grandine-**" Ac-nii-chan started and moved around with the wing opposite of me and stuck his tail under it. "**I have actually already found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one).**_" He said and pulled something out from under his wing. Ac-nii-chan had found _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_? Why didn't he tell us back then?

I looked as Ac-nii-chan pushed a blonde female Human out in front of Grandine-sama. Huh? Wasn't _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_ supposed to be a Dragon? Had this girl not found her Dragon yet?

I decided to stay hidden in the shadows of the trees and listen to Ac-nii-chan and Grandine-sama's conversation.

**On the field, Dragon Realm **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Acnologia reached for me with his tail, and wrapped it around my waist. "**I have actually already**__**found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" He put me down on the ground and pushed me forward gently with his tail.

I looked up at Grandine in front of me. She was so big, like Acnologia, but even taller than him and had a long neck. She was beautiful, had light blue, almost white, scales covering her entire body and then the angel-like wings in white and same with her graceful, long horns. She had white feathers going down from her back and ending at her tail. She looked at me with wide, light blue eyes.

Then she looked up at Acnologia again. "**Is she **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" She asked incredulously. I knew that 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' was me, it was quite obvious after the way Acnologia had tensed his wing whenever those words were mentioned. However, I didn't know what they meant. Acnologia nodded, and Grandine looked at him for a while, then nodded and looked down at me again. She lowered her head down so she was looking into my eyes. Then she smiled a kind smile to me. "**Hello, **_**Ngaro**__**kotahi (Lost one)**_**, or should I say Lucy Mau'Te Rongo?**" She asked kindly and with her soft and graceful voice.

I just stared at the Dragon in front of me with slightly widened eyes, speechless. This was the Dragon Wendy had called her mother, the one that suddenly disappeared. I mentally slapped myself and regained my ability to talk. "Hi, I'm Lucy Hear- _Mau'Te Rongo_, but just call me Lucy." I smiled my usual warm smile at the Dragon.

She looked at me with her beautiful sky-blue eyes. "**Alright, Lucy. We have a **_**lot**_** to talk about.**" Grandine said with a kind voice. She lay down gracefully and then raised her head up above me. Acnologia sat down as well. Grandine looked at Acnologia. "**How much does she already know?**" She asked.

"**She knows about the whole Dragon Community and-**"Acnologia started, but was interrupted by Grandine.

"**Acnologia, you **_**know**_** that wasn't what I was asking.**" Grandine said with a calm and firm tone. I looked between the two Dragons, wondering when I'd be included in this conversation again.

"**Ae (yes), I'm sorry.**" Acnologia apologized, and then continued. "**She knows about Layla and Kurama, and the two of us, she also knows about Jude Heartfilia and what he did.**" Acnologia said slowly and looked down at me with sad eyes. Oh, so _that's_ what this was about? My life? Well, that's just fantastic, just what I needed.

"**Okay, what about herself?**" Grandine asked him. Okay, _seriously_, how long are they going to keep me out of all of this? I felt a vein about to pop near my temple.

Acnologia took a deep breath. "**I haven't told her about that yet.**" He muttered.

Grandine nodded and looked down at me with her beautiful face from above. "**Well, Lucy. You know how your mother was a Dragon and was the Head Dragon of the Peace Clan, right?**" Grandine asked with her kind voice. I nodded, the fact that my mother was a Dragon had not completely sunk in yet, even though I knew it, I couldn't believe it. "**Good. Well, that also means that you, child, were supposed to be the Head of the Peace Clan when you mother passed away.**" I felt a pain in my heart when Mama's death was mentioned. But then the words sunk in and I gaped slightly. I was supposed to be the _Head _of the_ Peace Clan_, but I wasn't a Dragon I was a Human. "**However due to your father locking you away in that mansion of his and never letting you go, and us being unable to get you out, your aunt, Silvia Mau'Te Rongo has taken the spot.**" Grandine said with a smile. "**You'll get the spot as the Head Dragon of your Clan when you're ready; we just have to awaken the Dragon inside you.**" Grandine said softly and looked at me with equally soft and kind eyes. I just kept gaping at her. _My_ Dragon? _I_ had a Dragon inside me? Since when?

"B-but, I-I don't have a D-Dragon inside me. I'm Human." I insisted stammering, as I realized that my words were not true. My mother was a Dragon, I was the daughter of the Head Dragon of the Peace Clan, so naturally I would have my own Dragon too. Why hadn't I figured that out?

Grandine smiled sweetly down at me. "**Lucy, I know this is a hard blow to you, but remember that both I and your mate, Acnologia, will be here for you, if you would ever have questions.**" She said as if she was explaining something to a child. I nodded slowly at the Dragon in front of me. Yes, that was right; Acnologia was my _mate,_ whatever that meant. I chose that now would be the best time to ask.

"G-Grandine?" I stammered, the mighty and beautiful Dragon locked gazes with me. "W-what does it mean that Acnologia is m-my mate?" I asked, close to tears.

Grandine looked down at me with a shocked expression, she looked up at Acnologia with a disapproving look. "**Well, why don't we let him explain for himself?**" She asked, still looking at Acnologia, although squinting her eyes slightly.

Acnologia visibly gulped and nodded slowly. The whole situation reminded me of Team Natsu and how Erza usually scared the two boys. I cut off the thought there and focused my attention at Acnologia.

He looked down at me with his dark blue eyes and sat straight with his tail over his front feet. "**O-okay, uhm, you see, i-it's like this-**" He stammered unable to get the words out. What about it was so hard? He sighed, inhaled deeply and continued. "**Well, it is – how do I explain this – kinda like a marriage in the human world. Except it's a little different.**" He paused then shook his head. "**Okay, scratch that, it's **_**very **_**different. It's – a little like a human marriage – where two Dragons bind their lives together, unlike with the humans though, this bond can't be broken, the two Dragons will be together until one of them dies, and the whole thing **_**doesn't**_** happen in public, it's quite personal actually. When one of them dies, the other will slowly grow insane with the grief from losing their mates.**" I gasped at this and looked at him with a horrified expression. Acnologia looked down at me, and continued quickly. "**You know, Dragon's senses and abilities are enhanced to that of a human, and so are their feelings. So when a pair of Dragon **_**mates**_**, their feelings towards the other will **_**also**_** be deepened, even more than they already were. If they love each other deeply, then that will be enhanced, and when the other dies, the grief the mate will feel would also be **_**worse**_** than that of a human. However, if the mating takes place when one of them is forced into it and hates its mate, then those feelings will also be heightened, but even if the mate then dies, the Dragon will still feel an immense pain and grief with the loss. And there's no way to break it, if a pair of Dragons have been mated. They'd live with each other and those feelings the rest of their **_**lives**_**.**" Acnologia explained in one long go. He looked a little flustered when he was done explaining, but I didn't think much of it. I was just staring at him as if I had seen a ghost. My face had paled completely. S-so I was supposed to _mate_ with Acnologia, and have it stay that way the rest of my life? I was speechless, completely unable to say or do a thing. How are you _supposed_ to react to something like this?

Acnologia looked down at me with an apologetic look. "**I'm sorry I didn't explain earlier, but… I didn't find the **_**right**_** time to tell you.**" He apologized, and then moved his head down so it was just inches away from me. "**But remember, if it doesn't work out for you, or you don't **_**want**_** to go through with it, then we **_**won't**_** do it. Okay?**" He asked me with a serious expression. I nodded slowly as I processed everything I was just told. He lifted his head up again. If it didn't work out for me, then we wouldn't do it. But what about himself? Wait… Does that mean-.

"**That just about covered it.**" Grandine said, I turned around to look at her. A smile appeared on Grandines' face. "**Except you **_**should**_** know that he will become extremely possessive. You, of course, will also become slightly possessive, but the males are **_**always**_** worse.**" Grandine smirked at Acnologia who looked to the side with a frown. She fixed her gaze on me again, and smiled at me with her kind smile. "**I know this is all hard for you to understand, and much less believe, but it'll come. Now I think you should meet the other Head Dragons, what do you say?**" She asked. I thought about it and nodded, as I didn't completely trust my voice. Acnologia cleared his throat, drawing both Grandine's and my attention.

"**Well, Grandine. We didn't **_**just**_** come here because we wanted to meet you and the Head Dragons and announce her retrieval; we **_**originally**_** came here to train Lucy.**" Acnologia said. Oh yeah, that's right, that was our original goal, wasn't it? Grandine looked at him with an incredulous expression. "**Ae, ae (Yes, yes). I know. We'll explain when everyone's here.**" Acnologia said. He glanced down at me for approval and I nodded. Might as well tell them.

Grandine nodded slowly and stood up. "**Alright, I'll just call our messenger.**" She smiled knowingly at Acnologia, who looked amused in return. I wondered what silent conversation the two of them were having. Grandine smiled down at me with that knowing smile. "**Lucy there's someone you have to meet. He's a bit of a prodigy, actually.**" She looked over towards the forest. "**Basuril, you can come out now.**" She said a little louder to something in the forest. I followed her gaze and soon a Dragon stepped out from the shadows of the trees. It was all black with a dark blue swirl pattern. It had pointy wings that were also decorated with the swirls. It had dark blue fan-like things going down its back and curling, white horns. It had two bright yellow eyes. It was much smaller than both Grandine and Acnologia. Actually it looked like a little kid and the pout on its face didn't help it.

"**Aww, Grandine-sama, how could you see me **_**all**_** the way over there?**" It complained, spread its wings and flew over the river. That was the Dragon who fussed over Acnologia before; it was supposed to go with his father and two other Dragons. Why is it here now?

"**I didn't **_**see**_** you, I **_**heard**_** you.**" Grandine smiled. She looked at me again. "**This is Basuril Tehepo. He's a Chaos Dragon just like Acnologia; actually the two of them are cousins.**" She moved her gaze to Basuril again, as he slowly walked across the field, still pouting because he was discovered. I thought they were brothers. Why does Basuril call Acnologia 'Ac-nii-chan' then? "**As you've probably noticed, Basuril is much smaller than Acnologia and I, that is because he is only 8 years old and discovered his Dragon at the age of 7. Normally you first discover you Dragon when you are 15 or older, but Basuril is quite the rule-breaker. **_**Aren't**_** you Basuril?**" She asked the little guy.

Basuril took the last few steps up to us. Standing here close up, I could see his full height. He was just as high as a big horse, and went to Acnologia's shoulder. He bowed his head at Grandine. "**Ahau pouri (I'm sorry) Grandine-sama, but I was just **_**so**_** curious and I haven't seen Ac-nii-chan for a **_**long**_** time.**" He sent the big Dragon irresistible puppy eyes. "**Can you **_**forgive**_** me?**" He asked with a childish tone. I almost squealed at the pure cuteness of the little Dragon. Grandine sighed and nodded, she couldn't resist those eyes either. Basuril beamed at her and then shifted his gaze to stare at me. "**So **_**you're**__**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" He asked with a smile. I nodded, not quite sure how I should react to the Dragon. He beamed at me and wagged his tail. "**Really? This is so **_**cool**_**! Ac-nii-chan has told me a **_**lot**_** about you!**" He exclaimed and buried his head in my stomach. I slowly began patting the little Dragons head and looked up at Acnologia, asking what to do. He just gave me a shrug before averting his gaze somewhere else.

I looked down at the little Dragon, who was nuzzling his head into my stomach. "Is that so? Well, I hope it was good things he said then." I said to him and stroke his scales. They were nice to touch, and felt a little like snake-skin.

Basuril moved back and nodded at me. "**I can't **_**wait**_** to tell my friends about this!**" He exclaimed happily.

Grandine gave him a hard stare. "**Basuril, it is **_**very**_** important that you **_**don't**_** say anything about Lucy to the other Dragons, they must not hear it. Yet, anyway.**" Grandine said firmly. Basuril tilted his head and stared at her questioningly. She sighed. "**You can't tell anyone because she isn't quite ready to meet them yet.**" Grandine explained softly. Basuril formed an 'o' with his mouth and nodded.

"**Alright, Basuril. We need you to go get the Head Dragons of the original Clans, okay?**" Acnologia asked. "**Please don't say the real reason why they have to come, just say it's urgent and that Grandine and I need to speak with them.**" He explained.

Basuril jumped up and down in the air a few times. He nodded quickly, spread his wings and took off towards the forest. We all watched as the little Dragon flew off in a crazy speed. I sweat dropped at his energy. "He has _some_ energy." I said slowly. The two others nodded in agreement.

"**Well then we'll just have to wait for them to show up.**" Grandine said and lay down again.

"**Although I already have edited the translations into the story, there might also be other things down in the translations you might want to check out. So please look at the translations when you read. Thank you.**" Line464d said. "**Heh, I'm sorry for maybe or maybe not tricking you here, but I was afraid you wouldn't read it if I didn't do it like this. ^_**^" Line464d smiled to all of her followers, favoriters, reviewers and readers apologetically.

**Lucy you lucky girl, having two too-handsome-for-their-own-good boys caring for you and all, AND an awesome power that in the end lets you transform into a Dragon and kick Team Natsus' butts. **_**Who**_** in their right minds **_**wouldn't**_** want that? Except straight boys maybe, they'd probably rather have it ladies than boys, am I right?**

**I know I'd LOVE to be a friggin' Dragon, I could easily live without the two guys if I could transform into a Dragon! I couldn't use two boys to anything, I only need one, and I'd really hate picking between them. Dragon and Single, I could live with that. At least I know I'm AWESOME! Maybe I'm just weird. Yeah. That's it. Does everyone agree? ^_^**

**I hope my descriptions are alright, and you can somewhat picture the Dragons and other persons in your minds.**

**Oh, and 'Socubedo' is the name of the forest, just so you don't get too confused ;)**

**TRANSLATIONS**

'**Te áheitanga katoa' means 'hello' in, funny enough, Maori, and 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' means 'The Lost one', 'Ae' means 'Yes'. I've decided that the original Dragon language will be Maori. I am deeply sorry to you Maori-folk out there if I spell anything wrong or anything, but I'm just using Google Translate and translating every word separately, so…. Yeah. Grandine's last name 'Rangi' means 'Sky'. 'Ahau pouri' means 'I'm sorry'. Oh, my, there'll be a lot of things I'll have to translate. .-. I'm looking forward to it (Not really). **

**Just me wondering out loud… But is a Dragons' foot called a 'foot' or a 'paw'? Hmm….. I dunno! HELP ME?!**

**Thank you Liune, naru 11, riridreaheart, Daddys little crazy bitch, Dyeni, inuyasharocks123, f-k-iamanotaku-yeah, phamali2003, FluffyMiracle, CloudCarnivore, Naeda Deasly, pianogirl2016, Guest, Borntostalku, anubas, dashort12, Lucifer's remnants, Darkangelslayer, Your Ojou-Sama, Ayama-knight, cbrezzy0101, natachoco, .52, Moonstar1312, natsuxlucyrulez, FairyTail123 (Guest), clumzybeans and all you other readers, for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! We're nearing 100 followers already, and it's only just passed a month! ****THANK YOU PEOPLE!**

~** Line464d**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**WE'VE REACHED OVER 100 FOLLOWERS ALREADY! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! I am so happy, I can't even express myself. I never expected my story to grow so rapidly, it hasn't been much more than a month! Thank you, thank you, thank you for following my story!**

**Okay dudes and dudettes, there'll be a LOT of introductions to new peo- Eh, **_**Dragons**_**, in this chapter, so stay sharp ;)**

**Naeda Beasley mentioned that maybe it would be better if I put the Maori words in parenthesis, because it was annoying to scroll down all the time. So, I will try it out in this chapter, plus also having the translations in the bottom, just because. Although I put the words in parenthesis, I advise you to look in the bottom anyway, there might be some other translations, which is not a part of their speech. Anyway, please tell me what you prefer! Oh, and thank you so much Neada Beasley for mentioning it. Don't hesitate to tell me if you find anything else I could do better!**

**Ah and, not quite as good of an announcement, I have to go on a vacation once again. To make long story short; divorced parents, mom wants to outdo father, but will never be able to do so. Quite sad, really. It's only 10 days this time though, as it is my father I'm going with. Some may say I'm lucky, going on two long vacations, but actually it easily becomes too much. I have no room to complain though, they just mean all the good things in the world.**

**Anyway, look there, spilling unnecessary life-story… Ah well, hope I didn't bore you too much. I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail, the profit goes to him.**

**The Dragon Realm, over Socubedo forest **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I flew at top speed towards the Fire Clan. I had decided I'd start out there. It was also the one of the Clans closest by. The Socubedo forest, passed by under me too fast for the eye to see.

So Ac-nii-chan had found _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one) _all this time? That's quite impressive, I bet finding her was like finding a needle in a stack of hay. That girl, she seemed nice too. And she's pretty. I bet Ac-nii-chan likes her. I puffed out my cheeks, trying to keep my laughter back, but I couldn't hold it back, so I burst out laughing. Flying midair at my top speed and all. It was just too hilarious. Ac-nii-chan in love with _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_? Pfft, no way!

Then I remembered something. "**But… Weren't they supposed to be mates?**" I mumbled to myself. I thought about it, but after a while shook my head. So what if they were? Ac-nii-chan is too cool for _any_ girl!

In the midst of my thoughts, I bumped into someone. The impact threw me out of my thoughts, I backed a little and looked up into a green eye. "**Ahau pouri (I'm sorry), I didn't see you.**" I said and looked down in shame and embarrassment.

"**Oh no, it's quite alright.**" The Dragon said with a female voice, she began giggling. I glanced up at her. She was a beautiful, long, slender orange Dragon; she had a pair of big wings and a long neck. Her belly was sand-colored and down her back and to her tail were spike-like things that resembled fire, the trademark of the Fire Dragons, in a flaming red color. She had two horns too, sand-colored just like her belly. They weren't quite as long and graceful as Grandine-sama's, but they were kinda long too and looked like a pair of spikes, that curled gently down in the ends. Her wings were quite wide and that orange color. So I had reached the Fire Clan already? Somehow she seemed vaguely familiar to me. She looked down at me with her emerald-green eyes. "**Wait, aren't you the little guy from the Chaos Clan? Basuril Tehepo, if I remember correctly?**" She asked kindly, but firmly. Just like Grandine-sama.

I nodded slowly, not sure what else to do. "**Yeah, that's me.**" I confirmed, still a little embarrassed that I'd bumped into her like that.

She smiled down at me. "**I was right. Well, Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) little one.**" She greeted.

I beamed at her, she seemed nice. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lady! Oh, and what's your name, by the way?**" I asked, still grinning.

She looked a little baffled by my question, but quickly regained her composure. "**You don't know who I am?**" I shook my head and she began giggling again. "**Well, Basuril, I'd have thought you would be able to recognize the Fire Clans Second in Command, Chylirobi Kapura.**" She kept on giggling. I backed away again and knelt down in midair. How could I not have seen? This the Second in Command, for goodness sake!

"**I apologize for my insolence! It was wrong of me to not recognize you, Chylirobi-sama!**" I said quickly. Uhh, I used such a big word!

Chylirobi-sama laughed at me. "**Oh, get up Basuril-kun, no need to kneel for me. Everyone forgets now and then.**" She reassured me. I looked up at her shyly and got up from my kneeling position. I flapped my wings a pair of times to regain my balance. "**Where are you going, anyway?**" She asked after I'd gotten my balance back. I was about to answer when someone cut me to it.

"**Chylirobi~. Who are you talking to up there?**" A voice called out to Chylirobi-sama. I could see a vein pop at her temple. The other Dragon flew up next to Chylirobi-sama. He was bigger than her, much bigger. He was as red as fire and his wings were ginormous! His neck and tail were relatively short though, compared to Chylirobi-sama anyway. His belly was a dark orange, almost red, color. His wings were giant, much, much, _much _bigger than the female Dragons with flaming red color on the side pointing to the sky and the dark orange on the side pointing to the ground. He had the spikes-like flames around the back of his head instead of a pair of horns and down to the middle of his neck in a dark red color, running in two lines, one for each nonexistent horn. At the end of his tail, the same flame-like spikes covered it completely, making it look like the tail was on fire. His eyes were onyx and staring right at me. Th-that was the Fire Clans Head Dragon! Igneel Kapura! "**Ohh, isn't this the little prodigy Basuril Tehepo from the Chaos Clan?!**" Igneel-sama asked excitedly.

I knelt down again towards Igneel. "**Ae (Yes) sir! I'm Basuril Tehepo of the Chaos Clan! At your service, sir!**" I said a little too loudly.

The big Dragon chuckled at me. "**Just call me Igneel, kid.**" He laughed. I nodded in my kneeling position. "**Get up already.**" He said amusedly. I got up quickly, standing stiffly and saw him smiling toothily at me. His sharp fangs were showing, but somehow it wasn't intimidating, it was friendly. "**That's better.**" He nodded at me. "**Now, why are you here, kid?**" He asked, still grinning.

I told him what Ac-nii-chan told me to tell the Head Dragons. "**You have to meet Grandine-sama in the clearing on the other side of the Socubedo forest.**" Igneel-sama raised an eyebrow. "**I was told it was quite urgent, Igneel-sama.**" I said and bowed my head slightly in respect as mother had taught me to when addressing higher ranked Dragons.

Chylirobi-sama made an understanding face. "**So that's why you're here, Basuril-kun.**" She nodded at herself.

I nodded. "**Yeah, now I just need to talk with the other Head Dragons.**" I sighed. It would take some time. How was I going to get them all together in so short time? It was practically impossible. Not to mention I had to get to the Head Dragons first, this time with Igneel-sama, I was lucky, but who says that it will be like this with the others? Maybe I won't even get the chance to speak with them.

Igneel-sama coughed and pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him. "**I see. Kid, seeing as you're still a kid, I'll have Chylirobi here assist you.**" Chylirobi-sama glared at Igneel-sama and a vein was just about to burst when Igneel-sama continued. "**You'll need her help if you want to talk with the others. Some of them might not even let you talk with them.**" Igneel-sama ended off.

Chylirobi-samas' vein had only grown bigger as Igneel-sama spoke. "**Why do **_**I**_** have to do it?**" She asked, rather furious. I looked nervously between the two, I didn't want to come in between them or anything.

Igneel-sama looked at her with bored eyes. Then they lit up in amusement. "**Because **_**I**_** have to talk with Grandine, and I don't have **_**time**_** to guide this kid around.**" He smiled. "**Besides, you'd never turn down a kid like him, would you?**" He asked with a glint in his eyes.

It somehow seemed to calm Chylirobi-sama somewhat down. "**Right, I'll do it.**" She sighed in exasperation and looked at me with her green eyes. "**Come on, Basuril-kun. We'll get the rest of the Head Dragons.**" She flapped her wings and flew off in the direction of the Ice Clan.

I flapped my wings a little faster and caught up to her. "**Right!**" I cheered. I heard mighty strokes of wings behind me, and saw Igneel-sama speed off over the Socubedo forest. When he moved his muscles with the sun lighting up his scales, it looked like he was on fire. "**Whoa…**" I muttered to myself.

Chylirobi-sama looked back at me, as I had fallen a little back. "**What is it, Basuril-kun?**" She followed my gaze to the Head Fire Dragon and shook her head lightly. "**That big showoff.**" She muttered by herself. "**Are you coming Basuril-kun?**" She asked me over the wind.

"**Coming!**" I yelled over the wind and raced up to her. We flew off to the Ice Clan to get the Head Ice Dragon.

**In the Clearing near Socubedo **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The three of us, Acnologia, Grandine and I, were sitting on the field, enjoying the gentle breezes in silence. Grandine was lying on her stomach with her head on her clawed feet and enjoyed the warm sunlight on her scales and the gentle breezes in her feathers. I was sitting on Acnologia's foot with my back leaning against his leg. He said he didn't mind, so I had planted myself there. I closed my eyes and let the warm sunlight heat up my skin.

I opened my eyes again and glanced at the big Sky Dragon. So that was Wendys' foster mother? I could see some of Wendy in the Dragon, she'd probably adopted the Dragons' personality traits after having been with her in so many years. Although Wendy was a bit more timid while this Dragon was quite firm with its words. It was so weird to know that I was meeting the little, sweet girls' long lost mother, who she was still looking for. I had to ask her why she'd left her child some day.

"**One of them is soon here…**" Grandine mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes. How did she know that? Oh, right, her Dragon-senses. She could probably already hear whoever was approaching. I briefly wondered why I didn't have that same ability, but blamed the fact that I didn't know until now. I looked at the sky over the forest on the other side of the river. In the distance a little black dot could be seen.

Acnologia hummed a little in agreement and was looking at the approaching dot as well. The dot had come a little closer already, and I could see the wings on either side of it. The before black dot was now red.

And soon enough, a mighty Dragon landed near us. It was very red and with a dark orange belly. As the sun hit the scales, it seemed like the Dragon was on fire. While the span of its wings was wider than Acnologia's - which says something – the flaming red on the outside and the dark orange on the inside, the tail and neck seemed somewhat short for his big size. It had fire-like spikish things trailing down from his head, as a replacement for horns in two parallel lane – if you could call it that, and down to the middle of its neck. The end of its tail was also covered in those flame-spikes, making it seem like it was on fire. His eyes were a dark onyx color. Just like Natsu's… It was much bigger than either of the Dragons I'd seen so far, so let me just say I was terrified, it seemed to be dangerous, and could kill me at any moment.

"**Igneel Kapura, good you could come.**" Grandine said still lying down, and peering at the big Dragon with one eye. Is this big red Dragon really Igneel, Natsu's father? No wonder about all the similarities then. Wait, no. He was just the foster father, not the actual one. It was weird they both had onyx eyes though, weird coincidence. I instantly calmed down at the knowledge of him being Natsu's foster father. I was often told how nice Natsu found the Dragon to be. I got up from Acnologia's foot and stood up in front of it instead.

Igneel looked at Grandine and a wide smile stretched over his face. "**Grandine~! It's such a long time since you called me last, why don't you call me more often?**" Igneel whined childishly. I sweat dropped at the big Dragon, now knowing where Natsu's personality came from. How can such a big and mighty Dragon act so childishly? It was just… Wrong.

Grandine closed her eye again and turned her head away from the red Dragon. "**Because I don't need you.**" She said flatly. That's kinda harsh, Grandine.

Igneel pouted. "**Aww… Grandine~.**" He whined again. I smiled a little at their discussion. When Grandine didn't respond, Igneel turned his head to Acnologia and his smile stretched out again. "**Acnologia! How have you been doing? And what's that on your foot?"** Igneel asked and looked down at me in front of Acnologia's foot, without giving Acnologia time to reply. "**A HUMAN?!**" He yelled and jumped backwards in shock. I smiled my bright smile and waved at the Dragon, he just stared at me with those onyx eyes that reminded me too much of a certain pink haired Dragon Slayer.

Grandine stood up next to Igneel and looked at me with a kind smile. "**Ae (Yes). Igneel meet **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_** or Lucy Mau'Te Rongo if you will. And Lucy meet Igneel Kapura, Head Dragon of the Fire Clan-"** Grandine smirked. "**or idiot if you will.**" Acnologia chuckled at the last part.

"**I'm not an idiot!**" Igneel said a little loud. I giggled, he was _so_ much like Natsu. Or maybe Natsu was like him. They were like each other.

Grandine smacked his side with her tail. "**Stop behaving so childishly, Igneel. You're a Head Dragon, how many times do I have to tell you?**" Grandine sighed exasperatedly. Weren't she the cause of his childish outburst? Igneel pouted at Grandine and was about to hit her with his tail as well. Grandine sighed again. "**I'd suggest that you don't do that.**" She said without looking at him.

Igneel pouted again, dropping his tail, and then looked at me with a big smile. "**So you're Lucy Mau'Te Rongo? I've been wanting to meet you for a long time.**" He smiled a friendly smile, seemingly calm and collected now, very different from how he acted before. Does he have a split-personality? "**Welcome to the Dragon Realm!**" Aaand his childish side is back.

I giggled and waved at the Dragon. "Hey there Igneel!" I smiled widely. "And thank you, it's been fun the little time I've been here."

Igneel nodded with a wide smile as well and stuck his gigantic face up to mine and sniffed a pair of times. His butt and tail pointing up in the air like a playful dog. I could feel Acnologia tense up. "**What are you doing, Igneel?**" He tried to hide how he felt about the other Dragons snout being up in my face, but failed miserably. He half growled/half said those words. Grandine giggled a little behind Igneel and as I looked up at her, she winked to me with a knowing smile. What's that supposed to mean? What does she know that I don't? She probably knows a lot of things I don't, but about this situation.

Igneel looked into my brown eyes with his onyx ones, then nodded at himself and raised his head to face Acnologia. His face grew a wide grin. "**Oh, Acnologia, I was just getting closer so I could see her better.**" Igneel smiled. Then wiggled his… Eh… Eyebrows? "**You have a problem with that?**" Acnologia remained silent at this and looked towards the forest. Igneel looked at me again. "**Say, Lucy, your scent… It's somehow familiar to me.**" He slowly said, the other, more serious side of himself showing again. Could he catch Natsu's scent? But it had been days since I last was with him, and much less touched him. Then I remembered that the ribbon I had put in my hair yesterday was the one Natsu gave me.

I was about to tell Igneel why it was so familiar when I was cut off. "**Igneel, you don't just ask someone why their **_**scent**_** is familiar to you.**" A deep male-voice said somewhere behind Igneel and Grandine, I couldn't see him since I was practically hid behind all these Dragons. I could see two pairs of white Dragon-feet walking closer to Igneel, who had turned his head to the other Dragon. The white Dragon stepped into my view. He was, well, white obviously. As white as the purest snow, to be more precise. He had long surprisingly long legs, and his neck and tail weren't too short either. His wings were also long, although not so wide and were completely white, they were a little like traditional Dragon wings, but somehow more graceful and elegant. He had black tiger-like stripes over his neck, back and tail. At the end of his tail, it spread out in five icy-blue spikes. Actually they looked like ice, you could see through it, but the picture was twisted. At the point where his wings bended down, there were also an ice-spike and the same at the end of his wings. His claws were jet-black. He had icy-blue eyes and two black horns as well that curved down. He was long and slender and moved with a grace I've never seen before. And to think I would see such grace used by a Dragon. "**And much less to a Lady, whether she's human or not.**" The graceful, white Dragon said. How had he landed so silently? Not even a breeze blew. Not that I would be able to feel it where I was. Although it didn't seem quite as dangerous as Igneel, it was still bigger than Acnologia, and his black claws were extremely intimidating too. His whole icy façade was intimidating. How was I ever going to survive all these Dragons? Might as well find a shovel and begin digging my own grave. Ah, alright, maybe that was overreacting, the Dragons I'd met so far seemed to be really nice actually.

"**Aah, Glanasile Haupa, Head Dragon of the Ice Clan, nice to see you again.**" Grandine said to the newcomer with her kind smile.

The white Dragon looked at Grandine, but didn't smile like she did. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine, Igneel-**" He nodded and looked at the two Dragons as he mentioned their names. Then he looked at Acnologia with his icy-blue eyes. "**And Acnologia, it's been a long time since I've seen you.**" He glanced briefly down at me. "**This is **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**, I presume?**" He looked at Acnologia and nodded to me when I was mentioned. I felt myself become even more afraid as he mentioned me. There was not even a hint of kindness in his words. Or any another emotion for that matter.

Acnologia nodded, with a little smile. "**Ae (Yes), it has indeed been long time Glanasile. And you're right as always, this is **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**, Lucy Mau'Te Rongo.**" He said with a little pride lacing his voice. I couldn't help but smile at my childhood friend. However, I felt a little left out of the conversation, if I had to be completely honest. It was a little like when Grandine had first arrived.

Glanasile looked down at me with an expressionless face. He lowered his face a little to get a better look, probably, but not as much as Igneel. Somehow, he did it elegantly – And far from as invasively- I don't know how to explain it, but he just did. "**So you're Layla **_**Heartfilia's**_** daughter?**" He asked, emphasizing 'Heartfilia', but without showing any other hint of emotions in his voice.

I nodded and smiled the best I could at the Dragon. "Y-yes, that's me, L-Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I smiled at him, while trying to get my heart to beat in a more steady rhythm.

He raised his eyebrows a little. "**Lucy **_**Mau'Te Rongo**_**? Aren't you Lucy **_**Heartfilia**_**?**" He asked slightly shocked, I think. It was hard to tell behind his icy façade.

I smiled at him again, but the smile wasn't quite as big as it was before, with the painful memories pressing on to the front. "I'd rather be called Lucy Mau'Te Rongo than Heartfilia now I know about the man who the name came from. Changing my name, just takes me one step further away from my _Papa_." I said, having regained control over my voice and with disgust filling my voice at my fathers' name.

The white Dragon smiled a little down to me, cracking the icy façade he'd held up through everything. "**I couldn't agree with you more, Lucy.**" He nodded. "**You look a lot like her, actually. Your mother, I mean.**" Glanasile mentioned still with the little smile playing at his lips.

I beamed at the Dragon. He wasn't as scary as I thought he'd be. "Why, thank you Glanasile." I said. I had always wanted to be like my Mama, beautiful, graceful and absolutely _perfect_. So I had taken Glanasile's words as a compliment.

The other Dragons stared at Glanasile in disbelief, their eyes almost popping out of their heads. "**Gla-Glanasile! You were **_**s-smiling**_**!**" Igneel blurted out in front of the Ice Dragon.

A vein bulged out at the white Dragons temple, even though his facial expression didn't show it, he just looked slightly bored. "**Ae (Yes), what of it?**" Glanasile asked in annoyance. I almost giggled at them, they looked so much like – No they don't! You are not going there Brain!

"**Igneel! You ruined the moment! Keep your mouth shut next time.**" Grandine scolded and sighed, but it fell on deaf ears. Igneel was glaring at an expressionless Glanasile, who was just staring at the Fire Dragon. Then Grandine looked at the two and a vein bulged out. "**Would you two **_**stop**_** that?!**" she half yelled.

Flaps of mighty wings were heard and two Dragons had arrived. "**What did we miss?**" An amused male-voice asked.

Again, I couldn't see what was going on. I huffed in annoyance, if only I had my Dragon already. Acnologia noticed my outburst, and moved his head down in my height. "**What's wrong?**" He asked a little lowly, as to not disturb the other Dragons' conversation.

I looked up at Acnologia, then sighed. "Well, it's kinda childish, but I feel like I can't see anything down here." I looked a little around at the forest of legs. "Well, except legs, maybe." I shook my head lightly.

Acnologia chuckled at my hopeless situation and laid down his head on the ground. "**Get on my head, then you'll be able to see what's happening.**" He offered. I looked into his eyes, which was now at my height. I nodded slowly and crawled up on his head and sat down there and he slowly and carefully lifted his head up, while I was trying to keep my balance, holding on to one of the fans near me.

I could see the two dragons that had arrived. One of them was a dark purple color with a dark green belly and two horns that curled around themselves and stuck forward, with the same dark green color. Its wings were quite wide and that dark purple color. Where its wings bend, it seemed to have three long spike-like things that curved and could be used as claws. It had two front fangs peeping out from its lips, making it look like a snake. At the end of its tail, it had a little black spike, curved as the ones of the wing. If you asked me, it looked like it was poisonous, but it was only a guess. Its eyes were very yellow and with a slit like a snakes'. Its claws on its feet were also much longer than the other Dragons'

The other Dragon with the purple one, was a dark gray color, and the light seemed to reflect off its scales, as if it was some kind of metal. It had a jet black belly. It was a big Dragon, rivaling Igneels' size, although its tail and neck were longer. Its wings were much wider than the purple Dragons', on the outside, they were that dark metal-gray color and on the inside a dark, blood-red color. On the gray side of the right wing, there were three long, parallel, horizontal scars, almost going from the top to the bottom, looking an awful lot like three Dragon claws. It had small black spikes going down all the way down its neck, back and tail, at the end of its tail; the spikes were pulled together and formed a crammed ball with spikes shooting out in every direction. Once, it may have had two horns, now one horn was intact, although with a few rips and the other wasn't even half the size it probably used to be. Just to make everything better, its eyes were blood-red and very predatory. From its left eye and down it had a big scar, indicating he'd been in some serious battle – As if the other scars didn't show the exact same thing. I'm going to die, these two are so scary, and - Not nice-looking. They looked like killers! I felt sweat forming at my temples. Why did they have to be so intimidating?! Why _all_ of them?

The gray one was the first to speak. It was looking at Igneel with a smirk. "**Oh I see you're as ugly as always Igneel.**" He told Igneel, who was fuming by himself. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine Rangi and Glanasile Haupa.**" It then smirked on to the two other Dragons. Seemingly overseeing Acnologia and I completely.

"**Well met Head of the Iron Clan, Metallicana Haeana and Head of the Poison Clan, Sacheba Paihana.**" Glanasile said in an emotionless voice, like before. Grandine nodded and smiled as Glanasile greeted the two Head Dragons. So it was Gajeel's father this time? All three of them had Head Dragons for parents. I'd guess the dark gray one is Metallicana, since it looked like metal the way the sunlight reflected off his scales. The purple one, whom I guessed was Sacheba, also looked more like a Poison Dragon, really. Those front fangs made it quite obvious.

"**Oh, drop the formalitiesss Glanassile, we all know each other around here, don't we?**" The purple Dragon said, drawing out the 's'es and almost hissing like a snake, and rolled its yellow eyes.

The gray one nodded in agreement with the purple. "**I have to agree with Sacheba, it's ridiculous.**" He smiled. So I was right, not that it wasn't obvious, really. Metallicana then noticed Acnologia behind the others. "**Now, what's this? Has our good old comrade come home? And what's that on your head? If it's some kind of new trend, I'm not in it.**" He stated. He hadn't noticed me being a human yet? And he thought I was a hat?! Damn it, so much like Gajeel was in the start. Ugh, am I going to go through _that_ again? It was a pain getting him to open up.

Acnologia pulled me out of my thoughts by answering Metallicana. "**It's nice to see you too Metallicana.**" He replied sarcastically. "**And no, the **_**person**_** you see on my head isn't a new trend. It's Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, or as you would know her **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" Acnologia sighed. Metallicana dropped his jaw and Sachebas' eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

I chuckled at the hilarious expressions I got to see on the front seat and waved at the two Dragons. "Hello there, Dragons. It's nice to meet you." I giggled with a wide smile.

"**Now who's the ugly one?**" Igneel snickered at Metallicana. Grandine smacked him with her tail. "**Ow! What was that for?**" He asked the Sky Dragon.

She looked at him a little harshly with her light blue eyes. "**Don't sink to his level, idiot.**" She scolded him. He pouted at her.

Metallicana and Sacheba still hadn't stopped looking hilarious. Glanasile sighed and reached out for Metallicanas' jaw with his wing and pushed it up. "**Metallicana close your mouth and Sacheba pull your eyes into their sockets again.**" He told them monotonously, a little like how Virgo would, but with much more authority. They both reacted to his words. Sacheba shook his head and Metallicana held up his jaw himself. How did the little discovery of me become such a big shock for them? Igneel snickered at the two Dragons again.

There was silence between all the Dragons; they were all waiting for one of the newcomers to say something. Sacheba was the one to pick up. "**Ssso you finally found her after ssseven yearss, huh Acnologia?**" He asked Acnologia, to break the silence.

Acnologia nodded slightly, not enough to make me lose my balance completely, but just enough to have me rocking a little. "**Yeah. It was about time too.**" He said with a smile hinting his voice. I smiled down at the head I was sitting on. He'd been looking for me all those years, and all I'd done was forgetting him. Wow, what a friend I am.

Sachebas' lips curved up a little and he nodded. "**How did you find her anyway?**" Metallicana asked a little rudely next to Sacheba. He was looking at me with his blood-red eyes. I gulped slowly at his intense stare. The other Dragons also turned to look at us, which made me sweat in nervousness.

By the looks of Metallicana I could see he wanted me to answer. I sighed. "I just appeared right outside his den. The extension of the story will come when everyone's here." I said, I didn't need or want to tell that story more times than what was necessary.

They took their time reading my expression before nodding. I sighed in my mind I n relief, at least they didn't push it out of me.

"**Okay, so who are we waiting for?**" Glanasile asked, mostly directed at Grandine.

"**Hmm… There's Silvia, Skyadrum, Weisslogia-.**" She spoke out loud and paused, looking around at the Dragons who were already there. "**Amelane, Simakan and Dravola.**" She counted them in her head. "**Yep, that's the ones.**" She nodded.

"**Oh, those slowpokes! Why can't they be faster?**" Igneel exclaimed. Surprisingly he had remained somewhat silent through a big part of this. To say the truth, I was amazed. If he was anything _near_ Natsu, which I had gathered he was, then this was quite an accomplishment.

"**I see you haven't changed the least since last, Igneel. You're still as hot-headed as you've always been.**" An a little worn-out female voice said somewhere behind Acnologia and I. Acnologia turned to look at the owner of the voice. What's with these Dragons and appearing out of nowhere? There were two Dragons again. A brown and a blue. This time, I didn't become scared at the sight of them. Maybe I'd gotten used to the fact that Dragons were appearing all over the place?

The brown color of the brown Dragons looked a little like the color of dry soil. It had a grass-green belly and it seemed like grass was growing on its back and all the way down to its tail. Its wings also seemed to be some kind of grass braided together somehow. It had that grass growing around the back of its head instead of horns. Its brown eyes seemed to hold a great wisdom and experience behind them. It seemed to be a little lower than all the other Dragons.

The other one had royal blue scales covering its entire body. It had something resembling fins a little going down its neck and down to the end of its tail, in a light blue color. Its wings like how a kid would draw a Dragon, with four 'fingers', as you could maybe or maybe not call them, connected at the top, where the wing bend, between these 'fingers', there were the same fins as on its back. The 'fingers' and the part connected with its back were royal blue, like the rest of the Dragon, and the fins were light blue. Between its claws, there were this kind of web, probably so the Dragon could swim faster, and in a deep green color. Its eyes were a dark purple. When it moved, water seemed to drip down its scales and made them reflect the sun a little like the river.

I guessed the royal blue Dragon was the Head of the Water Clan and the brown one the Head of the Earth Clan, judging by their appearances.

Grandine took a few steps up to the Dragons. "**Dravola! Amelane! It's nice to see you again.**" She smiled kindly.

The blue Dragon smiled at her and nodded. "**Ae (Yes), it's nice to see you too Grandine.**" It said with a female voice, not the worn-out one from before. The brown one just nodded in agreement.

Metallicana interrupted the conversation between the three female Dragons. "**Oi, Acnologia. Get over here, I wanna see the human.**" Metallicana rudely said. I sweat dropped at its similar behavior to Gajeel.

Acnologia sighed. "**You can come over here, you old geezer.**" He replied.

Metallicana's right eye twitched. "**What did'cha say, brat?**" He asked menacingly.

I felt Acnologia open his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the brown Dragon. "**What is a human doing here in the Dragon Realm?**" She asked with her old voice that seemed to hold infinite wisdom. Acnologia turned his head to the Dragon. Its eyes landed on me and shone with recognition. "**Is this **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" She slowly asked. Grandine nodded and the blue Dragons eyes widened ever so slightly. "**Boy, get your head over here so I can get a better look at her.**" She said, not unkindly, just demanding. Acnologia did as he was told, and took a few steps so he was standing in front of the two newcomers. He lowered his head a little so they could get a better look at me. I stared directly into the eyes of the brown Dragon. She seemed to look me over, and finding what she looked for, she nodded. "**Ae (Yes), this is Layla's child, that's for sure.**" She said with a low voice.

I looked at the royal blue Dragon, who seemed to be about to burst into tears. I smiled gently at her. "Hi ladies. I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo; it's a pleasure to meet you." I greeted the two of them.

At first they looked shocked I could talk, which made me sweat drop inwardly, but I ignored it and kept smiling. The brown Dragon was the first to say something. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, I'm Dravola Oene, Head Dragon of the Earth Clan.**" The Dragon said plainly, with her old voice.

"**I'm Amelane Wai, Head Dragon of the Water Clan. It's good to finally have you with us.**" Amelane said with her beautiful voice and bowed her head slightly in a greeting manner.

"It's nice to be here, it's very beautiful." I said, continuing my smile.

Amelane sniffed. "**You look so much like her.**" She whispered, I was barely able to hear what she said.

I tilted my head slightly and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. Who did I look like? "Who?" I asked not so intelligently.

Amelane looked at me with her purple eyes. "**You look like your mother.**" She said. The same as Glanasile had told me.

I beamed at the Dragon. "Thank you very much." I was cut off as a loud crackling sound of lightning appeared at our right. I turned my head to see what was happening and I saw a big yellow Dragon. It was as yellow as the lightning it had appeared with, and had a jet black belly. Its wings were special – to say the least. The part where the wing connected with the back, looked like a big lightning, similar to the scar Laxus had at his one eye, except much bigger. From the top of the lightning, it went down in a wide curve. From the end of that curve and to the point which popped out on the lightning-looking part of the wing, there were this kind of black skin, which also went from that point of the lightning and down to somewhere on the middle of the back. The wing weren't particularly long or wide, but they seemed like they could fly extremely fast. At the point on its wings, where the lightning connected with the wide curve, there were three small white claws. Its two horn, much like the wing, looked like lightning. Its eyes were a dark yellow color. So this guy could transport like Laxus with his Lightning? That's pretty cool, actually. It's quite obvious he's the Head Dragon of the Lightning Clan, judging by the way he arrived here.

The yellow Dragon looked at all the Dragons and frowned. "**What's all the commotion?**" He asked looking a little baffled with all the people around.

Acnologia raised his head slowly, making sure I didn't fall off while doing so. "**Well Simakan Uira, she's right here on my head.**" Acnologia told him.

Simakan looked directly at me and took a few steps forward, to join the big collection of Dragons. "**Is that a human? Then-**" He didn't get to continue when Metallicana cut him off.

"**Yeah, that's none other than **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one).**_" He smirked, then he glared at Acnologia. "**And I haven't even gotten a good look at her yet, you possessive brat.**" He scowled, but I noticed the amusement in his eyes.

I felt a vein bulge out under my foot. "**You old…**" He trailed off shot his head up a little too quickly. "**I'm not possessive!**" He yelled while I was losing my balance. I felt myself slowly falling off my friends' enormous head. Shit, way to impress new Dragons. Fall off yours friends head and break your legs. Way to go Lucy. I thought as I slipped on his scales and slid down his… Eh, cheek I guess. At the edge of my vision, I saw that the other Dragons weren't really paying any attention to me, and just stared at the discussion between the two dark Dragons.

I had just barely become airborne, when a white wing caught me. I landed on my butt on the soft, but cold wing. "**We can't have you die Lucy, it'd be a disaster.**" My savior said. I looked at the Dragon who had caught me with widened eyes, it was Glanasile. He looked at me with his icy-blue eyes, making sure I was okay, I believe. When he was sure I was fine, he looked at Acnologia with a hard stare. "**Acnologia, I advise you to look out for your mate here more carefully.**" Glanasile scolded the Chaos Dragon with his cold expression. I looked around a little and saw the Dragons finally noticed me on Glanasile's wing.

Acnologia, who was still bickering with Metallicana, turned his head to Glanasile and was about to retort, when he saw me on the Ice Dragons' wing. He widened his eyes and looked alternately between Glanasile and me. "**Wha- Why are you..? What?**" Acnologia asked confused.

I scratched the back of my head and smiled apologetically at Acnologia. "Well, I kinda slipped when you shot your head up and glared at Metallicana. Glanasile caught me before anything happened, luckily." I said nervously.

Acnologia opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. He looked at the ground and then spoke. "**I-I'm sorry, Lucy.**" He muttered under his breath.

I gulped slowly, nervous with all the attention I had attracted. "Eh.. It's fine Acnologia, nothing happened." I smiled a nervous but reassuring smile.

Someone cleared their throat somewhere behind Acnologia. I looked at the brown Dragon. "**I believe this proves that Lucy should stand on her own.**" Dravola said and looked around at the Dragons with a look that said 'Don't you dare go against my word.'. I sweat dropped a little at the similarity between her and Porlyusica.

The other Dragons quickly nodded under her gaze and Glanasile put me down on the ground again carefully, so I could feel little again. Glanasile's right lip curved slightly up. "**Now he does it again!**" Igneel gasped somewhere to my right. I could see Glanasile's vein bulging out. The white Dragon slowly turned his head to the Fire Dragon and glared icily at him. Igneel cowered a little under the intense glare of the Ice Dragon. "**Right, right. It's no big deal.**" He said with sweat trailing down his head. Glanasile nodded approvingly at Igneel's surrender and turned away from him. I giggled at the two and shook my head lightly.

"**Oi, human. Get over here.**" Metallicana said somewhere behind me. I looked back and saw Metallicana standing next to Sacheba a little away. I waved up at Glanasile, who nodded in reply, and went over to the Iron Dragon. Up close I could see all the scars he had achieved in various battles, breaking up the pattern of his scales. Looking up at him from down here, he seemed extremely intimidating, more so than before. They all did. I felt so little and defenseless down here. Metallicana stuck his head down so it hovered just over me. "**Well aren't you a little squirt?**" He asked not so kindly with an amused glint in his blood-red eyes. He concealed trying to sniff out my scent as he moved his head up again, making a face of recognition in a flash, but I'd caught it.

Well, at least he _tries_ to conceal it, unlike Igneel. I sweat dropped and sighed at him. "Well, I guess I am compared to you, you overgrown lizard." I smiled at him. Metallicanas' eye twitched in annoyance.

"**Ohh, good one girl, I like your ssspirit!**" Sacheba smirked. "**High five.**" He held up his purple foot for a high five. It looked a little funny, but I high fived him with my tiny hand anyway. Didn't he realize that same insult went for him too? We laughed at Metallicanas' scowl. Metallicana grumbled something under his breath, but then smirked and winked at me, past my little insult.

I saw Simakan walk over to the three of us to join in on the conversation. Now I listened, I noticed the other Dragons also had formed small groups and talked together while waiting for the last Dragons. The yellow Lightning Dragon stood next to Sacheba and looked down at me with his dark yellow eyes. "**So you're Acnologia's childhood friend I've heard so much about. I'm Simakan Uira, Head of the Lightning Clan. What's your name?**" He asked with his deep voice. Metallicana and Sacheba eyed the Lightning Dragon.

I smiled at the Dragon. It was so weird that everyone just knew who I was, but didn't know my name. "Yeah, I'm Acnologia's friend Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I confirmed. "It's something of a greeting I get, all the Head Dragons meeting up to hear my story." I slowly said. It really was overwhelming, all these big Dragons meeting up just to hear my rather pathetic story and then decide what they should do with me.

He smiled down at me. "**Ae (Yes), well we've been waiting for your return in seven years I believe it is now. Of course all the Head Dragons would meet up.**" He looked at me, his smile faltering a bit. "**And since you're not in your Dragon form, I gather that you haven't awakened that part of you yet, have you?**" He asked kindly. I was a bit confused with all those words they said, 'Ae', 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' and all those, but I could somehow guess my way through it all. It was like figuring Freeds' runes out with Levy during the Fantasia event.

I nodded. "Yeah, I just found out about the Dragons yesterday, I've lived my whole life among humans and believed I was one of them." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "So when I found out my Mama was a Dragon and that I have one too, is a little shocking to be honest."

Sacheba frowned. "**I think that'sss the undersstatement of the year.**" He said. "**You musst be more than ssshocked to find out about the Dragon Realm, the exisstence of Dragonsss, that you have a Dragon insside you lying dormant and everything elsse.**" He hissed slowly and looked at me with pitying eyes, which I didn't know exactly how to feel about.

Yeah well, it gets worse you guys… "Yeah I guess I am." I admitted.

"**You know what, Squirt? Just ask good old Metallicana if anyone's bugging you, I'll eat the daylights out of them.**" Metallicana stated. I sweat dropped at his words.

"Ehh, don't you mean 'beat' the daylights out of them?" I asked the 'good old Metallicana'.

The Iron Dragon smirked at me. "**Nope, I mean 'eat'.**" I didn't know quite how to react to the Dragons' words, if I should be happy that he'd help me or fear the lives of whoever would 'bug' me.

I didn't get to reply anyway, when the last three Dragons appeared with Basuril. A black, an armored white and a silver. "**Metallicana would you stop being so vulgar?**" The black Dragon asked in a firm female voice, much like Erza's actually. I slapped myself mentally, why did I always have to draw in Fairy Tail?

The Dragon which spoke was as black as the darkest Shadows and had a purple belly. It had a longer tail than any of the others, much longer, which made it look more elegant and beautiful. Its wings were longer than many of the others, and completely black. At the end of them, they were ripped and there were small holes here and there, although not big enough to disturb her flight. Ivory-white crooked spikes trailed down its neck and down to its tail. It had two purple horns, which curved upwards in the ends and were somewhat long. Its eyes were a darker shade of ivory-white, but not turning gray. It looked vicious and elegant at the same time.

One of the other Dragons seemed to be a male. He wore a golden armor over his head and down the back of his neck, back and tail. The armor was parted in many smaller plates, to give the Dragon free movement behind it all. His horns were also covered by that armor of his, they were thick and short and curved down slightly. His wings and legs were free of the armor, and so was the part under his armor which pointed to the ground, which revealed that he was a white Dragon with a sand colored belly. His wings were the traditional Dragon wings and completely white. His eyes were a peculiar, bright cyan color.

The last one was silver. It didn't reflect the sun's rays like Metallicana's scales, it seemed to be all the color of the rainbows, but at the same time a dim silver color. It had a black belly and its wings were also completely black, thin and long. It had two light gray horns which stuck out of the back of its head and curled down. All the way down its neck and to the end of its tail and around it, there was something that looked like fur it was that light gray color, like the horns. Its eyes were a peculiar mix between red and brown. It was a beautiful Dragon, almost at Grandines' level, but not quite.

Basuril stood a little behind them with his wings hanging loosely from his back and landed on the ground as he panted heavily. He had gathered all these Dragons on such short notice and so fast, so I guess it is obvious he'd be exhausted.

All the Head Dragons fell silent and focused on the three Dragons. Sacheba turned around to look at the last three Dragons. Metallicana turned his head to the newcomers and shrugged at the black Dragons words. "**Well, I **_**did**_** mean it.**" He glanced briefly at me before looking at the three Dragons again. "**Welcome to the party, Skyadrum Atarangi, Head of the Shadow Clan,-**" He looked at the black Dragon and then turned his gaze to the white armored one. "**Weisslogia Marama, Head of the Light Clan-**" At last he looked at the silver Dragon. "**And Silvia Mau'Te Rongo, Head of the Peace Clan.**" All with a smirk. So the silver one was my aunt, Silvia? She's so beautiful, I wondered if Mama was as beautiful as she was.

Weisslogia looked at Metallicana and shook his head lightly. "**What's with the long introductions Metallicana? It's not like you.**" Weisslogia asked the Iron Dragon.

Metallicana sighed. "**I know, I've always hated long introductions, and I still do by the way, but we have a little guest who doesn't know your names. So I just helped by pointing it out like that.**" He said. I was hidden behind Metallicana and Sacheba's legs, and the three Dragons probably didn't think to look at the ground, so they'd probably not noticed me yet.

I felt something push my back gently and as I turned around I saw Simakan's face. He nudged me closer to the three Dragons with his snout and nodded, indicating I should go forward. I sighed and began walking forward slowly through the forest of Dragon legs.

Silvia turned her attention to the Iron Dragon. "**What guest? Was that why we were sent out here?**" She asked with an annoyed tone. Well, she sure is cranky today. I walked past Sachebas' tail and was careful with not touching the sharp spike at the end. As I passed his hind leg, he looked back at me and smiled reassuringly, even though it seemed more intimidating than reassuring with those two fangs. I smiled back and walked past his front legs and stood in the light for the three Dragons to see.

Silvia was the first to react to my appearance, her eyes widened a lot. Then Weisslogia's jaw fell down a little and he stared at me with eyes of recognition. Skyadrum didn't seem to react at first, but then a tear fell down her right eye. "Hi you three. I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I smiled and waved at them.

Silvia made a stone-face while the other two widened their eyes even more. "**I-it really is you.**" Skyadrum whispered and took a step forward staring at me with tears running down her face. "**Layla's daughter.**" She said more softly than I'd thought possible. She took another step closer, and another, and another. Now she was standing right in front of me. I felt myself flinch at her sudden closeness. She slowly brought her head down, and everyone seemed to hold their breath. She stopped just above my head and looked down at me. I really had to pull myself together to not run away. "**I-it's true then. S-she had a daughter.**" The Dragon whispered. A dark Shadow enveloped her and instead of the big Dragon stood a beautiful woman with long curly black hair reaching mid-thigh and a lavender dress that sat tight to her curvaceous body. She had pale beautiful skin and her ivory-white eyes stared right into mine and then I didn't get to see more as she ran forward and pulled me into a hug. I was too stunned to do anything for a second, but then slowly put my arms around Skyadrum while sending Sacheba a glance, asking what was happening.

He sighed and looked down at me. "**SSSkyadrum wasss one of your mothersss good friendsss, along with Amelane. They were alwaysss together and were practically insseparable.**" He explained. I made an 'o' with my mouth and nodding understandingly. So that was why Amelane looked like she was about to burst into tears when she saw me.

Skyadrum slowly pulled away and cupped my cheeks with her hands. She looked straight into my brown eyes with her ivory ones. A tear slipped from one of her eyes. "**It's wonderful to have you back my dear.**" She said and smiled gently at me. I nodded with a smile in return.

"**Alright, that's enough of this reunion! I wanna know her story!**" An unmistakable voice said somewhere a little off. A smack was heard and the Dragon yelped in pain. "**Ow! Grandine~ Why did you do that?**"

Grandine sighed and shook her head. "**Because you ruined the moment again, idiot.**" She said flatly. Igneel pouted but said nothing. Grandine turned her gaze to me. "**However he's right for once. Now everyone's gathered let us hear your story.**" Grandine smiled at me with her kind smile.

Skyadrum was enveloped in shadows again, and she was back to being the elegant black Dragon. Right in front of me. I took a step back, feeling overwhelmed with her size. I turned to Grandine and nodded. "Right. It all started less than a year ago when I escaped my _Papa_-"

**So.. Much... **_**Lucy!**_** Yeah, well there was a lot of Lucy's P.O.V in this one, but I felt it was quite necessary, as it wouldn't be the same if it was in Acnologia's P.O.V, since he knows these guys already. I know this chapter probably was a little boring, I'm so, so, so, so, SO sorry! Please forgive me! And DAMN wasn't this a long chapter? I know this isn't one of my best, I'm all too aware of that actually, but I hope it's okay, guys. I felt something was missing somehow… I just don't know what. Which pisses me off a great deal. **

**TRANSLATIONS… Yay. .-. It's a long one this time. **

**Igneel and Chylirobi's last name 'Kapura' means 'Fire'. Glanasile's last name 'Haupa' (Originally Haupapa, but again, repeating 'pa' two times, just seemed a little much. So I cut one off ^_^ no offense to the Maori language by the way) means 'Ice'. Metallicana's last name 'Haeana' means 'Iron' and Sacheba's last name 'Paihana' means 'Poison'. Dravola's last name 'Oene' (Originally Oneone, but then it sounded like just plain 'one', as in the number, being repeated, so I modified it a little) means 'Earth' and Amelane's last name 'Wai' means 'Water'. Simakan's last name 'Uira' means 'Lightning'. Weisslogia's last name 'Marama' means 'Light' and Skyadrum's last name 'Atarangi' means 'Shadow'… That will be about it for now. I bet you can't guess in which language! I know you guys probably had it all figured it out after the first three or something around there, but I wrote these anyway to be sure everyone understands. I really mean no offense to the Maori language, actually I find it quite exciting because it is so different from the ones I know; English (Obviously?), a little German and Danish. I only changed those few words so they would fit with the story. FORGIVE ME?!**

**Oh, and what do you think of the names I've made for the Dragons so far? Are they good, horrible, weird, hilarious… Anything? I personally really like the name 'Chylirobi', but that may just be me being weird as always. :P And could you, maybe, tell me if the descriptions were okay? I want to know if I could describe the guys well enough, if you find something I could do better, don't hesitate to tell me!**

**Thank you Howk, Daddys little crazy bitch, Nightingaledric666, BlankyTheRockDorkinsnob, kotono3, onyx Roxanne, Dyeni, Beachlover470, MThyrlow, ApollosHaikus11, Guest, natsuxlucyrulez, Naeda Beasley, Sakurawallflower, Kurosaki Yukia, Swagitayolo, ichirainbowlove, Mai96, Howl for the rising moon, llulluca, BecauseIamSoBored, Yang Yami, Celestial-Dragon777, giannapaulisda1, 7Annabelle43 and all you other readers for everything!**

**~ Line464d**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**So I'm back again! Lovely vacation, a little more lively than the last one, but that's to expected when you have three lil' bros with you. Who love to tease you and the other way around.**

**When I came home, my mail was bombarded. Flat out. I think, I'm not entirely sure since my mobile app for mails didn't keep the early ones, that there were over 50 mails waiting for me. All from FanFiction. I was overjoyed, honestly. You are amazing and I won't stop telling you until you all understand. ^_^**

**Anyway, I've been itching to get this chapter out, sorry for the very unsteady start we've had with all this, but I should be able to upload on time now. I'll upload a chapter every Monday, from now on. I've decided. I might have said otherwise, but it'll be Monday from now on. So there'll be another chapter in just about 4 days too. If my math serves me right. Probably doesn't,**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke has still not agreed to share Fairy Tail with me. But this Fanfiction is mine and mine alone! MUAHAHAHA**

**Okay never mind that, honestly, I just have my crazy moments. .-.**

**At the guild Fairy Tail**

**Natsus' P.O.V**

"Let's take this request!" I yelled at Erza with Happy sitting on my shoulder. Team Natsu had decided to go on the first mission as the new Team Natsu today, like a welcoming party for Lisanna. Of sorts anyway. Erza had let me pick our mission. I pulled the request I had picked down from the request board and ran over to Erza to have her confirm it. We were going to a town called Saraj, apparently there was a big monster in some creepy forest just outside the town. The only thing we had to do was to destroy it. And we would even get 200.000 Jewels! Luce would have loved to take this job. Oh yeah, she was on a mission wasn't she?

I focused my attention on the scarlet-haired Requip Mage. I handed the request to her and she quickly scanned it. She nodded and looked at me. "This is a fine mission. We're going on this one." She turned to look at Ice Princess and Lisanna who were talking at a table. "GRAY, LISANNA." She said loudly, gaining the whole guilds' attention. Ice Princess and Lisanna seemed terrified under the red-heads stare. "I've found a mission. Go and pack your stuff, we'll be away in some days, maybe even a week if we're unlucky." She ordered firmly. The two ran off, probably to start packing stuff. And what did she mean that _she_ had found a mission? I was the one who picked it!

I was about to tell her exactly that, when I noticed her glare. "What are you still here for?" She asked. "Go pack your stuff!"

"Aye sir!" Happy and I yelled in unison and hurried home to pack our things.

**Timeskip ~ An hour later outside the guild Fairy Tail**

**Erzas' P.O.V**

"Where is Flame Brain?" Gray asked with an annoyed voice. We'd been waiting for Natsu in twenty minutes straight. The rest of us were already ready to go. "We've already waited in an hour for that moron." He complained and tapped his foot with crossed arms and a scowl on his face.

I sighed. Why did he have to exaggerate so much? "Be quiet and wait." I ordered, but behind it all, I really wanted to say the same as him. Where were Natsu? Lisanna glanced back at my bunk of things.

She looked up at me innocently. "Is it really necessary to have all that with us, Erza?" She asked.

I looked down on her with a soft smile. "Yeah, you'll never know when you might need it." I replied.

She sweat dropped. "Right." She stared at the flower pot on one of my bags.

I heard someone running and glanced to my right to see Natsu running our way. "What took you so long Fire Breath?" Gray insulted Natsu.

Natsu smirked at Gray. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't help that I have more things than you do Ice Cream." Natsu gestured to his backpack, which was bigger than Gray's.

Gray's eye twitched, he butted his head against Natsu's. "What did you say, Slit Eye?" He growled. "You want a go at it?"

Natsu smirked again. "I'm all fired up, Droopy Eye!" Natsu said. So they're at it again.

I decided it was about time I'd intervene before things got too out of hand. "You aren't fighting, are you?" I asked with a threatening tone.

The two boys' heads snapped up and looked at me with frightened eyes. They threw an arm around each other as if they were best buddies and smiled nervously. "A-aye sir! We're the best friends in the whole world!" They said simultaneously. Their facial expression was always so hilarious.

I nodded in approval. "That's good." I began to walk off to the train station. "We're going now." I said firmly. I heard a shuffle of footsteps behind me and soon three teenagers and a cat were following me.

After some time of walking, while chatting about irrelevant things, we reached the train station. There were quite a lot of people today, but it was also just about the time in the morning where many took the train.

Natsu began sweating bullets, looking at the train. He was beginning to pale. "C-can't we just walk?" He whimpered, his skin getting a faint tint of green.

I looked back at him with a firm stare. "Of course we can't. The tour in train almost takes nine hours." I stated, while watching as Natsu's face turned green.

"Oh don't be such a wimp, Flame Brain." Gray smirked next to Natsu. Natsu glared at him and they began bickering again, throwing lame insults at each other. I went over to buy tickets, but could still hear them where I stood in queue.

"I'm not going on that train, Popsicle." Natsu stated, determination shining in his eyes.

"I don't care, Slit Eye." Gray shrugged carelessly.

"Droopy Eye." Natsu retorted.

"Overgrown Lizard." Gray tossed away his shirt, as he focused on their 'discussion'.

"Exhibitionist, get your shirt on, people are staring at you." Natsu smirked, while Lisanna giggled next to him.

"Yeah, 'cuz I look good, contradictory to others, Fire Butt." Gray said calmly, sending a meaningful glance at Natsu. Then he turned around too look for his shirt, muttering something about how that could happen. I sighed at their stupidity, why had I chosen them as team mates? I couldn't remember, it was all so long ago, and Lucy was on the team then too.

"You wish, Ice Princess." Natsu growled, but then caught my glare and silenced immediately.

I moved forward in the queue, and when I stood before the young man in the ticket booth, I asked for four train tickets and went back to my team when I'd gotten them.

"Erza can't I just walk?" Natsu complained.

I glared at him. Why does he always have to be like this? "No, you cannot. Now get on the train." I demanded. We quickly weaved around all the people and found an empty booth. Natsu and Lisanna sat opposite of Gray and I.

Soon the train began to move, and Natsu looked like he could barf at any moment. "Let me off... Ugh. I can't take more of this." Natsu complained, while quickly covering his mouth and blowing his cheeks up, as if about to barf. "Urgh. If only Luce was here, then I could feel better." Natsu said. I didn't quite understand how Lucy could make him feel better, but then I remembered. Lucy would usually let Natsu rest his head in her lap, while playing a little with his hair. It always seemed to make him feel better, for some reason.

Lisanna leaned a little forward. "What did Lucy do that could make you feel better?" Lisanna asked. Was that a hint of anger I heard in her words? Nah, it couldn't have been. What would Lisanna have to be angry about?

Natsu looked weakly up at the white-haired Take Over mage. "She'd usually let me rest my head in her lap, and brush her fingers through my hair.. Urgh." Natsu muttered, barely able to say the words.

Lisanna furrowed her brows in annoyance, but quickly changed to a happy smile. "Well, you can rest your head in my lap, maybe it'll help!" She suggested. Natsu nodded, looking at the floor. He slowly, looking like an old man, turned in his seat and placed his head in Lisanna's lap. Gray snickered a little. Lisanna began playing with his hair, a soft smile on her lips. "Are you feeling better?" She asked sweetly.

Natsu took a moment to answer. "No." He stated plainly. "I feel like barfing!" He whined.

I knocked him out, tired of hearing him complaining. "That was much better." I told the other two, who sweat dropped. Okay, only 8 hours and 50 minutes to go. I watched as the other two began starting an conversation. I felt the energy slowly seeping out of me, and gradually I fell asleep.

**On the field Dragon Realm**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

Lucy told them everything, basically. Tears were running down her face when she'd finished talking. It was still a very sore topic for her, I could easily see that. Well, everyone could. She told them the same she had told me yesterday, not pausing to give them a chance to ask questions, before she was done speaking. I still remembered the story from yesterday, and now with her tears running down her face, I wanted nothing more than to wipe them away and cheer her up somehow. But that would be quite difficult in my Dragon form.

We were all sitting or lying on the ground in something you could imagine was a circle with a little bit of willpower put into it. Basuril had fallen asleep after all the exercise he'd gotten, leaning into me like a little brother would. I was lying right next to Lucy, who was looking at the ground, not prepared to meet anyone's eyes.

Many of the Dragons were looking at my blonde friend with pity in their eyes. Even though they probably didn't understand much of what she was talking about, just like me, we all knew that these persons were someone close to her. And they'd thrown her away as if she was some kind of trash.

Grandine, who was lying right next to us, enveloped herself in a whirlwind, disappearing from sight in a second, and reappearing in her Human form. She had long, straight, light blue hair, same color as her scales, in a middle-high ponytail with a pair of braid on the sides, which rounded up the rest of her hair like a kind of hair band. It went down to her waist. She wore the usual white summer dress, which was form-fitting in the top and was let loose in layers of white and sky blue fabric from her hip and down to just below her knees. Small spaghetti straps kept the dress in place.

She walked over to my friend and hugged her, patting her back and muttering reassuring words to her. But otherwise no one said anything, giving the little girl time to get hold of herself again.

Igneel was the first to comment. "**So wait, wait, wait.**" He said, getting everyone's attention. "**This boy, Natsu Dragneel-**" Lucy looked at him over Grandines' shoulder and nodded. "**He is by no chance my son, is he?**" He asked with hopeful eyes. Igneel was the most dense person I'd ever met. Once, when he took care of his son and was teaching him Fire Dragon Slayer magic, he'd attended a meeting with the other Head Dragons with the boy on his back. Luckily, the boy was sleeping, and Igneel could get him back to where he trained the youngster without problems, but still… _he forgot his own son!_ Igneel was the most reckless of all the Dragons here, but he was an excellent fighter. And very destructive too. Igneel had this 'business-mode' he used whenever things got serious, he would be concentrating on whatever he was supposed to do or say. It was a lovely mode where he dropped his childish antics.

Lucy nodded slowly, apologizing with her eyes. "Yes, he is _that_ Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon Slayer and your son." She looked at the ground. What? He was Igneel's son? Why didn't she tell me? "I'm sorry Igneel." She muttered, but everyone heard her with our Dragon senses. I hoped she'd get over this whole thing soon, I couldn't stand watching her like this.

Lucys' tears had stopped falling and she was just sniffling, so Grandine pulled back, with a last reassuring look to the girl, and reclaimed her place on the ground.

Igneel looked at her with sad eyes. "**I see…**" He muttered. "**But it is in no way your fault, Lucy. It is mine for not raising him well enough.**" He said with shame in his voice. Oh, no. This was not what she was aiming for, I'm certain about that.

She shook her head rapidly at the Dragons' statement. "No, no, no. Igneel, it's not your fault. I don't think he's aware of what he did, he's too dense, I'm afraid." She muttered the last part.

Metallicana smirked next to Sacheba, where he sat. "**Then he's just like his father. Doesn't surprise me really.**" He snickered. Metallicana had always been a little arrogant and harsh with his words. He could be a bastard sometimes and extremely annoying, but whenever something serious was going on, he'd be less of an asshole. Until a fight broke out, then he'd become just as reckless as the Fire Dragon. Whether the two liked it or not, they looked like each other on a battlefield. That Dragon had always harassed me one way or another, he enjoyed harassing me, and it was still unknown to me why.

Sacheba snorted at his friends' accusation. "**Ssso true.**" He agreed amusedly. Sacheba was a little younger than Metallicana and had always looked up to him, even as a boy. He would stick with Metallicana no matter what happened, and the two of them were very good friends now. I think the adoration Sacheba held for the Iron Dragon when he was younger had faded some since then, but it was still there. Sacheba wasn't as reckless as Metallicana and Igneel on a battlefield, however whenever he struck someone, it was the end of the line for whoever got hit.

Igneel glared at the two. "**I'm not dense!**" He said childishly. He looked around at the other Dragons for assistance, but most of them just nodded in agreement with Sacheba and Metallicana, even Basuril in his sleep, me being one of them. Igneel pouted and looked away from the Dragons and back at Lucy. "**I feel like I'm responsible for his actions though.**" He told her without the childish attitude; she was just about to reply when he cut her off. "**But even then, I'm still his father. So how is he doing?**" He asked concerned with his son.

She smiled gently at the big Dragon. "He's doing great, last I saw him. As I said, Lisanna, who was his best friend two years ago, has returned from the dead, and he's been really happy since then." She told him. He nodded and smiled a kind smile down to her. She looked alternately at Grandine and Metallicana. "I forgot to mention that I've met your children as well, Wendy Marvell and Gajeel Redfox." She smiled at the two. They looked at her with surprised expressions, along with all us other Dragons. Tell me, how many other secrets was she hiding?

Metallicana's face broke into a wide grin. "**So you've met my brat?**" He asked with an amused voice. She nodded at the big Iron Dragon. "**How is he?**" He asked, trying not to show his affection towards his son, but failing.

Her smile grew a little. "He's much like you actually." Lucy said. Metallicana raised an eyebrow at her urging her to continue. "Well, he's arrogant, an idiot sometimes, annoying, and much else –" I almost laughed at her words, Igneel laughed on the other side childishly. Well, he got over that pretty quickly. "But when I got to know him, he was really a nice guy." Lucy smiled. I looked down at the blonde girl. If this Gajeel guy really was nice, then he was nothing like Metallicana, that Dragon was rotten to the core. In my eyes anyway.

Metallicana nodded in agreement, and was about to say something when Grandine cut him off. "**So, how is my little, sweet Wendy?**" She asked, ignoring Metallicana completely. Metallicana, knowing he wouldn't win against Grandine, rolled his eyes and gave up on saying whatever he was about to say. Yes, Grandine was indeed a force to be reckoned with. She'd always been this firm and demanding, but she was also kind and gentle at the same time. She was the best healer we had around here and she could fight well too. She'd been especially kind to me since my father was caught by the Magic Council and sent to Crocus, she helped me through the everyday tasks as a Head Dragon and helped me pick a second in command, or SIC, as we call them.

Lucy smiled at the Sky Dragon. "She's still the sweet, little Wendy she's always been." She reassured the Dragon. Grandine smiled kindly down at her and smiled appreciatively.

There ruled a silence over the group as they all waited for someone to say something. Dravola was the one to break the silence. "**This story of yours is very touching, but I feel there's something else hidden behind it.**" Dravola mentioned with her hoarse voice. Dravola was the oldest of all the Head Dragons and the most wise. She had a sharp mind and mighty attacks. She was always the one to plan things whenever there was serious trouble. She didn't express many emotions though, she'd always been quite expressionless as far as I can remember, and she could be firm and harsh with her words sometimes, but she never intended to mean harm in any way.

I was the one to answer this question. "**Ae (Yes), you're as perceptive as always, Dravola.**" I complimented and looked straight into her brown eyes. "**There is certainly another reason for us to come here.**" I said calmly. Every Dragons' head perked up at this information. "**Lucy and I primarily came here to train.**" I stated.

No one said anything for a while. "**Why would you want to train?**" The Water Dragon Amelane asked carefully from where she sat. Amelane had always been quite silent and careful. She wasn't as headstrong as for example Igneel, and she wasn't a good fighter either, however she was a master with using her water for purification and manipulating water. She was probably better than any of the other Water Dragons, which is also the reason why she's the Head Dragon. She could create a Dragon of water and keep that form for several days in a row. She had great control over her magic, but she wasn't much of a fighter, more the kind of person to tend to others.

I looked at her. "**Because we first of all have to awaken her Dragon, as you've probably noticed she hasn't awakened it yet. Second, she told her guild she'd go train and then come back at some point. So we have to train her so she is ready to meet her guild again.**" I looked around to see if the Dragons were following.

Lucy continued my explanation. "Also, we're figuring out a plan to save Acnologia's father. So I need to be stronger if I'd even stand a chance without being a burden to everyone." She smiled. I looked down at her shocked, I was not entirely sure if it was a good idea to tell them that we were planning to do so yet.

Much to my surprise, Grandine nodded. "**Alright, however there are a lot of things you have to know about Dragons and your element, Peace, before we can begin the training.**" She said, looking at Lucy firmly. I wondered what kind of information Lucy needed, I wasn't told anything when my father started training me. Grandine turned her gaze to me, with a softer expression. "**You can count on my assistance in the retrieval of you father, Kurama Tehepo, Acnologia.**" She smiled her kind smile.

She really would help me get my father back? That's amazing! I didn't know exactly how to reply, but that wouldn't be a problem when Lucy cut me off. "That's fantastic! Your help is much appreciated-" She turned around and beamed at me. "Right Acnologia?" I smiled and nodded, and sent thankful eyes to the Sky Dragon.

Grandine smiled her usual kind smile back to me. Then she seemed to realize something. "**Oh, yeah. Acnologia there's also some things you still don't know about Chaos Dragons, which you'll have to know to get stronger.**" Grandine told me.

What didn't I know about Chaos Dragons? Does it have something to do with whatever Lucy needs to be told? "**Ehh, alright, I guess.**" I paused. "**So does that mean I have to train too?**" I asked the Sky Dragon. She nodded with a smile in her eyes. I perked up a little. "**Really?**"

Glanasile, sitting next to Amelane, sighed and looked at me with his icy stare. "**I thought that would be obvious.**" He said. Glanasile, before today, I had never seen that Dragon smile. Ever. He always wore that icy façade of his. I honestly don't know much about him, but I do know that the way he can manipulate his Ice element, is said to be one of the most beautiful sights here in the Dragon Realm. He's always been calm and collected, except if Igneel is involved, and thinks things through before doing something, the exact opposite of Igneel. He was a strong fighter, as far as I knew, and had a great defense. I scoffed at the white Dragons words. Well excuse me if things are going a little fast.

Grandine nodded again, ignoring the Ice Dragons comment. "**Ae, you haven't fully mastered the power of the Chaos Dragons yet, and I think you're ready to learn it.**" Grandine turned her head to the Earth Dragon. "**What do you think Dravola?**" She asked.

Dravola looked at me with her brown eyes as if she was looking directly into my soul. It was pretty creepy. At last she nodded. "**Ae, I believe he is ready to learn the last aspects of the Chaos Dragons.**" She confirmed. I wondered what part of the Chaos Dragons I didn't know. Wasn't I told everything by my father? I smiled at the old Dragon, she looked back at me expressionlessly. I sweat dropped at her usual expressionless behavior. "**However they need to know the story of their origin.**" She added.

"**This'll take some time.**" Simakan muttered and lay down, making himself comfortable. Simakan isn't very open to people, so I don't know much about him. He was a little lazy sometimes, and didn't really want to participate much in anything. He's the second youngest of us here, like me; he got his spot as Head Dragon in a too young age. Unlike me, though, his father actually died, which was what got him the spot. He was 24 now, I think. It was often heard that the Lightning Dragons brag with his strength, and how painful his Lightning could be, but I'd never seen him in action before.

Metallicana interrupted the conversation by getting up from where he sat. "**Alright, but before we begin the history class, there's some people I need to eat.**" He smirked. He needed to eat people? Who?

Silvia glared at the Iron Dragon. "**Who do you intend on eating Metallicana?**" She asked with a firm voice. Silvia, she always seemed so nice to me. My father liked her too, even if she _was_ a little clingy sometimes. Ever since Layla abandoned her spot as the Head Dragon by marrying Jude Heartfilia, and letting herself being locked away by said husband, Silvia took over for her. Silvia did a good job as a Head Dragon and replacing Layla, but there was some charm that Layla had, which Silvia never had.

Metallicana looked at the silver Dragon and snickered. "**There's a certain Fire Dragon Slayer and a few others. Nothing too big, really.**" Silvia glared at the Iron Dragon. So he was going to eat the Dragon Slayer which was the cause of Lucy's pain. I was in for this, maybe I could even take a bite myself.

Lucy tensed up next to me and stared at the Dragon wide-eyed. "M-Metallicana." She called out.

The Dragon turned his attention to my blonde friend. "**Hm?**"

"Y-you don't have to e-eat Natsu. It's okay, really." Lucy stammered. What was she talking about? How could she be okay with what happened, we can all see how much they had hurt her. Why was she lying?

Metallicana looked at the little girl and took a few steps towards her, to stand just in front of her. He didn't smile or smirk or anything, which was unusual. I got ready to attack if that old geezer went and did something he shouldn't. "**Káo (No), it's not okay. I can see that you're not okay, we all can.**" He said solemnly. I looked shocked at the Dragon in front of me. Did he care for Lucy? Or was he playing some game? The Iron Dragons face lit up in a wide grin. "**Besides, didn't I tell you I'd eat whoever bugs you?**" He asked grinning widely. What kind of agreement had the two of them made?

Lucy looked at the ground. "Well, y-yeah, you did, b-but-" She trailed off. She fiddled a little with her hands and then looked up at Metallicana with determination in her eyes. "Wouldn't it be more fun if I trained to become stronger, and then kick their asses when I return?" She asked the Dragon. Metallicana wouldn't be able to disagree with that. He just couldn't. Had she already figured the Dragon out? In less than five hours? Oh wait, didn't she say the Dragons' son was like him? That would explain it.

Metallicana's eyes began to sparkle and he smirked. "**Ae, it most certainly would.**" He nodded. We all sweat dropped at their conversation. That Dragon just couldn't help himself. He had a never ending addiction to seeing people suffer, emotionlessly or physically, and he loved to see people being beat up. "**I'll come to see that match, you can bet on it!**" He smirked. Well, at least he wouldn't leave now. That was always something.

This time Lucy sweat dropped at the Iron Dragon. "But won't Gajeel recognize your scent?" She asked carefully.

Metallicana furrowed his eyebrows. "**Yeah he will…**" He was lost in thought for a moment and then his face lit up in a wide grin, again. "**Ah, well. We'll figure it out when we get to that point!**" He turned around and walked back to his place next to Sacheba.

Skyadrum's gaze followed the Iron Dragon all the way. "**You are so disgusting sometimes.**" She told him. Skyadrum, as far as I knew, had always been a fierce Dragon. She and Weisslogia were mates, creating peace between the two Clans, much like the arrangement for Lucy and I. Except they both chose it to be so, no one chose it for them. She was never afraid of saying what she thought or felt, and I admired her for that, but sometimes it could also get a little out of hand with the many insults. She could be a little violent sometimes and was a very skilled fighter. On the battlefield she would be silent and deadly, hiding in the shadows and striking a vital spot when she found an opening. She was strong willed, the polar opposite of Amelane, and didn't think much before she spoke. For some reason, she just didn't like Metallicana, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Metallicana turned around and glared at the black Dragon. "**Oh, so I am disgusting, am I?**" He began smirking, his red eyes lighting up. "**You better get used to it, 'cause I ain't going nowhere anytime soon!**" He faked an evil laugh.

A vein bulged out near Skyadrum's temple. "**You… **_**Bastard**_**!**" She mumbled while fuming with anger, swiping her tail from side to side.

Weisslogia sighed and put his tail over hers to stop the swiping. "**Ignore him Sky.**" He muttered to her, but with all of us having Dragon senses, we could hear it perfectly clear. Except Lucy, I don't think she's developed it yet. Weisslogia was a calm guy; I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice. He, much like Grandine, is kind to almost everybody, and was also, much like Grandine, liked by almost everybody. He had a vast amount of experience in battle, or so I heard, and when you came closer, you could also see all the scars that weren't able to heal properly adorning his body. Skyadrum turned her head to the Light Dragon and nodded with a grateful smile. She then nuzzled into him and got comfortable, while he sat as straight as ever.

"**Alright, if the two of you have finished bickering over there, I will continue.**" Dravola said sternly and shook her head at the youngsters surrounding her. I chuckled lightly at the elder Dragon, she'd never really understood us younger ones. Dravola turned her head to the two of us. Her gaze lingered on me. "**Acnologia, I believe it is time for you to hear the story of Acnologia, the founder of the Dragon community and your old grandfather.**" She said slowly. My eyes widened in shock. My father didn't speak too much of him, but when he did, he said that he was an amazing Dragon who saved the whole Dragon race from the evil hands of humans. He also told me I was named after him, because I looked so much like him. I didn't know more than that. So my old grandfather was the one who created the Dragon Community? Why didn't father tell me? I nodded for Dravola to continue. "**Actually, I'll start somewhere else first.**" She paused. "**Well you see-**"

**On the train to Saraj**

**Lisanna's P.O.V**

Why could Lucy, that bimbo, help Natsu when I couldn't? What made her so special?

We were still sitting in the train to this town, Saraj, or whatever. Supposedly there was a monster in the forest near the town and we just had to deal with it. Big deal. Natsu would just kick its ass and then we could go back again.

Erza had woken up a while ago because Natsu had woken up from his unconscious state and had begun moaning and complaining again. She'd knocked him out again and now he slept with his head in my lap, with Happy sitting with his back against his stomach and eating a fish. Gray was sitting next to Erza and seemed to be thinking of something. Somewhere along the way, he had thrown off his shirt. Again. Luckily his pants didn't follow.

"Gray." Said boy looked at me questioningly. I smiled gently at the boy. "Your shirt."

He looked down his torso and sighed. "Why does that shirt always come off?" He asked no one in particular. He stood up and began searching for his shirt.

"Because you took it off, you moron." Natsu replied weakly. I looked down at the boy and tangled my fingers into his hair, playing gently with it. It was much softer than it looked, almost like silk. Natsu's face slowly began to get a sick shade of green.

Just before the Fire Dragon Slayer could complain, the radio broke him off. "We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat. We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." The radio said monotonously.

"Finally…" Natsu muttered on my lap. "I don't think I can take much more of this." He complained. I giggled at my childhood friend, it was so adorable when he was like that. Then the train stopped and Natsu jolted to his feet. "YOSH!" He yelled, tore open the window and jumped out, knocking Happy on the floor. He landed on his feet and ran around in circles like a madman. "I'm free~!" He yelled on the top of his lungs. People passing him looked at him oddly and then hurried away.

Erza sighed and shook her head in exasperation. "That moron." She mumbled to herself. I got up from my seat and went out of the train, trying to get to my favorite Dragon Slayer as fast as I could. I didn't know if the other two followed.

Soon, I got out and I ran to my friend who was still running in a circle with a wide smile on his face. I latched onto his arm and giggled at him. "Natsu calm down." I smiled, not very convincingly.

I heard heavy footsteps and the noises of metal coming closer. "That's good, Lisanna! Keep him down!" A female voice complimented yelling. I looked up and saw Erza coming closer with an approving smile to me and Happy flying next to her. Gray slumped after her, caught in his own world with a scowl on his face. Once again, his shirt was off, but instead of throwing it some random place, he had it slung over his shoulder. Erza reached Natsu and I, who were still running in circles. She grabbed the salmon-haired boys wrist and held it steady, making it impossible for Natsu to run around. "Stop this craziness this instant Natsu!" Erza scolded him.

Natsu stopped instantly and stared at Erza with wide, frightened eyes. "A-aye sir!" He yelled and saluted with the hand I was latched onto. I let go slowly of his arm, already missing his warmth, and smiled at my nakama. This was how it was supposed to be- "Are you coming, Gray? We need to find the mayor." Erza asked the raven-haired boy. Everything was almost as it was supposed to be, we just needed to cheer the Ice mage up somehow. I wondered what he was thinking. Is it because that Jubia-girl or whatever slapped him? Or was it that orange-haired guy who beat them up?

Gray looked up at Erza and nodded silently, slowly walking behind the others as they reached the mayors' house. It was just like the rest of the buildings here, old and worn out. Erza knocked at the equally worn out door firmly three times, and the door opened immediately, revealing an old, tall man who was a little too thin. He had a friendly smile. "Come in, come in. Are you the Fairy Tail mages I requested?" He asked nicely.

"Yes, we are the mages from Fairy Tail." Erza answered. The man nodded and opened the door wide for the four of us and a cat. We all walked in and followed him to a room with a table and eight chairs.

The mayor sat on one side and we sat on the opposite, Happy in Natsu's lap. "Alright, so the problem is that in the forest west from here, people have been hearing… _things_. Like roars and tramps from a big monster, even attacks. None of us here in town are strong enough to do anything, only a little handful has slight magic, but it is by no means strong enough to beat a monster of that caliber, and we very much need that forest, it is where we get all our wood for our houses and whatnot, so you see, we need to get rid of this monster." The mayor explained. Erza nodded. "Are you up for the task youngsters?" He asked.

Natsu grinned widely and toothily, showing off his unique teeth. "Yosh! I'm all fired up!" He exclaimed.

The mayor looked weirdly at him, obviously not completely understanding the Dragon Slayer. "What he's saying is that we are in for it." I told the man, smiling friendly at him. He returned the smile and nodded in understanding.

Erza stood up from her chair with straight back. "The forest is west from here, you say?" She asked. The mayor nodded again. Erza sent him a reassuring smile. "Alright, thank you. We'll take care of the rest." She stated firmly. Our little group got up and went out of his house. Erza walked in the direction towards the west. "This way." She demanded. The rest of us just followed the Scarlet-haired mage, there was no use in going against her words, it would just be plain stupid. Well unless you were trying to commit suicide.

We walked through the town and soon we could see the forest. Honestly, it was creepy. There were only pine trees as far as I could see, and there were a thick layer of fog hovering under the tree crowns. It was completely silent from where we were, not even a crunch of leaves, twittering birds or rustling breezes. Nothing. There was only this thick layer of cold fog. I glanced sideways at Gray, who didn't seem to make any moves of recognition that we'd reached a forest. Natsu was smiling at the forest with Happy on his head, cheery as always and Erza was staring at it with her hands on her hips.

Erza was the first to say something. "Right. Let's go in." Erza said.

Natsu held his hand up to stop her. "No wait, I smell something here." He sniffed around, holding his head down low to the ground. Erza raised a single eyebrow and watched as Natsu played dog. What could he be smelling? "What is this? It seems awfully familiar, but at the same time something I haven't smelled for some time." Natsu muttered to himself. I widened my eyes slightly. Could it be that the monster in here was in fact Igneel, Natsu's lost father? Then Natsu continued muttering to himself. "I know it's not Igneel's, it's different, more sweet." Alright, so it wasn't Igneel.

"What do you smell, Natsu?" Erza asked, genuinely curious about whoever this scent belonged to.

Natsu looked at Erza with a frown. "It smells of vanilla and strawberries, but I just don't know who this could belong to." I saw Gray perk up as 'vanilla and strawberries' was mentioned. He now stood rigidly and stared at Natsu as if he was a moron. Natsu caught this and glared at the Ice mage. "What, Ice Princess? Why are you looking at me like that?" Natsu asked confusedly.

Gray shook his head at his rival. "I'll just wait till you figure it out yourself." Gray said. Then he seemed to fall back into his thoughts again as his frown deepened with every second. Why wouldn't Gray tell Natsu who this scent belonged to? And how did he figure it out? Natsu paid the guy no more attention and kept sniffing around.

Erza, who also seemed to be trying to figure out who this smell belonged to, suddenly broke out of her thoughts. "Oh well, let's try to follow it and see where it leads us." She suggested, or more like demanded. "Maybe that'll give us some clues." Natsu and I nodded, and we all went into the forest with Gray trailing behind us.

We followed Natsu into the forest and after an hour of walking, following this scent, we came to a clearing, where the sun broke through all the trees. "The scent is a little stronger here." Natsu muttered and followed it to the middle of the clearing; his nose twitched a pair of times. "There's also another scent here. It's more animal that the other, it smells like… trouble." Natsu muttered and looked at us back over his shoulder. "I don't know how else to explain it." He looked back down at the ground and followed the new scent a little to the back of the clearing. He went in behind the trees, and I quickly followed him while Erza surveyed the area for potential monsters.

We only needed to take a pair of steps behind the first row of trees, when we found many of the trees beyond that crushed and broken to the ground. I gasped and held my hand to my mouth. "What is this?" Then I realized that this probably was that monster we were supposed to slay.

Natsu had realized too, his lips were in a straight line and he stared at the broken trees with hard, onyx eyes. "This is not good." He said, mostly to himself. He turned around quickly and went back to Erza and Gray. They both looked up at Natsu when he came into view, Erza with a question in her eyes and Gray filled with boredom, but also disappointment. "The other scent… It was the scent of the monster we are supposed to defeat." Natsu said slowly. Their eyes widened exponentially, especially Grays'.

Gray turned around and went deeper into the forest with a scowl on his face. My gaze followed him as he left. "Wonder what's up with him." I said to the other two when Gray was out of range.

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. He's been weird since we came into that train." He said and so we went a little deeper into the forest, following Gray, to look for that monster.

**I think someone's figured something out, don'cha think? Actually, it was quite random, when I began writing it just came out that way, there's no helping it. Honestly.**

**Anyway. What did you think of this new chapter? Good, bad, depressing (Hopefully not, I don't want my readers to be depressed .-.), hilarious? REMEMBER TO REVIEW PEOPLE! – Only if you feel like it though. **

**TRANSLATIONS – There's not many this time!**

'**Káo' means 'No'. – That was it ^_^**

**Thank you Naeda Beasley, Kurosaki Yukia, Cameron (Guest), PoisonPen19, BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, TheRedSquare, Peducchio, Darklucarby, Howk, clumzybeans, Storyguy567, Lyric Chan, GoddessPrimaBella, Your Ojou-Sama, Kimberli-Gomez, shae1472, sora93232, Kagari Higuchi, darkwolfmaster12, SweetDreamer215, .744, Mellow Redfox, l0ren, EverRose808, SakuraMirage1, MilleniumGoddess, ariannapotter96, .96, NamikazeAi-chan, nalu fangirl, Guest and all you other readers, followers, favoriters and reviewers for continuously reading my story! I love you guys.**

**~ Line464d**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**We've reached over 100 favorites! That's just amazing! And it's all thanks to you guys. Seriously, what would I do without you guys? I can't thank you enough.**

**History tiiiiiiime! Yeah, there'll be a little explaining in this one (Just like the others.. Sowwyy!). The Dragons' past, basically. **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, being a slowpoke, hasn't realized his mistake as of yet**

**In the field Dragon Realm**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

I focused all my attention on Dravola as she began explaining. "**Well, you see it all started with the first Dragons.**" The Earth Dragon started. "**Many thousand years ago, Dragons ruled Earthland and the humans, but even before that, when there were no humans, Dragons still existed. There were only two different elements, the Peace Dragons, or the Life Dragons as they were called then, and the Chaos Dragons, or the Death Dragons as they were also called then. These two big types of Dragon lived on Earthland and ruled all living things there. The Peace Dragons and the Chaos Dragons could never agree on anything, and there were an intense hatred between the two.**" She explained in one long go. I remained silent, intrigued with the story of the old Dragons. "**Many battles were fought between the two, as they often clashed, and many from both sides died. However, the Chaos Dragons was stronger in terms of fighting power, and they usually overpowered the Peace Dragons with little effort.**" She looked at me and saw the puzzled expression I was wearing. "**Chaos Dragons' element is much more battle-related than the Peace Dragons', the Peace Dragons are more a kind of support Dragons, I guess you can say. The Chaos Dragons have much more raw power and destruction, whereas the Peace Dragons are healers and protectors. This also lead to the Peace Dragon Clan becoming very little, almost exterminated completely.**" The Earth Dragon sighed. "**At some point, the humans appeared in Earthland, and that lead to the Dragons developing a human form as well. The Dragons, now with a new power, went and 'mingled' with the humans, if you know what I mean. They got children with humans, and that's how humans developed magic powers.**" Oh, so every mage had a Dragon in their family deep, deep down? That's kind of interesting. "**Some of these human-children became Dragons, with their own element. That is because if the mother was a Dragon and the father a human, then the child would be a Dragon. If the mother was a human and the father a Dragon, the child would be a human with magic powers. For Dragons, the mothers' element decides what element the child will have, if father and mother are from different elements, because she is the one carrying the child around, and therefore they have more influence on the child, than the father.**" Dravola explained, probably mostly to me as I was quite sure Acnologia knew that already. "**Anyway, the children which became Dragons had one of the mothers' elements.**" Wait, did she say element_s_? Like, in more than one? Dravola looked down at me and up at Acnologia alternately. "**And this is actually what's most important for you training, a Peace Dragon has the healing abilities of the Sky Dragons, the purifying abilities of the Water Dragons, the ability to give life to for example plants or animals of the Earth Dragons, they own the brightness of the Light Dragons and the beauty of the Ice Dragons.**" Dravola explained and shifted her gaze to Acnologia. I felt my jaw drop a little at those words. Does the Peace Dragons really own that many elements? "**The Chaos Dragons own the destructive abilities of the Fire Dragons, the hardened abilities of the Iron Dragons, the cauterizing abilities of the Poison Dragons, the darkness of the Shadow Dragons and the ability to make their opponent suffer of the Lightning Dragons.**" Dravola inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly after that.

This was so amazing! I couldn't believe it, it was just so… I didn't have any words to explain it. I waited for the elder Dragon to continue her story. It was becoming more and more exciting as she explained it all.

Dravola continued explaining. "**So, a child of a Peace Dragon could have any of the five elements of the mother and likewise with the children of Chaos Dragons. This was the birth of the last ten elements of Dragons.**" Dravola paused.

"**So does that mean that we, the Peace and Chaos Dragons, can learn all of our five elements?**" Acnologia asked with a confused tone. I looked up at my childhood friend; he seemed to be surprised with the information. Why didn't he know this? Didn't Kurama tell him about it? If that's the case, why?

"**Ae (Yes), Acnologia. You can learn to use Fire, Iron, Shadow, Lightning and Poison magic along with your Chaos. You can also mix them together for new moves however you like.**" Grandine smiled at the Dragon. She looked down at me. "**And the same goes for you Lucy, but with Ice, Water, Sky, Earth, Light and Peace magic.**" She smiled. I didn't know what to do besides nodding; I was too overwhelmed to say anything. Could I really learn all that? "**Your elemental powers are also enhanced to that of the Dragons with only one element.**" She told us. My eyes widened. We were stronger too? "**For example, Lucy your healing power with the Sky magic will be stronger than the healing power I possess.**" Grandine smiled. That was amazing. Just plain amazing.

Acnologia looked at Dravola. "**Why haven't I been told this before?**" He finally asked the question we both wanted and an explanation for.

Dravola sighed and looked straight into the Chaos Dragons' eyes. "**That is because you weren't ready to know about it or learn it until then.**" She said flatly. Acnologia tilted his head to urge her to continue. "**If you'd known about it too early, and had learned it at a young stage, your body maybe couldn't contain all that magic, and you would go crazy. This would be fatal, with all the magic you'd have at that point. Or you could get power-hungry and try to overthrow the Dragon Community. So you see, it is important that you are ready to learn this, both physically and mentally.**" Dravola explained. Well that made sense. "**Also, it is only Head Dragons that are allowed to learn of this. Same as before, if someone feels they're being treated unfair, they'll try to overthrow the Dragon Community and throw and uproar. Something we want to avoid.**" Acnologia nodded in understanding.

Grandine nodded at the Earth Dragons explanation. "**Dravola, may I continue explaining from here on?**" She asked the older Dragon, who just nodded in reply. Grandine looked back at Acnologia again. "**This doesn't have much to do with your training, but we believe it is important for you to know.**" Acnologia just nodded slowly. I wondered what they were going to explain now. I got down on the ground and sat comfortably, as I felt this one could be long. "**It is about your grandfather. Acnologia the Dragon of the Apocalypse, as the humans have dubbed him.**" Grandine rolled her eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows, I'd heard that name somewhere before. I just don't remember where. "**Your grandfather was- Káo (No) let me start somewhere else. 400 years ago, not long after the last ten types of elements were found and put together, the humans with magic powers didn't like how the Dragons believed themselves to be above the humans. A war broke out between the two fronts, and some Dragons went to fight with the humans against their own. They believed we should coexist with the humans, whereas the other Dragons, those fighting the humans, believed it to be impossible.**" Grandine looked down at the ground with sadness in her eyes. "**The human side was quickly losing the fight. The humans had nothing even near the power the Dragons had, and the few Dragons on their side weren't enough, they had to figure something else out.**" The light blue Dragon sighed and looked up at Acnologia again. "**So they found an extremely capable human with a huge magical pressure, and had the Chaos Head Dragon at that time train the human, since he was the strongest of all the Dragons on the human side and also in general. The Dragons' name was Gufiadom Tehepo, he was probably the strongest Chaos Dragon to ever exist, but he was not strong enough to fight over a thousand Dragons at the same time himself. The human was your grandfather, Acnologia.**" I gasped. Acnologia's grandfather, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, was a human? "**Gufiadom trained you grandfather in Dragon Slaying magic, magic created to slay Dragons specifically. They went off somewhere unknown and trained while the war still raged on. A few years later, the human came back stronger than what we'd thought he'd be, with Gufiadom behind him. Acnologia began slaying Dragon after Dragon, relentlessly killing everyone going against him. No Dragon could ever match up to his strength. After having slayed relentlessly in a week, he slowly began turning into a Dragon himself.**" Grandine paused shortly, before continuing in a slower pace. "**We don't know what caused him to turn into a Dragon, but my guess would be after he had killed so many Dragons, maybe some of the blood they spilled somehow seeped into and mixed with his own blood, and thus transforming him.**" Grandine smiled slightly. "**Anyway, soon he turned into a Dragon completely. The powers he had, Dragon Slayer powers, remained as effective against Dragons as ever, even though he himself was a Dragon. The battles he fought were fierce, and many cities, towns, buildings and also humans were caught in the crossfire and killed. This led the humans to believe that Acnologia was a bad Dragon, along with the rest of us Dragons, who had fought on their side. Acnologia ended the fight, and the human side were victorious, however because the humans found it impossible to coexist with Dragons, the surviving Dragons, figured that they needed somewhere else to be. There were only a little under a thousand Dragons left still alive, whereas there before the war were several millions. Acnologia used almost all of his remaining magic to create and send the surviving Dragons to the Dragon Realm.**" I felt the tears stinging in the back of my eyes. This story was so sad; I couldn't believe that all this had happened. "**After the war, Acnologia didn't have much magic left to fight with, but he created the Dragon Community and established peace between the Clans. He found himself a mate and became the Head of the Chaos Clan, as he had found his master, Gufiadom dead during the fight. Not long after that, he died, but he had left his mate with a child, which was your father, Kurama.**" Grandine ended off. "**The humans believe Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, to be a creation of Zeref and an evil being, but they are so wrong it's almost comical. Your grandfather is the ideal Dragon in our belief and we've built this community in his beliefs and how he'd wanted it to be. So it's equal for all.**" She smiled to my childhood friend.

I felt tears falling from my eyes. Why did Gufiadom have to die? Why couldn't those people see how much Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, did to help them? Why did he have to die too?

I felt something big streaking my arm, it was smooth and a felt a little like snakeskin. I looked down and saw a royal blue tail with something resembling a fish-fin in top. It was smooth and snakelike. I looked up to look into the dark purple eyes of Amelane. She was smiling down at me and stroke my arm with her tail. I smiled thankfully up at her and wiped away my tears. I glanced at Acnologia; he was sitting there speechless and wide eyed, staring at Grandine. You could almost hear the gears spinning in his head.

I looked at Grandine, who was looking alternately at Acnologia and I, her gaze lingering on Acnologia a little longer. "That was such a beautiful story." I muttered, knowing they could all hear me with their Dragon senses. Grandine nodded with a sad smile. I turned my gaze to Acnologia, who hadn't moved at all. This was a big shock to him; I wondered why they hadn't told him earlier, probably for the same reasons. So he wouldn't go all crazy and want to kill the entire human race. Dragons' senses and everything else was enhanced, so he might be feeling an intense hatred towards humans now. I shivered a little at the thought and hoped he wouldn't go that far. "Your grandfather was a true hero, Acnologia." I said with a bright smile.

He slowly turned his head to me and looked down on me with soft eyes and nodded. "**Yes, he was indeed a true hero.**" He smiled a little smile and looked up at Dravola. "**Thank you for sharing this with me, I appreciate it a lot.**" He told her.

Dravola looked at the Chaos Dragon. "**You shouldn't thank me; thank your father when you rescue him. He was the one who said that I should tell you, when you reached a point where I estimated you to be ready to know.**" She said plainly. I widened my eyes and smiled like an idiot. She basically said she gave us the green lights to go rescue Kurama!

Acnologia smiled at the Earth Dragon again and bowed his head slightly. "**Thank you, Dravola.**" He repeated. The old lady sighed and nodded, but not without a tiny smile on her lips. That was the first time I saw her show some emotion, she'd been quite unexpressive the whole time. "**So, about the training…**" Acnologia trailed off.

Dravola looked at Acnologia and nodded again. "**Ae (Yes). We will have to figure something out.**" She said. "**But first, we need the two of you to find those hidden elements –**" She looked at me with her brown eyes. "**And we need you to awaken your Dragon form.**" I nodded; I was actually looking forward to discover that other side of me, even though I was a little scared at the same time too. It was so hard to understand that there was a Dragon in me. So unreal that this was actually happening to me.

"**Yeah, how'll we go about doing that?**" Glanasile asked Dravola.

The elder Dragon looked at him and then back at me. "**You said you were in this… Fairy Tail.**" I nodded. Where was she going with this? "**Am I correct in assuming this is a mages' guild?**" She asked bluntly. I just nodded, not sure what to say or do in the situation. Dravola looked back at Glanasile. "**Then it's easy, we'll just have her work on the magic she already possesses.** **Then eventually she'll be strong enough for the Dragon to awaken, and that's when we can start the other part of the training.**" Dravola said matter-of-factly.

Glanasile remained expressionless, but seemed a little tensed. Igneel looked at Dravola wide eyed. "**So what you're saying is she already has magic?**" Dravola nodded and rolled her eyes at the stupid question. "**But that's impossible!**" He said a little loudly. I looked between them, why was this impossible? I'd had magic ever since I was little.

Skyadrum sighed at the Fire Dragon. "**Moron.**" She mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. "**Don't you remember Layla also had human magic?**" She asked exasperatedly. Igneel scrunched his face up in thought and nodded after a while. The Shadow Dragon rolled her eyes. "**That was because her father too was a human, who coincidentally possessed Celestial magic.**" Skyadrum turned her head and looked at me with a smile. "**I'm sure the magic you possess is like your mothers, Celestial magic. Am I right?**"

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's right. I'm a Celestial mage." I smiled. Most of the surrounding Dragons dropped their jaws. Honestly, Metallicana and Sacheba looked hilarious, that expression just didn't fit their tough appearance. I giggled a little at the two.

Skyadrum smiled and nodded in satisfaction. Amelane, who had dropped her tail next to me, leaned down slightly. "**What keys do you own now?**" She asked softly.

I beamed at the Water Dragon and pulled out the keys in my belt. "I already have 14. Nine Gold keys and five Silver." I answered.

Amelane's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "**That's quite many, isn't it?**" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot actually." Amelane smiled down at me and nodded.

"**So, which do you already own?**" Weisslogia asked. At that point, I realized all the attention was on me, and I suddenly became extremely self-conscious. I'd never been like that before, why start now?

"U-uh. Of the Gold keys, I have the l-leader Leo the Lion, Aries the Ram, Cancer the Crab, Aquarius the Water Bearer, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Archer, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins and Virgo the Maiden." I listed, gaining a little power in my voice as I spoke. I still don't know why I got so nervous, honestly. "Of the Silver keys, I have Nikora the Canis Minor, Lyra the Lyre, Horologium the Clock, Crux the Southern Cross and Pyxis the Compass." I smiled, having named all my closest friends that I carry around.

Skyadrum nodded with a wide smile. "**Well, that's indeed many. You have three out of four of the keys your mother owned.**" She said. Huh? Don't I have them all? Aquarius, Cancer and Taurus, those were the ones she gave me then, years ago. "**You already have Aquarius, Cancer and Taurus.**" She stated as if she'd read my mind. "**But there's still one you do not own yet. Capricorn.**" She smiled. "**Capricorn was her most trusted Spirit, if I remember correctly.**" I widened my eyes. Capricorn? I didn't know Mama had Capricorn. Why hadn't she also given me that key? – Not supposed to sound so selfish. But why hadn't she ever mentioned him to me?

I heard some rustling noises and looked up to see Skyadrum take something off Weisslogia's golden armor with her tail. I couldn't see what it was she had taken; it was too small and covered completely by the tail. The Shadow Dragon walked over to me and rolled her tail out in front of me, showing what she was holding. It was a little Gold key, which would be easily hidden in Weisslogia's armor, with a mark with something similar to a 'V' and a 'S' written together. At the end of it, there was something resembling the curling horns on a goat.

I immediately recognized the key as Capricorn's. "I-is this..?" I asked, unable to complete my question.

Skyadrum smiled and nodded. "**Yes, this is Capricorn the Goat.**" She confirmed. "**Your mother gave this key to Amelane and me so we'd remember her – she said, but also so we could pass it on to you, when we met you. This was just before she left to marry **_**Jude**_**.**" She hissed my fathers' name. "**I've taken care of the key, waiting for the day her daughter would show up anxiously-**" She paused and smiled gently at me. "**So I could give her the last key.**" My eyes widened. She'd give me Capricorn? Just like that? Skyadrum extended her tail a little further, so it was right in front of me, with its beautifully decorated key on top.

I looked up at Skyadrum, as if for allowance, she nodded and I slowly reached out for the key. This was the last key my mother owned. The last thing she left for me. I picked up the Gold key, feeling the cool feeling of the metal in my hands, at the same time, a welcoming warmth spread from my hand and throughout my whole body. The key glowed warmly in recognition of its new Master. I smiled softly down at my new friend.

I heard a whistle behind me and felt an arm on my shoulder. "Ehh, is that Capricorn?" A male voice asked. A voice I recognized a little too well. I looked up at the man who rested his arm on my shoulder. Orange mane-like hair, sunglasses, cat like facial features, an open suit with a red tie. Yes, there was no doubt about it. "Haven't seen him for a while." Loke smiled. I sighed, why did he always have to pop up in the weirdest times?

I heard a growling sound in front of me and looked up to see Skyadrum hissing at Loke. "**Who are you, human?**" She growled, indicating a hidden threat if he didn't answer her.

Loke looked up at her and beamed. "I'm Loke, also known as Leo the Lion, Leader of the Zodiac keys in Earthland. Nice to meet you Miss..?" Loke answered politely.

Skyadrum seemed a little surprised, but regained her composure. "**Skyadrum Atarangi.**" She stated her name. "**Nice to meet you too, Lucy's Spirit.**" She replied a little coldly.

Loke ignored her icy words completely. "Ah, Skyadrum Atarangi, what a beautiful name." He beamed at her again. I felt a vein bulge out at my temple. You have _got_ to be kidding me. I hit him in the head hard. "Ow! What was that for?" He asked innocently, but with smirking eyes.

Which only made me even more irritated. "Stop flirting with Dragons who already _has_ a mate! Idiot." I scolded my Spirit, who only grinned in return.

Skyadrum looked at me a little baffled. "**Is he usually like this?**" She asked straight out.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, he flirts with everyone." I answered exasperatedly.

Loke's pulled me into him with his one arm. "Aww, Princess~, but you know who I truly love is-" I covered his mouth before he could say more, face red with embarrassment. Great first impression. Just fantastic.

Someone broke into a deep fit of laughter somewhere behind Skyadrum. I looked to see Igneel laughing his eyes out. Why didn't it surprise me? Soon many of the other Dragons joined in on Igneel's contagious laughter. I giggled a little right alongside them.

Loke, after getting over the punch, looked at me with a smile. "Ah, yeah. I've spoken with the Spirit King. He's cleared these next 28 days in the Spirit World, so that you can train with him at any time the next 14 years here." Loke told me. I looked at him shocked. Had the Spirit King really cleared all these days so that I can train? That's just crazy!

I jumped a little up and down on the spot and squealed. "Yayy! Thank you Loke!" I smiled and threw my arms around him in a hug. He caught me and hugged me back gently.

Amelane tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "**The Spirit King..?**" She muttered.

Skyadrum looked at the Water Dragon with a little smile. "**Yeah, I remember Layla telling us about him.**" Amelane looked at her friend curiously. "**He is the strongest of all Spirits, apparently too strong for any Celestial mage to have his key. Or so I've heard.**" She explained.

I nodded at her words, having listened to their conversation. "Yeah, that's right. And that very Spirit had agreed to help me train! It's amazing!" I said excitedly. It was impossible to believe that he had actually said yes to help my training. It was just amazing. Sure, I heard Loke telling me the same thing yesterday, but the whole of 28 days in the Spirit World!

Dravola cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "**From your description of him, he's the King of the Spirits-**" I thought that was obvious? "**And probably has a lot of work to do too.**" She looked directly at me, with a firm gaze. "**You are lucky to be taught by even the King of the Spirits.**" She looked to be in thought for a moment. Then nodded to herself. "**Ae (Yes). I'll be calling for the Head Dragon of the smaller Clan of Celestial Dragons to help you out as well.**" Dravola nodded. My eyes widened. Even the Head Dragon of the Celestial Clan would help me? Now all we need is a god, then we're all together. But… Didn't Moustache-Man somehow lie under the category 'God'?

A silence followed after her words, the group looking at each other, wondering who'd be the next to say something.

Simakan turned his head to Dravola and looked at her with a lazy expression. "**So, when do we start all this?**" He asked lazily.

Dravola looked into his eyes for a little while, remaining silent. "**Well, Glanasile and I will have to come up with a program of some sorts.**" She looked to the Ice Dragon, who nodded in approval. "**So we'll start tomorrow.**" She stated, then she looked at Acnologia, with a stern expression. "**You two should probably find somewhere to stay. You can't come into any of the Clans, I'm afraid, the other Dragons will notice you and Lucy, and quickly put two and two together.**" She paused. "**Which we do not want to happen.**" She looked into the forest on the other side of the river. "**I believe there is a cave somewhere in there, where you can stay.**" Acnologia nodded. A cave again, huh? Well I can live with that. "**Alright. Then Glanasile and I will take our leave so we can discuss this program.**" Dravola stated and spread out her wings and flew up in the air, going the opposite way of the forest. Glanasile nodded to me as a 'see you later' and then followed the Earth Dragon. None of them giving me time to wave back or anything.

We watched as the two Dragons flew away and disappeared from out sight. Igneel, who'd miraculously remained silent a long way through it all, looked at me excitedly. "**So Lucy tell us about your adventures with Fairy Tail!**" He said excitedly. Basuril, who had slept the last few hours and had woken up, also looked at me excitedly with sparkling eyes and nodding quickly with his head.

I sighed. "Alright, but there are many." I thought back and remembered all my adventures vividly. "I'll just start from the beginning I guess-" I said and told them the very first day I met Natsu. Much more detailed this time.

**The forest west from Saraj**

**Grays' P.O.V**

I couldn't believe their denseness. I could understand Flame Head, but Erza too? Didn't they realize this person was Lucy? She'd probably gone on that mission alone after what we said a few days ago. She had said her rent was due, if I remember correctly. Who am I kidding, Lucy _always _needed money for the rent. But she never went on so dangerous missions, she'd usually have chosen something more simple. Maybe she wanted to show us, or maybe herself, that she wasn't as weak as we'd thought she was.

That monster… Had it killed her? No, it couldn't have. Lucy still had her Spirits, and they were loyal to her and would protect her, even Aquarius. Lucy wouldn't be defeated by a mere creature, there was more to her than that. Loke was with her, and I knew for a fact that he would protect her against anything.

I hadn't been honest when I'd said she was weak. In my eyes, Lucy was one of the stronger in our guild. She could open a gate to another world, who else in our guild could do that? Yeah, exactly. No one could. And she probably also had the nicest character of all of us. She was kind and forgiving, to even her enemies.

I'd have preferred Lucy over Lisanna any day, but the four of us had made the promise to become a team someday, and I wasn't one to break my promises. I hated the rule that a Team at max could have 4 members in it. No, Wendy never really was a member of our team like that. She was more like… Tagging along I guess. And Exceeds didn't count. I don't know why Master made that rule, I thought it was ridiculous. It would have been so nice if it wasn't there, then we hadn't had to kick Lucy off Team Natsu, then both Lucy and Lisanna could be on the team, without any problems.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked around at my surroundings. I was still in the forest, surrounded by those damn pine trees – I'd had enough of them already – A little further ahead, I could see a mountain of some sort reaching over the trees. I decided that I might as well go there.

So I walked towards the mountain. After a little while, I ended up in front of it. There was a big semi-circle in the mountain, making a big cave. The semi-circle was even taller than the trees. In the grass in front of the cave I could see four big footprints. I stepped closer to inspect it further, it was a ginormous foot, and it pointed out in four spikes in the end. The other four were similar to the first, although the back two a little bit bigger. I quickly realized that I had reached the cave, in which the monster lived.

I looked up at the cave carefully, I couldn't see or hear anything from it, so my curiosity got the best of me and I tip toed forward. I went to the edge of the one side of the cave and pressed my bare skin on my back and arms against the cold stone and peeked into the cave. Wait… _Bare back_? I looked down, only to find myself being stripped off my shirt. I moaned quietly, why couldn't I just keep my shirt on? I looked back over the little field, or what you would call it, and quickly found my shirt lying on the ground. With my pants right next to it. Oh for Mavis' sake, why did I always do that?

What does it matter, the monster wouldn't mind either way. I ignored the fact that I only stood in boxers and peeked into the cave again. All I could see was darkness, and I couldn't hear anything from the cave. I silently tip toed into the cave, making sure I didn't make any sounds and soon I found a gigantic nest. It was big enough for the whole Fairy Tail guild and there'd still be space left!

I crept closer to the nest, even though no one was around to discover me. The nest was of many different plants, although all dead, and sticks. In the middle of it all, a big part of it was pressed down, as if the monster had been lying there recently. I climbed up in the nest and got closer.

First thing I noticed was what could be seen as the front feet, clawed front feet, between them, a long neck reached out and at the end, an oval-shaped circle sat. Probably the head. I looked back down at the front legs, across the part where the big torso had been, the back legs and at last, I followed a long line, which circled around and was held a little out of its torso. I guessed that long line was its tail. It had been lying in an awkward position, hadn't it? It didn't seem like the way a normal… Whatever it was, would lie. Looking the whole thing over again, I recognized its shapes. It looked an awful lot like how I'd imagine a Dragon looked.

"Hey, Ice Prick, your clothes are out here!" An annoying voice cut my thoughts off. I turned my head to glare at the pink-headed bastard. "Put them on already, I'm getting tired of watching your naked body all the time!" He added, and then looked at what I was standing in. His face lit up in a brilliant smile. Which annoyed me to no end, especially right now. "Ooh, what have you found there?" He ran up to me excitedly, as I kept glaring at the moron.

Erza and Lisanna stepped into view, and I unconsciously waited for a blonde Celestial mage to appear too, but quickly realized she wouldn't. I shook my head a little and looked away from the two. "Gray." A firm female voice called out. I looked up again to look into Erza's eyes at the entrance. "Don't go running off like that again." I nodded, not really putting anything into it. Erza stared into my eyes a second longer and then nodded too, looking at the nest. "Yes, what is it you have found here?" She then asked.

Natsu ran up to me just as I was about to answer. "It's a biiiiiiiig nest! Big enough for a Dragon!" He exclaimed, not aware of how close he was to the truth.

I sighed at his continuous stupidity. "Natsu. It is big enough for a Dragon, because it is _meant_ for a Dragon." I told him exasperatedly. "Moron." I muttered under my breath in addition.

Natsu's head shot up and looked at me expectantly. "A Dragon? Really?" Then he narrowed his eyes at me. "How can you be so sure? Stripper." He added, obviously not believing me.

I sighed again and pointed at the mark of the Dragon. "Just look at that, Fire Brain." How would he ever survive without Team Natsu?

Natsu looked at the nest again, and seemed to notice what I was pointing at. "Ooh…" He turned his head around to the two others. "Yeah, it really is a Dragon!" I shook my head, and watched the two others and Happy, who had fallen back a little apparently, widen their eyes. They rushed up to the nest and looked down at it too.

Lisanna looked back up at Natsu. "And you said it was the same scent as in the clearing?" She asked.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, both the monster and the other one too. The sweet one." I shot my head up at him. What? She was here too? What had happened to her? Had the Dragon held her hostage or… Are Dragons even clever enough for that kind of things? "They're both much stronger here than even in the clearing. It also seems the both of them left a while ago, along with… A cat? Okay, now I'm confused." Natsu shook his head. The cat… It must've been Loke, I wondered what happened… "A cat, a human and a Dragon. Alright. Ah, what does it matter? We just have to slay the Dragon, and then we'll take care of the human and cat!" Natsu grinned toothily. I sighed again at his stupidity and denseness. Maybe Loke had been fighting to save Lucy? What if he wasn't strong enough? What would have happened to Lucy?

I looked at Erza, who also mulled over what this whole thing was. I shook my head. Erza too? I could understand Lisanna, since she never _really_ met Lucy, and Natsu had always been dense, but I had hoped he could recognize his best friends' scent. And Erza, she should be able to figure it out too, why were they so slow?

I moaned out loud and walked, or stomped, out of the cave. I looked around at the trees outside the cave, and they seemed like they'd been terrorized by a strong wind. A wind that could possibly be made by wings, maybe? Hmm, maybe I could feel the magical pressure of the Dragon? It was worth a try. And so, I closed my eyes and focused on trailing the magical pressure, I quickly found the strongest one, which most likely was the Dragons' and opened my eyes. Although I couldn't see it, I could feel the Dragon quite well. Lucys' magical pressure was completely gone, which made me kind of nervous. It could only mean one of two things; her magic was completely hidden by the much stronger magic of the Dragon, or she simply wasn't there. In other words, she'd been eaten. I desperately hoped it would be the first of the two, the latter was too frightening to even consider.

I tried to feel where the Dragon had went, but somewhere along the way, it just disappeared. Or rather, flew into another magic and disappeared afterwards. I wondered what it all meant. So it'd disappeared had it? Well, in that case our mission is already cleared, since the monster had flown away and wasn't a threat to Saraj.

I turned around to face my team, as they were still mulling over the nest. "The Dragon left with the human and cat, the mission is already cleared." I said exasperatedly, not sure if I was correct, but hoping with all my being that I was. The three turned to look at me with weird expressions.

Natsu was the first to say something. "And how are you so sure about that, Droopy Eye?" Natsu asked not believing a single word I said.

I sighed again, which I'd done many times lately. "Because I followed the Dragons' magical pressure out here, and they disappeared abruptly in the sky into another magical pressure." I explained. "The mission is over and done with."

Erza walked out with a skeptic look in her face, standing next to me, she too closed her eyes and focused. I watched her as she opened her eyes again and followed the magical pressure I had followed just before. Then she nodded. "Yes, Gray is right. They definitely disappeared." She looked back at the three others. "Well then. Let's go back again." She walked off with heavy steps where we had come from. The three rushed up to her quickly and followed close behind. I followed them all, but fell behind a little purposely.

Where had that Dragon went? Had it eaten Lucy or was she still alive? How could they just disappear midair? Why was Lucy with a Dragon in the first place? Why had she gone with it into its cave? Was it someone she knew? Or had the Dragon somehow taken her hostage? Had it already killed her then, and had simply just taken its prey with it into it cave to devour in peace? What kind of Dragon was it? Why had it taken Lucy to wherever they went? Why didn't Loke do anything? Had he just given up and resigned to fate? Or was it something else? Why was Lucy even in Saraj and this forest? Had she been on a mission, or just sightseeing? Why hadn't she told anyone in team Natsu about this? Was it because we kicked her off the team? Why had she gone off alone?

My head swirled with thoughts and I couldn't seem to find an end to them. The others didn't notice how I slowly fell further and further behind, they walked forward, chit-chatting irrelevant stuff, that didn't even have to do with the recently discovered 'scent of something familiar', cave, Dragon or the sudden disappearing of it all. No, they were talking about how to get home, Natsu complaining and the others convincing him that it was too far to walk.

Looking from the distance, as I was, it all seemed so shallow. They didn't reach down deep, all forgetting the fact that they had just found a _Dragon_, which were supposed to be gone, and a familiar scent with it. They walked through the forest, talking about something so irrelevant, that it almost pained me, while someone they cared for – as far as I knew anyway – may or may not have been abducted by a friggin' Dragon. How could they not recognize Lucy's scent in the first place? It was all so weird.

I looked at Lisanna, who walked close to Natsu. _Really_ close. Almost-rubbing-each-other-as-they-walked close. I slowly began to think that maybe, just _maybe_, it was a mistake to kick Lucy off Team Natsu, and accept Lisanna. _Maybe_ things would have been better with Lucy. Although I didn't know what would be better.

**Okay, so Gray didn't fully realize Lucy left the guild, however he **_**is**_** close to figuring it out. Don'cha think? **

**Also, I hope my history-lesson wasn't too much of a drag. I know it probably wasn't the most interesting part of this whole thing, but it was quite necessary to get the story out and all. Err, at least it was important. **

**Sooo yeah.. I don't know what else to say than; Have a good day guys! Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting! It is all much appreciated! **

**NO TRANSLATIONS TODAY! HUUUURAAAAYYYYYYY! **

**Thanks to Sabiiinou Valdez DiAngelo, Naeda Beasley, .744, Lucy KeymasterMage Heartfilia, Vincenziia, ultimate-owner, DuhKpopFreak, guest (Guest), pat (Guest), KimmyRose, jessipluto1983, Kurosaki Yukia, kerippi, MoonStar1312, sassycat712, CGpyro, mjb376, darkrith, , dakrlord71 and all you other readers for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! You. Are. The. Best!**

**~Line464d**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**So… Not much happened since last week, except you guys being fantastic as always. Already over 160 followers – It still feels like the 100****th**** was just yesterday. You guys are amazing, honestly, there's just nothing more to say.**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, as we all know him, still owns all of Fairy Tail**

**On the field, Dragon Realm**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Then he brought me to the guild Fairy Tail, which is a place where there's always messy. Everyone were fighting each other and destroying the guild hall as they fought. Honestly, I think either Natsu or Gray, Natsu's rival and an Ice mage, were the ones who destroyed the most. Anyway, soon they all went 'serious' and were about to use magic to win, but then Master Makarov came. He's the Guild master of Fairy Tail and one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints, which is the ten strongest mages in all of Fiore, he stopped them before anyone could get seriously injured, and I joined the guild." I explained with a bright smile. I had told the remaining Dragons, which would be everyone except Glanasile and Dravola, about the first day I met Natsu. Through it all, I'd kept brushing the place where my guild mark once sat with my other hand. It was somewhat nostalgic to talk about and remember that day.

Igneel and little Basuril were listening tentatively and with sparkly eyes. Metallicana and Sacheba smirked next to Simakan, who wore a bored expression. Grandine and Amelane laid down flat on their stomachs with equally soft and kind eyes. Skyadrum, who laid down like the other two females on her stomach, leaning into Weisslogia, who sat straight and seemingly didn't mind Skyadrum, both looking at me with their piercing eyes, each listening to everything I'd said. Silvia sat rigid and looked alternately at me with a hard stare and Acnologia with a soft smile. Did she hate me or something? Acnologia sat down, letting me sit on his foot, both so I could get just a little higher up in the air, and for some kind of comfort. Loke had left a little while ago, knowing the story quite well.

Even though this happened around 7 months ago, I still remembered it vividly, down to every last detail. I think that day was the happiest in my life, and probably the one which changed my life the most. After that came either yesterday or today, they obviously also changed my life violently much.

"**Heh, looks like my son is the reason you joined this 'Fairy Tail' and brought you many happy moments and adventures. I'm proud of him!**" Igneel said with pride in his voice. He's proud that his son wrecked almost a whole city and a big part of Fairy Tails' guild hall? I'll never get either of them.

I smiled at the big Dragon. "Yeah, he sure is." I said, although the memory of what had happened a few days ago flashed through my mind.

Acnologia muttered something under his breath, which even the Dragons couldn't hear. As I looked up at him, his eyes were fierce with some kind of determination and… something like hatred.

Simakan sighed. "**Well, that was an interesting story Lucy.**" He said slowly. "**But it's getting late and you and Acnologia will need to find that cave, or whatever it was.**" He said as he lazily rose to his feet.

The others watched him silently, then nodded in a silent agreement. Most of them anyway.

"**Aww, do we have to leave?**" Igneel whined with a childish pout.

Basuril nodded in agreement with the big Fire Dragon. "**Yeah~ I wanna stay with Ac-nii-chan!**" He said just as childishly and loud. He could get away with it though, he was only 8 after all, but Igneel.. That was another story. It was just disturbing somehow. How was it possible for two persons of so different age to have so similar personalities?

Skyadrum got up on her feet at the same time as Weisslogia, who looked at the two pouting Dragons. "**I think Lucy and Acnologia will need some time to rest, so they're ready for their training tomorrow.**" He told them a little sternly. He was right; we would probably need sleep for the upcoming day. Weisslogia looked at Acnologia and I, I'm not sure which of us though. "**Goodnight Lucy, Acnologia, I'll look forward to training with you.**" He nodded at both of us. I smiled in return and Acnologia nodded.

Skyadrum looked down at me with a surprisingly soft smile, that didn't quite seem to fit with her more fierce appearance. "**Goodnight Lucy, sweet dreams.**" She smiled and turned around to fly away with Weisslogia, completely forgetting Acnologia.

"Goodnight! See you later!" I yelled back while waving at them.

Simakan turned his back to Acnologia and I and looked over his shoulder – if you could call it that – at us. "**C'ya**." He plainly said and zapped away with his lightning like Laxus, without giving either of us time to reply. Ah well, that was just Simakan.

Silvia, looking rather annoyed, looked between Acnologia and I. Her eyes settled on me, she gave me a firm stare, which made me feel like I began to shrink. It felt like she was glaring at me. "**Goodnight Lucy.**" She at last said expressionlessly. I tried to seem friendly and smiled and nodded back, but she was already looking at Acnologia with a soft and motherly look in her eyes. "**Night Acnologia, sleep tight.**" She said with and almost high pitched voice, tilted her head a little and smiled. I narrowed my eyes at the silver Dragon who was my aunt. Something about her was off. Weren't an aunt supposed to be happy when she finally meets her long lost niece? Not that I knew much about family-love and all, I hadn't experienced much of it, but even so… This was a little weird from what I was told about aunts.

Acnologia smiled back at her nodded. "**Goodnight Silvia, you too.**" He replied. Silvia spread her wings and flew away without giving me a second glance.

Amelane sighed and took a step forward, she had a somewhat sad expression on her face. "**Never mind Silvia, Lucy. She's just… **_**Surprised**_** to meet you.**" She carefully said. I looked up at the blue Dragon. The expression in her purple eyes clearly told me we had to have a talk sometime.

I nodded and smiled carefully at the Dragon. "Right. Thank you Amelane, goodnight." I said, earning a smile from her.

She looked at me with her pretty, purple eyes. "**Goodnight, Lucy.**" She looked up at Acnologia, who wore a confused expression. I giggled in my mind, he'd seen we'd had a silent conversation, but didn't understand it. "**You too Acnologia.**" She smiled at him. He nodded in reply and she turned around and took off in the opposite direction of the forest.

I looked at the Fire Head Dragon and found him with an expression of pure sadness. I smiled at the Dragon, oh how he reminded me of a certain salmon-haired idiot. I got up from Acnologias' foot and walked up to the Fire Dragon and hugged his snout. He was lying on the ground with his head buried between his feet in a display of defeat, looking like a lost puppy while doing so. "Aww Igneel, I'll miss you too." I grinned and didn't release the big guy, just closed my eyes.

I felt Igneels' head move under my arms, and knew he was grinning as well. "**Oh, so you will miss me~?**" Igneel teased. I sweat dropped, that line was so similar with something Loke would say, it wasn't even funny.

But even then, I kept smiling. I released him from my hug and looked into his all too familiar onyx eyes. "Of course I will." I beamed at him.

He kept still for a second, then nodded with a wide smile. Even for him. He really was just like a kid. "**Alright Lucy, I'll see you in the morning~!**" He said childishly. What did he mean? I hadn't heard of anything like we'd meet up again in the morning. Eh, it was Igneel, so he could just have forgotten something. He got up from where he lay and looked down at me. "**Sleep tight!**" He turned his gaze to Acnologia and smiled widely at him too. "**Goodnight Acnologia, it was good to see you again!**" He said happily.

"Goodnight Igneel!" I replied quickly.

Acnologia nodded to Igneel. "**Yeah, you too. Say hi to Chylirobi from me, will you?**" He requested. Igneel nodded with a smile and flew away over the forest. I wondered who Chylirobi was, and what connection she and Acnologia had, but didn't ask. I didn't think my brain could handle any more information for the rest of this week.

"**Night Squirt.**" An unmistakable, gruff voice said.

I looked up at the Iron Dragon, who smirked down at me. I got slightly annoyed by my new nickname, but ignored it and smiled at him. "**Goodnight Metallicana, and the name's Lucy.**" I told him.

"**Right.**" He nodded. So would he stop now? "**Squirt.**" He added with a smirk, he knew it annoyed me. That Dragon…! Metallicana looked at Acnologia with a more serious expression, but still with a faint smirk. What was he planning to do? "**Brat.**" He said to get Acnologias' attention, even though it was quite unnecessary since we were all looking at him anyway. He lifted his foot and pointed down at me with one of his claws. I stared at the sharp claw before me in fright. Was he trying to kill me?! What he then said, was quite surprising. "**You better watch out for your mate here, or you'd risk losing your head.**" He smirked at the last part, referring to his own promise to me.

I felt my face heat up at the word 'mate' and glanced at Acnologia, to see him being flustered as well. "**A-ae (Yes) Metallicana, I will**" He stuttered. Metallicana laughed out loud, with Sacheba snickering next to him.

"**That's great Brat. Night.**" He laughed. Acnologia just nodded, apparently not interested in continuing the conversation any further, I could understand him, I didn't either.

Sacheba was still snickering lowly. "**Goodnight you two, sssee you later.**" He said in his slightly hissing way. Pushing away Metallicanas' earlier comment, I smiled at the Poison Dragon and waved him and Metallicana off.

"**Why does he always have to be like that?**" Acnologia muttered. I looked up at him. Why did who have to be like what? Who was he talking about? I shrugged lightly to myself, I'd find out sooner or later. I think.

Grandine got up from the ground and stood up, looking at Acnologia and me with her kind smile. "**Well, I better get going too then. Sleep well you two.**" She said.

"Goodnight Grandine." I said as Acnologia nodded. She smiled and flew away, graceful as ever.

I heard a sniff and looked at the last Dragon, Basuril. He was standing, head bowed down, and looked like he was about to cry. Jeez, what's with that? He'll probably see Acnologia tomorrow anyway. Yes, I knew it wasn't me he was crying for, it was obviously his 'Onii-chan'. But even so, he just looked so Kawaii! That expression was just _so_ adorable, I almost squealed at the little guy.

Basuril tilted his head a little up and looked at Acnologia with tearful eyes. "**C-can't I just s-sleep with you guys tonight Ac-nii-chan?**" He asked childishly, but extremely adorably. I choked down another squeal when Basuril looked at Acnologia with puppy-eyes. Even though I knew it wasn't genuine, that it was all just an act, I was just standing on the verge of running over to the little guy, pull him into a vice grip of a hug and yell 'yes' repeatedly.

However Acnologia had other plans. "**Káo (No), you're going home.**" He said plainly, clearly showing it wasn't up for discussion. Basurils' lower lip poked out and his eyes brimmed up with tears. I turned away so I didn't do something I'd regret later. Acnologia sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "**Káo (No), Basuril-kun. You have to go home now.**" He said firmly.

I looked up at him in disbelief. Was he not affected by Basurils' cuteness? Had he become immune somehow? Then I saw a drop of sweat trailing down the side of his head. Alright, so he wasn't immune, he was in fact struggling to keep his cool.

Basuril dropped his act, and beamed at the two of us. "**Oh well, I guess it can't be helped then. I'll see you later!** **Goodnight!**" He smiled.

Acnologia and I dropped our jaws and our eyes popped out of our skulls. How could he change so suddenly? It wasn't natural!

I waved weakly at the little Dragon and Acnologia stared at him dumbfounded as he flew away. We stayed silent as he flew out of sight. "That's just not natural." I muttered silently. Acnologia nodded and we both stared at the direction Basuril had flown, for a pair of seconds in silence.

I broke off from my trance and noticed that the sun was about to disappear behind the trees, it had a weak, red color and its warm rays lit everything up in the same warm, red color. The water sparkled even more than it did before, reflecting the warm sunlight in many different shades of red and yellow. The grass, flowers and leaves on the trees had also adopted the many different shades of red and yellow. It all had a very warm feeling to it, but nonetheless beautiful. The sky was going from a warm red near the setting sun to a bluish purple color at the other end.

"Whoa…" I whispered for the second time that day. "Acnologia, have you seen this?" I asked without looking at him. I could see at the edge of my peripheral that at first he looked down at me, then followed my gaze to our surroundings. "Isn't it beautiful?" I asked.

I could see that he looked down at me again at the edge of my vision. "**More beautiful than anything I've ever seen.**" He said in a low voice and a lot of feeling put into it. I looked into his captivating eyes. I could see his dark scales give off a dark red color in the setting suns' rays. Why did he put so many feelings into those words? It was just a view, beautiful or not. Wait, did he actually mean – No! _That's_ not what he meant! There's no way _that_ could be what he meant. After all, we've only known each other for nine days, technically speaking. And that's way too short time to have developed… _That._ Way. Too. Short.

"**-cy. LUCY!**" I heard someone yell somewhere far away. It pulled me out of my confused thoughts. I blinked a pair of times and looked at the owner of the voice. "**I've been calling for you in some time, what were you doing?**" A big Dragonhead asked.

I shrieked and jumped back in shock, holding my hands to my chest, panting a little. "Oh dear Mavis, you shocked me Acnologia!" I panted.

Acnologia chuckled. "**Yeah, well you were spacing out so..**" He trailed off and shook his head. "**Anyway, let's go find that cave.**" He said.

I nodded. "Yeah, we better." I agreed looking at the Dragon sized forest on the other side of the Dragon sized river. My eyes fell on the glittery water. "Eh, Acnologia?" He turned his head in my direction. I pointed at the river. "How are we getting over that?" I asked.

He smiled down at me. "**Why, we are flying of course.**" He said as if it was obvious. I stared at him. How was I supposed to fly without wings? I gestured to my wingless back. Acnologia looked at me weirdly for a sec., then made an 'o' with his gigantic mouth. "**You'll just sit on my back like before.**" He smiled.

I nodded slowly. Didn't he realize how perverted that just sounded? "Alright. It'll probably also make it easier to find the cave." I said in agreement.

He grabbed gently me with his tail like earlier and put me up on his back. I went to my usual spot at his neck with a leg on either side of it. I had been sitting there a lot lately.

He spread his wings and took off smoothly. He slowly rose and as I looked down and around, the forest seemed to be human size. We flew slowly through the warm afternoon air, looking for that cave. "**Can you see it?**" Acnologia asked, while looking around for it himself.

"Hmm." I said and looked around as well. All I could see in that forest was trees, trees and more trees. Except right there, there was a little, or maybe a big, rock peeping up over the treetops. But that couldn't be it, after all Acnologia is taller than the trees – no, he's not. We were not on Earthland anymore; we were in the Dragon Realm. Where everything was Dragon sized. "Yeah, Acnologia, it's over there." I yelled over the wind and pointing at the rock, as it seemed to be from where I was.

Acnologia shook his head, as if trying to get something off and hovered in the air. "**It's not necessary to yell, I can hear you perfectly fine.**" He grunted.

"Eheh.." I laughed and scratched the back of my head. So he could hear me even in the raging wind, or in this case calm wind? Duly noted.

He looked back at me with one eye. "**So where was that cave?**" He asked. I pointed at the gray rock in the middle of the forest. His gaze followed my finger and noticed the gray stone. He nodded and slowly and carefully dove down through the treetops. He landed a few meter away and walked the rest of the way to the cave with me sitting on his back.

We stood in front of the cave, which towered up above both of us. It was much like the one in Earthland from the outside, except much bigger.

I gaped at the big cave. "Whoa, it's so big." I muttered. How many times had I done that today?

Acnologia nodded. "**Yeah, everything is this big here. I had almost forgotten myself, how big everything is in the Dragon Realm, I've gotten so used to Earthlands' sizes.**" He told me.

I looked at him. After his father was caught and everything he'd probably only been in the Dragon Realm a few times, one of the times was to be told he'd gotten his fathers' spot as the Chaos Head Dragon, and another to be told that he was responsible for bringing me back. And that was six years ago, since then I bet he's been in Earthland looking for me. That made me feel kind of guilty. He had not been allowed to see his friends and family in six years because of me. Well, unless there was some kind of meeting with all the Head Dragons, then he would have seen everyone a bit more often. That taken into consideration made me feel somewhat better, knowing that he probably met them all just a little bit more often.

Acnologia pulled me out of my thoughts when he walked further into the cave. Instead of the big nest there was in the cave in Earthland, the whole floor was covered in moss, giving a nice feeling to it. Almost heart-shaped leaves, still Dragon sized, crawled up the cave walls and ceiling, with the cave wall visible behind it. I briefly wondered if I could sit on one of those leaves without falling off.

Acnologia stopped up just as his two front feet stood in the moss and looked around at the cave. "**Well, this cave seems more comfortable than the other one.**" He mumbled to himself.

I nodded although I knew he couldn't see it. "Yeah, it seems really nice." I agreed.

He looked back at me with and amused smirk. "**Oh, so what you're saying is that the one I made in Earthland wasn't good enough for you, Miss Lucy?**" He asked, faking being insulted by my words.

I didn't catch it was an act though. "No, no, no! That's not what I meant! The one in Earthland is also good." I panicked.

He just laughed at me and shook his head in amusement. His laughter echoed through the cave and bounced from the walls.

I huffed and pouted in annoyance, having figured out it was fake. 'Miss Lucy'. Just like he called me back when we were small. It always pissed me off the way he said it, and he knew it. I'd always hated the life I had in the Heartfilia Mansion, even when Mama was there. I could bear it when she was there, but when she… I just couldn't take it anymore. I'd had more than enough. That's also why I hate when my Spirits called me those high-class names, but I guess it couldn't be helped.

I crossed my arms. "Would you just put me down already?**" **I said, putting as much annoyance in the words as I could. Actually all this was, was nostalgic, for now at least, it wasn't annoying at all.

He snickered and lay down, allowing me to get off. "**There you go. Miss Lucy.**" He teased. I looked at him with a deadly glare over my shoulder, to which he snickered again and I slid down his stomach, landing on my feet in the soft moss. The moss was like a big pile of Aries' fluffy wool, it was so soft it almost felt like one of the beds I used to sleep in, in the Heartfilia Mansion. Yes, there was more than one.

I stepped around in the moss and jumped on it, testing the moss out. "This is so soft." I said, completely forgetting to be annoyed.

"**Yeah, it really is.**" Acnologia said, also forgetting to call me 'Miss Lucy'. "**It is a special moss, which only grows in this forest, we call it Socubedo Moss.**" Acnologia said.

Socubedo? Was that some sort of smart name? "Why 'Socubedo'? What does it mean?" I asked, although I had gotten more than enough information just today.

"**Oh, that's just the name of this forest. It doesn't have any special meaning, really.**" He smiled. Well, that's quite simple. Socubedo Moss in the Socubedo forest. I nodded to tell him I understood.

Suddenly feeling tired, I turned around and fell down with my back to the moss and staring up at the barely visible ceiling. I sighed as I went through everything that had happened the last two days. It was really just two days. It was amazing, to be honest. Like, how many experienced all this in just two mere days? Let me tell you – no many.

"**I guess it's time to rest, judging by your tired sigh just now.**" Acnologia said, shuffling around a little.

I opened my eyes, which I had not realized I had closed and faced the ceiling once again. "Yeah well, I am quite tired; I've gotten an overload of information in the last two days. My brain is fried." I moaned, only now realizing just how tired I was.

Acnologia chuckled. "**Guess you have.**" His head appeared in front of me. I had a hard time focusing on him, my eyelids just seemed to weigh a ton. "**Stop fighting Miss Lucy, just go to sleep already.**" Was the last I heard before doing as I was told.

**Somewhere over the Socubedo forest, Dragon Realm – Next morning~**

**Igneels' P.O.V**

I was flying over the Socubedo forest with the sun starting to rise, and I was looking for Lucy and Acnologias' cave. I'd told them I'd meet them 'in the morning', and so I would. But that cave was just so damn hard to find.

"**What're you doing out here so early, Fire Idiot?**" Someone asked to my right.

I stopped up and hovered midair and turned my head to look at a big pile of rusty metal flying in my direction. "**I was looking for Acnologia and Lucys' cave.**" I told him. "**What about you, Scrap Metal?**" I asked annoyed.

Metallicana snorted. "**The same actually. I was going to see if that Brat's been killing her during the night.**" He explained plainly.

I narrowed my eyes at the flying piece of junk. "**Why do you care so much?**" I asked. He never cared about anything. Nothing at all. Not even Sacheba, who for some most unknown reason, always had adored him. There was only one person he cared for, that I knew of. Gajeel Redfox, his kid.

Metallicana looked at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "**I think you already know why.**" He said as he flapped his wings a little to keep still in the air. I already knew? What did I know? I didn't know why he would ever care for Lucy. I looked at him quizzically, which just made him snort and shake his head. He stayed silent for a while, looking down at the forest.

I was almost about to fly away, when I heard a barely audible whisper. "**Because she means something to **_**him**_**.**" He whispered and looked back up at me. 'Him'? Did he mean his son? "**I can just feel it. She means something to Gajeel, I just know she does.**" He said with a more clear voice.

I looked at the Iron Dragon with a faint pity. Of all of us Dragons with kids, he was the one Dragon it hurt the most when we left out children behind all those years ago. Gajeel was the first person Metallicana ever cared for, so it was a much bigger loss for him than anyone else to leave him behind. And we all knew. Every single one of the Head Dragons knew. He knew that we knew too. So far he'd been okay with it.

Now I also understood why Lucy suddenly was so important to him. It was because she was so important to Gajeel. Or at least, that's what he thought.

I nodded and we continued our search for their hideout in silence.

After a few minutes, we still hadn't found the cave.

"**Oi, Fire Butt, I think I found it.**" Scrap Metal announced victoriously. I looked at him and followed his gaze to a gray rock, which peeked over the treetops. That damn rock, why did it have to hide so well?

I nodded. "**Yep~! That would be it!**" I agreed with him. We exchanged quick glanced accompanied with smirks and slowly dove down into the forest. I managed to land somewhat silently, but Metallicana, being the big lump of rusty metal he was, made a lot of noise as he landed. I turned my head and glared at him. "**Oi, you piece of scrap! Can't you be silent for once?**" I hissed at him. We wouldn't want to wake the two up if they were sleeping.

Metallicana glared at me, but said nothing as he walked past me in the direction of the cave. I followed him, saying nothing, just walking in silence. Soon we stood in front of the cave- Low, stretched out breathing could be heard inside, indicating that they were fast asleep in there.

"**Well, let's go in and wake them up, shall we?**" The lump of rusty metal smirked.

I knew through experience that that guys' way to wake someone up in wasn't pleasant. Last time he honored me with his presence in the morning, he woke me up by grinding his two metal wings together. I was practically deaf the rest of the week. But even though I knew that, it was still funny when I wasn't the target. So we tip toed the best we could into the cave. Luckily the thick moss concealed the sound of our footsteps, so we didn't accidentally awaken them.

We didn't need to step any closer though, we could see the both of them fine and clear.

Lucy lay on her side, one arm under her head as a pillow and the other lay close to her chest. Her legs were pulled up as if she was freezing, one closer than the other. Her blonde hair fell elegantly behind her. She looked fragile as she lay there asleep. Like a defenseless twig you could just break with no effort whatsoever.

But the big Dragon made up for that. Acnologia lay on his stomach with his neck lying over one of his feet. He almost lay in a circle around his little blonde friend, with his tail circling around her from the bottom of her feet and over her head. His own face pointed out in the direction of the entrance of the cave, where Metallicana and I now stood.

He was the polar opposite of Lucy, if you looked at them now. While Lucy was a little, cute and defenseless girl, Acnologia was big, mean looking and dangerous. She was the little princess who was protected by the big, bad Dragon.

I smirked a little at the young Chaos Dragon. He'd already gotten quite protective of the young lady. Well it was no wonder really, they'd been apart for many years and now they were finally back together again. He was without a doubt afraid to lose her again.

That and also because he'd known since he was a little boy that the girl was supposed to be his mate. He never set an eye on any other girl.

Thinking back, I don't think I'd ever seen him with any other girl his age. Well except Chylirobi, but that was different. Chylirobis' father had always been quite strict and had already found the one she was supposed to mate when she was eight years old. However Chylirobi refused, saying she would find her own mate at the age of 12. And so she did. I had a hunch that maybe Chylirobi had had a little crush on Acnologia, but he never battered an eye at her. He knew who he was supposed to mate, and was committed to only that one person, which he hadn't even met then.

Realizing my thought had gone way off track, I returned to reality. I glanced at Metal Face at the edge of my vision. He looked down at the two with eyes I had never seen him use ever before. Soft and caring, fatherly eyes, but also mixed with some sort of negative emotion that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

As Grandine had reprimanded me not to do, I said nothing to ruin Metallicanas' moment, I just waited for him to snap out of it.

I looked back at Lucy. That girl did wonders around her, without herself being aware of it. She changed everyone a little for the better. I had never seen Scrap Metal smile a genuine smile since we all left our children. Glanasile and Dravola even, somehow, showed some feelings yesterday too and Simakan seemed somewhat attentive and even took the initiative to speak with her. Which neither of them had ever done before, as long as I remember. Skyadrum too, she was also out of her usual fierce self.

This girl did things to all of us that only Layla had ever been able to do. She was so much like her mother, appearance- as well as personality-wise.

And this was what my son so foolishly threw away. I've always known he was a little slow on the uptake and that he could be really dumb sometimes, but this was extraordinary for even him. Couldn't he see Lucys' shining personality? Didn't she also change him in some way or another? Was he really so blind?

Metallicana sighed next to me, drawing me attention, and turned around to walk away out of the cave. I watched him silently in a second, before doing the same, leaving the two youngsters sound asleep. I wondered why he did it in silence as I followed him out of the cave.

After some silence between the two of us, I couldn't keep quiet anymore. "**Why did you do it?**" I asked curiously.

He looked back at me with a bored expression. "**Do what?**" He simply asked.

I looked into his unnatural red eyes. "**Why did you let them sleep?**" I asked.

Metallicana snorted, turning his head away and resumed his walk into the forest. "**Because there was no way to get the Squirt out of the way. It was only Acnologia I was targeting.**" He sighed and shook his head. "**Besides, I'd catch Hell if I woke him up from his slumber **_**and**_** taking the Squirt from him.**" I tried to imagine what it would be like if Acnologia went on a rampage and shuddered. Although Acnologia was young and inexperienced, he was strong like his grandfather. And he had Dragon Slayer magic running through his veins too. The most vicious type of magic a human could possess and the most dangerous for Dragons. Although Acnologias' was very distinct and weak, it was still there.

I nodded. "**Yeah, you're probably right.**" I admitted even though it pained me.

Scrap Metal turned his head and looked at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "**Of course I am.**"

**The guild Fairy Tail, Earthland**

**Grays' P.O.V**

After having returned from the forest near Saraj and told the Mayor the monster had flown away, we went home to Magnolia without any reward.

Turned out that Saraj was in a serious shortage of money, so they would only give us what was necessary. And since the monster left by itself, before we could slay it, we hadn't actually completed our job. In his eyes. That sticky old bastard.

It wasn't a critical problem though, it wasn't like any of us was in need of money and Lucys' eternally problematic rent wasn't a problem anymore either.

Speaking of Lucy, I had had plans of visiting her the day after returning from Saraj late at night, but then in the way-too-early morning hours, Fire Brain broke into my cool and refreshing house and woke me up, while pushing the refreshing coolness away with his disgusting warmth. He told me that Master had something important to say and that I should hurry over there.

So here I was, in the guild hall, grumpy because I was woken up and because I hadn't got the chance to visit Lucys', waiting for the old geezer to show up and relay his message. I had already looked around in the guild and Lucy was nowhere in sight. As I has somewhat expected.

A door opened on the second floor and out came our dwarf of a Master in his white get-up with gold trimmings.

He cleared his throat to gain our attention. The guild went silent, everyone focusing on Master Makarov. The old man put a big smile on, but there was just something off with it, which told me it wasn't quite genuine. "Brats! It is time for the S-Class Exam! In just a month it will all begin on Tenrou Island, Fairy Tails' own island and our first Masters', Mavis Vermillion, resting place." He announced. How could I have forgotten the S-Class exam?! Had I really lost so much track of time because Lisanna had returned?

The whole guild erupted into cheers. Yes, even me. I pushed the thought of Lucy and my gloominess in the background and cheered with everyone. Maybe I would be chosen this time around?

Master Makarov cleared his throat again, this time to silence all of us. He held up a paper in front of him and adjusted it to his sight. "Alright, I've chosen eight of you, who I deem ready to become an S-Class mage." He told us, not the first time. "First off all, I've chosen Cana Alberona!" He announced.

Cana sat at the bar, drowning herself in sake with a gloomy aura around her. The whole guild cheered and congratulated her. How many times had she been chosen to the S-Class exam now? Four times, wasn't it? She'd failed every single one. I felt bad for her; she was always so unlucky with such things.

I turned back to Master as he continued. "I have chosen Freed Justine this year too!" He said.

Freed stood with a determined expression and a clenched fist held up high. "I'll make Laxus proud!" He announced while the whole guild went into another round of cheers.

"Levy Mcgarden!" Master continued.

Levy looked at him with an expression of shock. "M-me?" She stammered. Master smiled, genuinely this time, and nodded. Once again, the guild was filled with cheers.

Jet patted her friendly on the back with a wide smile. "You can do it Levy!" He reassured her.

Droy nodded. "Yeah, you're strong!" He agreed.

Levy looked alternately at the two, tears about to fall from her eyes. "T-thank you Jet, Droy!" She cried out.

Master continued, letting Team Shadowgear take care of Levy. "Lisanna Strauss!" Master announced.

I almost, keyword; almost, dropped my jaw at this. Lisanna? In my opinion Lisanna didn't seem all that strong. Not that I hated her or anything like that, but I just wondered if Gajeel or Juvia maybe would be a better choice. Besides, she only just returned from Edolas.

But that was Masters choice, and I wasn't one to go against him, so I just cheered for the youngest Strauss sibling.

Mira was flailing around her little sister, laughing, crying and squeezing the life out of the girl, with Elfman doing the very same thing. "It is manly to cry!" He stated with tears running down his cheeks, making most people sweat drop at his warped imagination of what a 'man' was.

Fire Breath also looked overjoyed by Masters decision, smiling from ear to ear and patting Lisannas' back repeatedly and a little too hard, looking like the moron he was.

"Elfman Strauss!" Master announced, giving up on silencing us all.

Elfman actually deserved it quite a lot, he'd mastered his Take Over: Beast Soul and had fought bravely countless times.

"It is manly to participate in the S-Class Exam!" He proudly stated. The whole guild sweat dropped at his comment – again – and continued our cheering for him too.

"Gray Fullbuster." Master said, looking down at me with a smile that seemed less genuine than the others he'd given.

I didn't care much though. I looked at the old geezer with a wide smile. "The time's finally come!" I said, locking my two hands, one with a clenched fist and the other covering it.

"Gray, your clothes!" Someone yelled somewhere in the crowd.

I looked down at myself, seeing that I only wore boxers. Again. I moaned. "How did that happen?" I asked out loud.

I began walking around the guild looking for my clothes, while getting my ears blown out by the cheers.

I felt a cool and hard metal-hand on my shoulder. I looked back into Erzas' brown eyes. "Congratulations Gray, you deserve it." She said with a little smile.

I looked dumbfounded at her. Did she just praise me? I collected myself and straightened my back. "Thank you Erza." I thanked her. She nodded and went away to wherever she was before. I continued looking for my lost clothes.

"Natsu Dragneel." Master said.

I sighed and put on my shirt, which I had found. So that moron's also a part of all this? I smirked. Well, that just gives me a better chance to show who's boss. Between the two of us anyways.

Fire Breath jumped up on a table and spouted flames from his mouth "ALRIIIIIGHT!" He yelled through the fire. What's that idiot doing? Trying to burn the whole guild to a crisp? He rose a fist engulfed in flames and sported a wide smile. "Yosh! I will beat you Ice Princess!" Natsu yelled and pointed at me.

I looked back at him with a smirk. "You're welcome to try Flame Brain." I told him, which only seemed to rile him up even more.

He made a motion as if to pull up his sleeves, except he didn't have any, and smirked at me. "Want me to show you Popsicle?" He asked.

I threw away my shirt in one single movement and almost expected a squeal from a certain Water mage, but much to my surprise, all that came out of her was some kind of snort as she levelled me up and down and turned away to drink some water. I stored that mystery away in a box in my mind for later inspection.

I focused on Fire Breath and got ready to fight. "I'm all fired up!" Natsu said his usual line.

The area between the two of us had been cleared completely. Except for one person, who stood tall in armor and a blue skirt, long scarlet hair and firm brown eyes. I felt sweat begin to form on my forehead. Shit! We're screwed. I glanced at Natsu, who also looked scared, although looking a lot dumber than me.

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked alternately at Fire Breath and I. "What did I say about FIGHTING?!" She yelled as she somehow appeared in front of both us at the same time. She knocked the hilt of her sword down in our head, making us fall to our knees with black dots appearing in my vision. Probably at his too.

I vaguely heard the conversation continue in some faraway place. "You can continue now Master." Erzas' voice said loud and clear.

"Thank you Erza." Master said. "And last, but not least, Mest Gryder!" Cheers filled the hall again, making the headache Erza gave me even worse. "Alright. Now you all have to find a partner and then go out and train the next month and get ready for the Exams. Before we leave, I'd like you all to show up here in the guild, also those of you who won't be participating." Master told all of us. I felt my vision clear and I could see everything vividly as I used to. "Oh, and could someone repeat this it Gray and Natsu? They need to hear it too."

I slowly rose to my feet and looked up at Master on the second floor. "I heard you perfectly fine." I looked at Natsu, who also slowly began getting on his feet. "And I'm sure that one did too." I said.

Master looked at both of us and nodded. "Alright then. Off you go~!" He smiled. I nodded and returned the smile.

Alright so now I had to find a partner. But who? I looked around at the other participants. Fire Breath pretty quickly found his partner in his flying Neko, Happy. For some reason Juvia decided to offer to team up with Lisanna. Even more unexpected, or maybe not, Elfman teamed up with Evergreen, who probably felt left out by her other two Raijinshuu members, who'd teamed up too. Gajeel 'stole' Levy from Jet and Droy, who were eager to team up with Levy and had ended up in a verbal fight, where Gajeel saw the opening to snatch Levy away from the two. That was quite bold Gajeel, even for you. I snickered at the Iron Dragon Slayer. Cana, who was still drowning herself in sake – even more than usual, might I add – teamed up with Carla, when she got the offer. Mest asked Wendy, unexpectedly.

Which left me all by myself. Loke had cut off our partnership for unknown reasons, Lucy wasn't in the guild. Maybe I should go check on her? She could be sick. I should go tell her about the S-Class exam, maybe she would want to team up with me? But then maybe she just wanted to be alone after what we told her. Or was she still on that mission with that monster? Had it kidnapped her with no chance for her to contact us?

I was cut out of my speculations when I felt a little paw on my arm. I looked down at Gajeels' recently adopted black Neko, with a scar over his one eye, which resembled a moon. "Are you looking for a partner Gray?" Pantherlily asked.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Loke ditched me and Lucy's nowhere in sight." I told him. I felt him cringe when Lucy was mentioned, but brushed it off as invaluable information. "So I'm trying to figure out who I can ask." I continued.

Pantherlily smiled. "Well, I'd like to assist you in the Exam then. If you want me to, that is." He offered.

I looked at the cat in front of me and nodded with a smile. I was going to team up with the most overpowered Exceed I'd ever met! "Yes! Thank you Pantherlily!" I told him.

"That's a deal then." Pantherlily smiled.

**A little earlier~**

**Pantherlilys' P.O.V**

I looked around at the little group of people I'd been sitting with unusually much the last few days. Juvia, Wendy and Carla sat on one side of the table on a bench, Gajeel and I on the other. Master Makarov had just announced who would participate in the S-Class Exams, none of us had been nominated, which didn't surprise any of us, so we just sat silently with each other and watched the other guild members. We didn't have anything in particular to talk about, so the most entertaining thing to do was to watch the S-Class nominees struggle to find a partner.

I had a feeling that something big would happen in this Exam, something really big. But it was just a simple Exam. How much could happen in just a few days – Well, never mind that, a lot could happen. Lucy, for example, was kicked off her beloved team, left her nakama, met an old friend, which she, according to our assumptions, hadn't seen in a long time and he was incidentally a Dragon. Who knew what she was going through now?

I looked up at the people around me again. "I don't know about you guys, but I have a feeling that something will happen during this exam." I finally said, breaking the silence that had ruled between us. They looked at me silently.

Gajeel grunted, crossed his arms and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. "Yeah, I'm with'cha on that one; I've been feeling that way too." He grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. I looked around at the others, who nodded when my gaze met theirs.

I nodded as well, mostly to myself. Looking around at the participants in the S-Class Exam, many of them still hadn't found their partners. "Alright, we have to participate then, some way or another." I said.

"How will Juvia participate in the S-Class Exam?" Juvia asked innocently and a little dumbly as well.

I looked into her water-blue eyes. "It is quite simple, really." I said. Gajeel tilted his head back to its normal spot and raised a studded eyebrow at me. "We simply become partners with the nominees." I explained matter-of-factly.

They all just looked at me with widened eyes. "Lily, I won't join those idiots until they realize their mistakes. Simple as that." Gajeel stated as the only one who hadn't widened his eyes.

Wendy looked up at her fellow Dragon Slayer. "Gajeel-kun…" She muttered.

I sighed, crossed my paws and looked up at Gajeel. "Do you have any better ideas then? Because if you do I'd like to hear it." I said. I knew I was a little harsh, but I also knew Gajeel wouldn't think much of it. Gajeel snorted, but didn't say anything. Okay, so that didn't reach him. "Also, didn't Master say something about there being battles?" I asked rhetorically. I knew Gajeel wouldn't be able to resist if there was fighting involved. Honestly, he was so simple.

Gajeel seemed to perk up at my reminder. He nodded with a slightly eager expression on his face. "Yeah. That's right." He looked down at me. "So who am I teaming up with?" He asked. "Please let it be someone weak, so I can fight more!" He grinned widely.

I sweat dropped at his usual antics and looked around. My eyes landed on Levy, who seemed problems with picking between Jet and Droy, who were about to fight – Okay, scratch that. Who were fighting already. I looked back at Gajeel. "Go team up with Levy." I told him. Levy would be the ideal choice for Gajeel. There was no way she could refuse him, I had noticed the spark between the two and I personally liked Levy a lot. Not just because she always feeds me those delicious, juicy kiwis'. And she also fulfilled Gajeels' request; she wasn't the strongest fighter around here, but she was probably the one with the strongest brain.

Gajeel looked at the bluenette in distress and then back at me with a satisfied smirk. "Gihi. Good choice Lily." He praised me and patted my head. He got up from his seat and stalked over to Team Shadowgear.

I turned back to the remaining three people. One down, four to go. "Juvia you can go ask…" I looked through the guild members again. She would probably not go with Gray just at the moment. If she went with Cana, she'd just soak her cards and render them useless. She wouldn't go over well with Mest either. So there was only… I looked at the white haired Take Over mage. "Juvia, I'm afraid you'll have to go with Lisanna." I apologized.

Juvia looked at me with determination shining in her eyes. "Juvia will do what is necessary for her to do." She told me.

I sweat dropped. Why did they all have to have so outrageous personalities? "Yeah, that's good Juvia." I praised her as she went to Lisanna, who was still being choked by her big sister.

I looked at Wendy. Alright, who's Wendy going to team up with? I looked at Gray, who seemed to be sulking as well as Cana, then I looked at Mest, who was walking in our direction. I decided to wait and see what the man was about to do.

Mest stopped next to our table. "Wendy Marvell, The Sky Sorceress, am I right?" He asked, still only looked at the Sky Dragon Slayer.

I looked at the grown man. Something was off with him. Even if he was a part of the Fairy Tail guild, the way he said Wendys' nickname somehow irritated me. It was like he knew more than he let us know.

Wendy also seemed to be baffled by his question. "Uh-uhm yeah. That's m-me." She stuttered timidly.

The man smiled a somewhat friendly smile at her, which gave me the creeps. "I'm Mest Gryder, Mystogans' apprentice and I'd like you to accompany me in the S-Class exam. If you'd like to of course." He said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. The Princes' apprentice? I could hardly imagine Jellal having an apprentice. It all just seemed like a façade. I couldn't remember seeing him in the guild before, but somehow I just knew he was a part of Fairy Tail.

"M-me?" Wendy asked. Mest nodded. "But I'm no good at fighting." She insisted. Yeah, from what I'd gathered, that seemed to be true. She just wasn't the fighting type.

"Oh, I know fighting isn't your strong point." He told us. It really nagged me the way he said it. "It's your Support Magic I was interested in." He explained. That made sense, I admitted to myself. The Support Magic I had seen this little girl use in Edolas was something.

Wendy nodded slowly and glanced at me, she wanted me to decide whether she should go with him or not. I nodded, it was probably the only way to go around getting all of us to Tenrou Island.

Wendy looked back at Mest. "I'd like to assist you in the Exam then." She answered. Mest smiled and offered her a hand to help her up from the bench. She took it and followed him, waving at Carla and me as she walked away.

"Now don't be a burden to Mest, Wendy. It's not ladylike to pull others down." Carla called after Wendy as the girl left the guild with Mest.

Wendy nodded just as they disappeared behind the doors.

I looked at Carla who looked at me. "So who do you prefer? Cana or Gray?" I asked, gesturing to the two gloomy figures. I was already pretty sure who she'd choose and if I had to be honest, I'd rather the same thing. However, being the gentlecat I was, I let the woman have first choice.

"I'd rather go with Cana." Carla said matter-of-factly. I nodded. I'd expected her to choose Cana. Gray was of the group who chased Lucy out of the guild, to have a near-death experience. Indirectly or not.

I spread out my wings. "Alright, I'll go ask Gray then." I said as I flew in the gloomy Ice mages' direction.

I'd drawn the short straw, eh? Well, that's better than missing an exciting adventure.

With that in mind, I landed in front of Gray.

**So what did you think? Good/bad?**

**I know Juvias' water most likely wouldn't affect Canas' cards at all, but for some reason, I just felt like I should write that. So I did.**

**And there was a little AcLu moment too – I decided to go with the normal pairing name – and you got some of the background history on Metallicana. **

**Since I don't know what else to do, I'm just going to end that A/N off here.**

**Thank you Meadow Melody, sexy1571, black eyes of silence, mjb376, EternalTearsoftheSky, Dawn126, Little Indian Girl, guest (Guest), Sabiiiinou Valdez DiAngelo, Feistyredhead21, tarini, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, , Vy787, xoulblade, fairyfreak12, Namikaze Uzumaki, satirecondescension, clumzybeans, BloodyAsylum, Deadly8rose123, La Yuyake Familia, Kitty2013, xLunarHeartx, Lilitraum, TrueChildOfTheOlympians, Silvermanda282, FtaddictForevs (Guest), WCDragonS. , allyKatally, Flower Dragon Slayer, Thi Lou, IsYouMadOrNah, SilverGhost (Guest), Guest and all you other readers for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! Look at all these PEOPLE. You are b-e-a-utiful guys! **

**~Line464d**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Okay, so this is for having reached the 100****th**** reviewer! Gigantic thank you to all of you! And then another round to FearMyLaserFace, who was number 100! Yaaaaaaaaaay!**

**Hope you find it satisfying~**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke keeps Fairy Tail for himself.**

**On the Field, Dragon Realm – First Day of Training**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Okay Lucy-sama, take a deep breath and feel the nature around you." Capricorn said. It was in the middle of the day, and we'd been at it since I woke up. I'd made a contract with him in the early morning hours before Acnologia woke up. Apparently, according to what Natsu told me once, contracts were a drag to watch being made. So I spared Acnologia the pain.

Capricorn was really good at things like meditation and whatnot, so he helped me to try to find the Dragon powers I had in me.

Capricorn, which surprised me the most when I called him out, was a hybrid between a goat and a human. He was extremely tall, if you asked me anyway, and was covered in goat-like fur. He had a pair of horns, which curled around his ears and pointed out. He had a little goatee, ironically enough, and wore black tinted sunglasses. He wore a suit, worn like it should, instead of the loose way Loke preferred.

Cut Capricorn didn't do it all alone; the Second in Command of the Peace Clan helped him out. His name was Alodiculis Mau'Te Rongo. I'd been told that everyone, not only the Head Dragons, had the same last name in each Clan. That was somewhat convenient I guess.

Alodiculis, like Silvia, was a silver Dragon. He was a lot bigger though and where Silvia was long and slender, feminine also, he was more gruff and seemed more muscular too. He didn't have quite as long a neck as Silvia either. His wings seemed like bird wings, but without the feathers. Instead of the soft ends the feathers would have given, they were a little spikey in the ends. For a change, he didn't have any horns or anything else to decorate his face. That was if you just glanced at him, when you looked closer, you could see the two small remaining stubs of two once mighty horns. His scales down the back of his neck, back and tail stuck a little out over each other, as if he wore armor. He just didn't, his scales were apparently naturally like that. His two eyes were a warm amber color.

For some reason Silvia was too 'busy' and just sent her SIC, as the others called the Second in Commands. I had a nagging feeling that Silvia really didn't like me, and sent Alodiculis in her stead. Not that I minded, I liked Alodiculis. But it still bothered me why she would hold such hostility towards me. I hoped that what Amelane would tell me would explain all this.

"**Lucy! Focus!**" Alodiculis' deep voice broke through my trance. Although, as far as I knew anyway, Alodiculis could be a little harsh with his words, he was really nice.

"Right." I answered. Glanasile and Dravola hadn't really gotten a plan done regarding my training with my Dragon powers, so for now I was just looking for them with Alodiculis and Capricorn, and when I found them Alodiculis and some of the Head Dragons would help me train them. After that I had close combat training with Loke, who I knew would love to help me. At last I had some training with the Spirit King, I wasn't quite sure exactly what I was supposed to do during his training, but I knew it would be about Celestial magic, that much was obvious.

So the plan was that I'd get up early in the morning and meditate with Alodiculis to find my Dragon powers. Around 10 Am, I would change to hand-to-hand combat with Loke, my combat Spirit who new practically everything about close combat. I think there was some talk about Metallicana wanting to help as well. At 1 Pm I'd train my Celestial magic with the Spirit King. Still clueless as to what we were going to do. Then at 5 Pm I would continue with Alodiculis and Capricorn again and go to sleep around 8 Pm, so I would be ready for the next day where I'd wake up early and start it all over.

While I did all this, Acnologia went somewhere with his SIC, who I had yet to meet, and trained with him, or the other Head Dragons, which were under his elements. Whenever he gained access to the other elements he possessed besides Chaos, he'd train with the Head Dragon with the same element. Apparently only the Head Dragons of the Peace and Chaos Clans learned the other elements, because they shouldn't be too superior to the other Clans. Acnologia basically just had to meditate to find his Dragon powers, I think, and then he'd train with them and… Well, I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do while I was training, but I knew he was doing something too.

"**Lucy you're not concentrating.**" Alodiculis sighed. I really wasn't, was I?

"Sorry Alodiculis, I'll focus now." I said, took a deep breath and exhaled.

I listened to the sound of the birds I hadn't noticed the other day chirping, the sound of the water rippling in the river, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves in the Socubedo forest and the grass around me, the sound of myself breathing and my heart beating in a steady rhythm and the small noises Capricorn and Alodiculis made when they changed their position. Without even trying, I heard them inhaling and exhaling rhythmically.

I felt the soft grass I was sitting on with my bare skin, I felt the gentle breeze playing with my hair and brushing past my bare skin and through my somewhat thin clothes, I felt the feeling of my lungs expanding and retracting with every breath, with the matching rhythm of my heart beating in my chest and I felt the presence of my two teachers nearby.

I let the scents of the nature of my surroundings, the grass I was sitting on, the flowers all around me, the forest, its trees and brushes, the scent of the wind carrying the scents of the people, slash Dragons, slash goat, around me, mixed with my own vanilla and strawberries scent wash over me in a rush of smells.

I relaxed all my muscles and went deep into my subconscious, looking for my hidden powers. Everything was dark for me, completely black as if the blackness had swallowed all the light and all there was left was this dark hole. Until a golden star popped up. It was big, much bigger than me, even when it was a little at a distance. It shone with a golden and warm light. It lit up the blackness with its golden light.

I stepped closer to the big star and felt a warm familiarity rush over me. The same familiar rush I got whenever I summoned one of my Spirits. Somehow I could feel all my Spirit friend on the other side of the star, beckoning for me to go through the golden light of the star.

Should I go through it? What would happen if I did? Was it dangerous? But it couldn't be, they were my friends and I loved all of them with all my heart. They couldn't be dangerous, except maybe Aquarius. No, not even her. But, if I entered this star, would I lose my Dragon powers? I wouldn't want to do that, not when I just discovered them. But if I refused to go through this star, would I lose my Celestial powers? I wouldn't want that either. Actually, that would be worse. I would lose all my friends if I lost my Celestial powers!

I heard a soft mumble of a voice far, _far_ away. It called out again, this time a little louder, but not loud enough for me to hear.

"…U…Y…" It said again. I tried to listen harder, and this time I heard it. "Lucy." Alodiculis' deep voice rung through my mind. "Open your eyes Lucy; you've done enough for now." He said, somehow his voice seemed different from before. More… Human, I'd say.

I did as I was told and opened my eyes, looking into a pair of warm, amber eyes of a young man. He had a dark color of silver hair that sat in a loose ponytail, falling down over his shoulder. He wore a white tank-top and sand-colored shorts which reached his knees, both form-fitting. Between the two pieces of clothing, there were a silver, silk sash-like fabric, it was basically just a piece of silver silk he had put around his waist instead of a belt. Except it wasn't meant to keep his pants up. He wore nothing on his feet. He was, to say the least, really handsome. He was quite muscular, which he freely showed off, and had a near-perfect form. The young man had a hand on my shoulder, as if he had woken me from a deep sleep. I guess in some ways he had.

I couldn't believe my eyes. "A-Alodiculis?" I carefully asked, not wanting to make the man feel insulted if I was wrong. Could this handsome, young man really be the big and experienced Dragon that stood before me just a while ago?

The young man got a relieved expression on his face when I spoke and removed the hand he had on my shoulder, straightening his back as he did so. "Ah, good you're okay." The man said with Alodiculis' voice, although not as deep and echoing as a Dragon. So this was really Alodiculis? What did he mean with that anyway? Of course I'm okay. What could have happened anyway?

"Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?" I asked him, wondering how he could be so young. He only looked like he was about 25 years old, yet that really wasn't the age I'd estimated him to be.

He looked at me with a serious expression. "You were floating in the air with a golden light surrounding you." Alodiculis explained. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen." He added, looking slightly bewildered. "It wasn't like when Layla found her elements or worked with them, if she used her Dragon powers, she would glow a faint silver light if at all. You almost lit up the whole area." He told me.

One thing he said stuck in my mind, and the rest was forgotten. "Have you helped my mother discover her elements too?" I asked.

"Ae (Yes), she was a natural. It was like second nature to her." He said. Wasn't it in reality a second nature to us? Even more importantly, how old was Alodiculis?

I decided to ask just that. "Just how old are you?" I muttered, looking at the ground.

Alodiculis broke into a deep laughter. "Just turned 272." He smiled.

My head shot up and I looked at him, trying to figure out how he could be 272 and still look so good. "Wh-Whaa?! 272! How? You only look like you're 25." I blurted out, and immediately felt embarrassed after saying it.

He simply smiled at me. "I thought you already knew." He said. Yes, obviously you did. "We Dragons age to around 25 Earthland years, then we don't age physically to the age of around 450 Earthland years, then we change back to aging normally, which is in Earthland years, again physically." Alodiculis explained.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "R-really? How old is Acnologia then?" I asked. Could Acnologia be over 300 years old?

Alodiculis looked at me with knowing eyes, as if he knew more than I did. I didn't like that look. "Well, he's only 21, so you can calm down." He said with amusement shining in his eyes. I sighed in relief and nodded. How would I be able to handle it if he was older than Mas – Makarov? "Well, not that's over and done with, what did you see?" Alodiculis asked.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly. What was he talking about?

He sighed in exasperation. "What did you see when you meditated, Lucy?" He repeated.

Aah, now everything made much more sense. "Oh, I started out in complete blackness-" I glanced up at Alodiculis, who nodded for me to continue. "Then a golden star appeared. When I stepped closer to it, it felt like the rush I get whenever I call out my Spirits. I also heard their voices, telling me to go through the star, but I didn't do it. Do you know what all this means?" I asked the man in front of me.

He nodded and sat down on the ground in front of me. "Ae (Yes). That star was your Celestial powers. I think the Spirit King will work with this and probably knows a lot more about it too. I believe that you can train your Celestial magic if you enter, but again, you'll need the Spirit King for more information. Your Dragon powers will be a little like this, you'll know when you see it." He explained.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Can't you describe what it looks like?" I asked as politely as I could.

He shook his head. "Káo (No), it's different from person to person." He said. "I can tell you how mine looks though." I nodded. Maybe it could help me recognize how mine would look. "For me, when I enter the darkness, just like you-" He nodded his head in my direction, gesturing to me. "A glowing silver shield appears. At first, when I was a little boy, the image wasn't as strong, but over time, as I got older and got more experienced with using my magic, the shield gradually began to glow in a stronger light." Alodiculis explained.

I nodded, that seemed about right I guess. "Okay…" I trailed off. "When do you think my powers will appear?" I asked, looking into his amber eyes

He shrugged a little. "It's hard to tell. As far as I am aware, they can emerge at any given moment." He told me. "But it is not time for that now, you training with Capricorn and I has ended. You should call out Loke for close combat training." Alodiculis said.

Speaking of Capricorn… I looked around me and didn't see the goat-man anywhere. "Where is Capricorn?" I asked.

Alodiculis sweat dropped. "You're really slow, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically. I looked at him for answers. "Capricorn went to the Spirit World all out of nowhere when you began glowing." He explained.

I made an 'o' with my mouth and nodded understandingly. "Oh. Thank you Alodiculis." I smiled at him as he surrounded himself in a silver glow and transformed back to a Dragon. "See you later!" I yelled after him as he flew away, giving me a nod as reply.

Alright, so close combat it is. I looked through my keys and found the key I was looking for. "Open the Gate of the Lion! Leo!" I yelled and out of the usual light came my Lion Spirit.

He pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "Your knight in shining armor has appeared Princess." He smirked.

**Around three hours later ~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

I tried blocking the punch that came flying in from my right, but it was already too late as it flowed past my defenses and connected with my gut. I coughed out saliva with the impact with my two arms over my stomach and fell to my knees. Why was I so weak?

Loke pulled his fist back with a frown on his face. "Why didn't I notice this grand weakness of yours and trained it? I'm not even using a quarter of my full power and every single hit has landed." He said.

I looked up at him, and, although I hated to admit it, I was a little frightened. He hadn't even used a quarter of his full power. Just how weak was I?

Loke looked me from to up to down and back again. He sighed and pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "You look all bruised and battered too." He told me.

I looked down at myself. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

Oh, how it could. I didn't think I had ever looked so beat, it really was bad. My skin was blue almost everywhere I looked, and if not, there were small scratches to cover that up. I'd gotten those every time I fell to the ground, I guessed. My clothes were torn, especially in the ends, and there were a big hole in the middle of my shirt, in the stomach-region.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little, but I really didn't look good, and my muscles screamed for me to stop and lie down without moving the rest of the week. How could simple hand-to-hand combat do all that? Yeah sure, we'd been fighting – no scratch that – Loke had utterly and completely beat me up in the last three hours, but even so.. How could I be so beat up?

I nodded, panting heavily. "Yeah… I guess…. I am…" I said in between pants.

He looked down at me with worried eyes as I tried to straighten my back, but couldn't and was about to fall to the ground, when he caught me before I fell. I winced and closed my eyes in pain, trying to keep my face neutral, as he pressed his hand into my hip to steady me. Loke threw my weak arm over his shoulder just as my legs turned to jelly.

He pulled me and himself up so he stood straight, while I had my back somewhat bowed. "Shall I take care of you, my Princess?" He asked with an amused smirk in his voice.

Before I could say anything flaps of mighty wings were heard somewhere not too far away. I opened one eye and looked in the direction of the noise.

Grandine landed perfectly a few meters away and walked toward us. What perfect timing. "**I don't think Acnologia would be happy with that.**" She said, sending knowing eyes to Loke. I was too tired to try and figure out what she was hinting at, I just moaned in exhaustion and pain as an answer and closed my heavy eyes again. "**Loke, please get her on the ground.**" Grandine ordered. Loke did as told and gently put me down on the ground. As soon as my back touched the ground, I whimpered again. "**Careful!**" Grandine snapped at Loke.

I felt a wind rush by and soon after, a delicate hand gently pushing and touching different part of my injured body. I tried not to say anything, but it just hurt so much! In the end, I either moaned, whimpered or made other pitiful noises whenever those fingers, which I guessed was Grandines', touched me.

After some time of pressing and touching the finger were removed from my aching form. "How could she get this beat up?" Grandine asked. I felt a rush of peace and relaxation surge through my muscles and my breath evened out.

"I don't know." Loke sighed. Well of course he did. He was the one who put me in this condition after all. Or had he forgotten? "But it clearly shows we have to work on it. I've gotten somewhat of an idea as to which parts needs most work." He said.

I felt the pain leaving my muscles slowly. "So which parts are these?" Grandine asked. There's more than one?

Loke sighed again. He'd done that a lot, hadn't he? "Everything." He simply said.

Everything? Wasn't there even _something_ that was average? Well, on the other hand, I never really practiced close combat either, so it wasn't too big of a shock.

Grandine sighed. Her too? "I figured as much." What? Wow, thanks for your faith in me guys. "Layla wasn't the greatest at hand-to-hand combat either." She continued. Did this weakness lie in the genes then? I opened my eyes and looked directly up at the blue, cloudless sky.

"Well, we'll have to change that." Loke said.

I turned my blurred sight to the closest face. It was a lady with light blue, almost white, long hair which was set in a middle-high ponytail, with a braid going from her sides, just above her ears and back to the ponytail, where they worked as a kind of hair band. She had the most beautiful face I'd ever seen, a small, delicate nose, not too small, and two a little small, perfectly fitting ears on each side of her head, nice and delicate lips and two big, light blue eyes. From then on I couldn't see more of the woman, my sight was simply too blurred.

She didn't look at me, but at something on the other side of me. "Ae (Yes), we really do." She agreed with her beautiful, clinging voice. So the one she was looking at was probably Loke and this beautiful lady surely was Grandine. She looked down at my bruised body, where her delicate hands hovered over my stomach, her hands engulfed in a faint blue-green light, instead of looking into my eyes. Maybe she hadn't realized I had opened my eyes. "_He_ sure wouldn't like this." Grandine muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. She looked up at Loke again. "Try to be a little more gentle with her, will you?" She asked.

I heard clothes rustle to my right, but my neck hurt too much for me to turn my head in the direction of the sounds. "It's the only way to go about it, really. It's how she learns it the best and gains experience as well as skill, which is exactly what she needs." Loke explained. I agreed with my Spirit, it really was what I needed.

I coughed, gaining their attention quite efficiently. "It… Really is… the only way." I said with a dry throat and a low voice.

Grandine looked at me with concern shining in her beautiful, sky blue eyes. "Are you sure Lucy?" I nodded weakly. "If it's what you want, then I won't stop you." She slowly said, briefly glancing at her hand, which calmly pulsed in the light blue-green light. And then back at me again. "Are you okay Lucy?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

I nodded. My head cleared up and I felt no pain whatsoever, my sight was clear again too. I smiled at the beautiful lady. "Yeah, I'm fine." I answered her.

She smiled down at me. "Good, I'm almost done too." She said. I sighed in relief. Shortly after, she straightened her back and moved her hands away. "Done." She smiled.

I got up in a sitting position with Lokes' hand on my back to help me. Sometime along the way, during Grandines' and my conversation, he'd moved over to us and sat on his legs next to me.

I smiled to my Spirit as a 'thank you' and moved a little around with my arms and legs. I felt nothing. I looked at Grandine with a wide smile. "All's perfect!" I said.

Grandine winked at me. "Well, what did you expect? I am the Sky Clans' Head Dragon after all." She said.

I nodded. "I expected it to be nothing short of perfect, I'm used to Wendy after all." I said.

"I guess you are." She said and got up on her feet, brushing away non-existent dirt. She wore a white dress which sat tight at the top, showing off her big chest and soft curves just like it should, it loosened at the hip and fell in layers of sky blue and white fabric. It reached down just above her knees. The thin spaghetti-straps, which held the dress in place, were small, white feathers, much like those that went down her back and her wings when she was in her Dragon form. Quite surprisingly, she was barefoot, which didn't quite fit the dress, if you thought about it, but when Grandine wore it, it really didn't matter. She could wear anything. She looked back down at us. "I'll head off back to my Clan. Originally I only came to see how you had progressed, not to save you from that Lions' claws." She said.

Loke looked at Grandine with a hard glare. "It wasn't my intention to seriously hurt her, which I didn't, and you know that." He stated calmly. I turned my head to my orange haired friend. What did he mean 'didn't want to seriously hurt her and I didn't'-crap? If he didn't hurt me just then, what did he?

I thought back on the many battles I'd been through. Maybe he meant 'serious injuries' as in 'broken bones'. If that was the case, he truly didn't seriously hurt me. He'd only scratched me then. Which meant that I was even weaker in close combat than I first thought. Well, wasn't that just great?

Grandine looked down at Loke with soft eyes. "Ae (Yes) I know Loke. I can feel that you, not only because you're her Spirit, but also at a personal level, take pride in protecting Lucy. I know you'd do anything to keep her safe, I can see it in your eyes and the way you act around her. Make no mistake in that." Grandine told him.

Say what? She could read all that just by watching him? What an observant eye she possessed.

Neither Loke nor I said anything as a whirlwind surrounded the woman and she turned into a Dragon. She looked back at Loke again. "**And that's exactly why you must consider if there's another way to go about this.**" She said and flew away.

A bright golden light appeared in front of Loke and me before we could do or say anything. The golden light was similar to the light that appeared every time I summoned a Spirit, except much stronger.

I remembered seeing this light sometime long ago. Moustache-Man, it could really only be him. And right as I was, the Spirit King appeared in front of us in all his might.

He looked down at the two of us and smiled. "**Hrm… What's all this?**" He fell unceremoniously to his butt and sat with his legs crossed. He looked at me and smiled. "**Are you ready for your training Lucy, Master of Leo, my old friend, and many other Spirits?**" He asked.

I looked up at the big guy, moping at the sheer size of him. I'd completely forgotten just _how_ big he was. I collected myself and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready." I said.

He smiled again, this time with closed eyes, like some kind of old grandfather. "**Ah, that's good.**" He opened his eyes and the smile dropped. With a thoughtful look, he played with his long and weird beard. "**Where to start..?**" He mumbled to himself. "**Hrm… Well, I'll start with telling you what this training is and what it'll do.**" He ended off.

Wouldn't it all make me stronger? Wasn't that what all this was supposed to result with? I nodded, urging him to continue. I was curious as to what I was going to do with my Celestial magic training.

"**We'll work with your summoning technique, the one you're using right now simply uses too much magic.**" He stated.

I looked up at him with a stunned expression. "There's another way to open Spirit Gates?" I asked. "I only ever thought there was one way." I said. I'd never heard another way to open a Spirit Gate.

Moustache-Man nodded. "**Yes, there's another way to summon your Spirits that costs way less magic.**" He began lost in thought for a moment. "**In the last 100 years, only one person has discovered this other way.**" He looked down at me with a knowing look. "**You know her actually.**" He told me. I knew her? Could it be my Mama? "**It was Angel from Oración Seis, I'm sure you remember her.**"

I sure did. She was the one who taught me the relationships between Spirits and the one I got Gemini, Aries and Scorpio from. She also was the only other Celestial mage I had ever met so far. If you didn't count my Mama. I nodded. "Yeah, I remember her."

"**She could call out two Spirits at the same time, because she used this technique. If she didn't, she would only be able to call one out, just like you.**" The Spirit King explained. I remembered how surprised I'd been when I saw her call out Caelum and Gemini at the same time. "**So we'll teach you to do it that way. Then, which Angel never discovered, we'll also teach you how to call out your Spirits without incantation.**" He said as if it wasn't too shocking.

"Wh-Whaa?! Can you even do that? Isn't it supposed to be _extremely_ hard? Like, using-your-whole-life-on-it-hard?" I asked rapidly one after another. And how could he say it so calmly?

Moustache-Man smirked. "**I never said anything about my training being easy.**" He began playing with his oversized moustache again. Seriously, why did he do that? "**Also, you have a lot more magical power because you're a Dragon-**" Obviously he'd know that too. "**So it'll be easier and faster to teach you than any other ordinary human.**" Well that made sense, I guessed. A Dragon, a _magical_ creature, would naturally have more magic than a non-magical creature like an ordinary human. Then there are those in between, the mages, but they are something in between.

Moustache-Man clasped his hands together and looked expectantly at me. "**Well, let's get started then!**" He said. I nodded and was about to stand up. "**No, just remain sitting. During our training, at least today, you'll be meditating.**" Again? "**I heard from Capricorn, who heard from Alodiculis, that you've discovered you Celestial powers in the black abyss. I also heard that you didn't enter it. That's good, because you'll enter it now. You'll know what to do in there once you enter. It'll be hard, but I'm sure you can do it.**" He said secretively.

I raised my eyebrow at him and looked at him incredulously. How would I know I wouldn't be losing my Dragon powers if I did that? Also, why did he have to be so secretive? It made me feel like I couldn't trust him, which was ridiculous.

"He's right, you know." Loke said, sitting on the ground next to me. "I know you'll pull through." He smiled. "And if you fall, I'll catch you~!" He reassured me.

I sweat dropped. "Please don't." I turned back to the Spirit King without waiting for a response from Loke. "Should I just start?" I asked the big guy.

He nodded. "**Yeah, you can start whenever you feel ready.**" He said.

I gave him a nod, straightened my back, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. I let my senses be overpowered by the nature, and, faster than before, I found myself surrounded by the blackness. It was just as black as it was before; it was like it swallowed all the light around, just like a black hole.

The bright, golden star began glowing brightly a little to my left. It shone so bright it lit up the darkness around it, much like it did before.

I stepped closer to the star and felt the familiar rush of my Spirits. I stepped closer, feeling the pull of the star, so I stood a few feet away from the star. I heard the gentle voices of my Spirits calling to me, saying I should enter the star. Except Aquarius, she was screaming at me.

"You little bitch! Get over here already!" Her voice cut sharply through the others'. I sweat dropped at the usual antics of my Mermaid Spirit. Yearp, that was Aquarius alright.

I walked up to the star so I stood right in front of it. It towered up high over me and bathed me in its golden light. I felt a strong urge to enter. It wouldn't cancel out my Dragon powers. If it did, the Spirit King probably wouldn't have sent me in here without telling me at least. Alodiculis never said anything about it either, so it couldn't be too bad, could it?

I took a step forward and let the golden light engulf me. It felt nice and familiar, as if it welcomed me. For a second all I could see was a bright, white light, but then I stepped into a room where I felt like I was standing amidst the stars in the dark, night-blue sky. The small stars twinkled in the dark sky just like in the 'real' life.

A meteor danced around on the starry night sky and every time it touched a special star, the star grew bigger and the meteor bounced on to the next star and did the same there, like a pinball game. When it hit the last star, the meteor quickly died out. I found myself being completely and utterly hypnotized by it as it had bounced around, and was still mesmerized by everything around me.

The enlarged stars stood bright and proud on the night sky and twinkled a lot more than all the other stars together, they almost lit up the darkness of the night. A thick red line appeared at the first enlarged star and followed the path the meteor had taken just moments ago.

When all the stars were connected, I recognized the symbol it had made. It was the Canis Minor constellation, the one on Plues' key.

The Canis Minor constellation minimized and Plues' key appeared around it, with the minimized constellation as the symbol on the end of the key. It slowly floated over to me and hovered in front of my face, as if waiting for me to do something. I slowly stuck my hands out next to each other, palms facing upwards. The Silver key slowly fell down and landed in my open hands. I felt the familiar key in my hand, it felt a little warm, but in a very comfortable way.

I held the key in front of my face in one hand. What did all this mean? What was I supposed to do with Plues' key? Moustache-Man said I would know what to do, but I didn't. My free hand automatically found its way to my waist, where my keys were in the little pouch, but the pouch was completely empty. I looked around frantically in search of my keys. Where were my keys? I couldn't have lost them, could I? Ohh, Aquarius would be so mad, I didn't think I would survive that one.

_Do not worry._ A little voice said, interrupting me in my frantic search. I looked up and around to find the owner of the voice, but there was only me. _Your keys are not gone._ It continued. I noticed it wasn't just one voice, it was many small ones.

"Where are you?" I asked, my voice echoing through the starry sky, and still looking for the owners of the voices. "Show yourselves!"

_We are already visible all around you. _The voices said.

"Who are you?" I asked, more calmly, but not understanding what the voices were hinting.

_We are the stars you see all around you and we will guide you when you enter our world._ They told me.

I looked around at the twinkling stars. They somehow seemed to be waving at me when I looked at them. I nodded, accepting their explanation. "Okay, so where are my keys?" I asked. They would know, wouldn't they? They almost indirectly said they did.

_You have not yet earned the right to use them here in our world. _They answered. What was that supposed to mean? What rights did I need to call out my Spirits?

"What do you mean? Why don't I have my keys?" I asked, clutching Plues' key close to my chest. "What about the 'outside' world?" I asked consecutively, not giving them any time to answer.

_Your keys are only gone in our world._ They reassured me. I sighed in relief, so I hadn't lost my keys. _However to regain your keys in our world, you will have to prove to us that you are worthy of doing so. That you have the desired strength to have them._ They continued.

I looked around curiously. "How do I prove to you that I am strong enough and worthy of my keys?" I asked the sky. To be honest, I felt a little ridiculous talking to the sky like that.

_You call out your Spirits in our world.___They said. _Until you are able to call out your Spirit, it is not yours and you are unable to ever use their full power. _They told me quite plainly. A little too plainly, if you asked me.

"So I just call out Plue, and then I will own his key in your world and use his full power in the 'outside' world?" I asked, just to be sure. Whatever power he had.

_Yes._ The stars simply said.

Well that was simple enough. I pointed Plues' key out in my usual stance. I drew on my magic and sent it into the Silver key in my hand, just like I always had. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I yelled. The key glowed a faint golden light, but apart from that, nothing happened. "What? What happened?" I pulled the key back and turned and twisted it in front of me to find a difference on this key and the key I knew from the 'outside' world. I couldn't find any differences though; they were like two drops of water.

_You didn't use your true power.___The stars told me. I looked up and around at them. Why did they have to say everything in such riddles? I guessed with 'true' they meant 'full', some people called full power for true power. So I had to use my full power, did I? But this was just Plue, I didn't need my full power for him. _Try again using your true power._ They urged me on.

This would be a little overkill, but alright. I drew on all my power surges. I felt my hair begin to float around my head as if there wasn't any gravity. I closed my eyes so I could reach into the deepest parts of myself to draw out the last parts of my magic.

I felt a strong rush surge through me and knew I had collected all of my power. I opened my eyes and pushed it all into the little Silver key. The power that surged through my veins all flowed into Plues' key. I felt the rush of power I just had, leave my body through my fingers. All was set and done. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I yelled with an even more echoing voice filled with power. Never before had I collected all my power and sent it through a key. I hadn't ever heard this powerful voice, so I became quite startled when I heard it and nearly lost my focus. Nearly. Not completely.

The key glowed brightly and blinded me. I shielded my eyes with my free hand, but it was still way too for me to be able to see anything.

Then all of a sudden, the light died out completely and in front of me stood…

Nothing.

I fell to my knees as the magical drain I'd just gone through welled over me. I dropped Plues' key and it landed a little in front of me, where it slid over the floor, just out of my reach. I steadied myself with my hands on the floor and stared in disbelief at Plues' Silver key.

It never was this difficult to call out Plue. All I created with my full power was some light. Blinding or not.

I dropped my head and felt tears begin to form in my eyes. My tears dropped down, but never met the invisible floor. They just kept falling.

_You are still not using your true power._ The stars told me monotonously. _Come back when you are prepared to use your true power._ Plues' key began levitating in the air in front of me, still out of my reach. I stretched my arm out to take it, although I already knew it was futile, out of my reach. I couldn't move because of the strain of my loss of magic.

The key teased me by hanging there in the air right in front of me. As if challenging me to take it. A second later, it flew off into the night sky and became one of the many stars. "Plue!" I screamed in panic. Had I lost Plue? Was I unable to summon him now?

_Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, come back when you are ready to use your strongest power, but also greatest weakness, your true power._ The voices faded out in the end along with the stars. When the last star had disappeared, I was back in the black darkness.

I looked around, but the golden star was nowhere to be seen. "Plue! Give Plue back to me!" I shrieked in panic, but no one answered me. I crashed to the ground, unable to keep myself up any longer. "Plue." I whispered.

**A little while later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"**Open your eyes Lucy.**" A deep echoing voice said. It was faintly familiar, but I just… Couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Princess! PRINCESS, WAKE UP!" Someone very familiar yelled, almost screamed. Someone grabbed my shoulder tightly and shook me back and forth. "Please… _Please_ just… Open your eyes. I don't know what I would do without you." The same very familiar voice whimpered. Oh why wouldn't they just keep quiet? My head hurt so bad.

"**Calm down Leo, she isn't dead.**" The echoing and now also authoritative voice said. I remembered that name. Leo. "**Look, she's breathing, she won't die.**"

"No I-" The second voice started, but was cut off.

I decided I would put an end to their endless rambling. "Oh go home to Aries already, Loke." I moaned and opened one eye to look at my Lion Spirit. He had dropped his glasses and his green eyes looked like they were about to cry. Or already had.

The he threw himself at me and locked his arms around me, pulling me up from my lying position and pushing me into his chest. "I thought you were dead!" He said loudly and with a hoarse voice.

Moustache-Man nodded. "**Yeah, he really did.**" He smirked. Loke ignored his comment and didn't move a muscle.

I reached down in my pouch, not without pain, and found the key I was looking for. "I'm just fine." I reassured the two of them, looking at Plues' key, which I held in my line of sight. So I hadn't lost him, that was good.

Loke still didn't let go, so I just let hang onto me as he did. I knew how hard it was for him when he found out that Karen, his former Master, was dead, so if he had thought I had died, he'd probably have been completely crushed.

The Spirit King cleared his throat. "**So what did you see in there? And what emptied your magic like this?**" He asked.

I moved around a little in Lokes' embrace and got my head to peek over Lokes' shoulder. I placed Plues' key in my pouch and locked my arms around either side of Loke and intertwined my fingers at his back, having found a somewhat comfortable position. I began explaining what had happened during my meditation. I found myself enjoying Lokes' continuous embrace, although it might have seemed a little weird to some.

Moustache-Man looked like he was lost in thought when I was finished explaining. "**Hrm… Your full power, you say?**" He asked, playing with his oversized moustache. Again.

I nodded. "Yeah, and apparently I didn't use all of my power, according to those stars." I said.

The Spirit King glanced at me. "**Could this mean – Nah, I don't think they'd think of that.**" Moustache-man mumbled to himself.

I looked up at him with curious eyes. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

He first now seemed to realize he had spoken out loud. "**Oh, I was just wondering if they're talking about the Second Origin, but I don't think they're talking about that.**" The Spirit King answered. Second Origin? Where had I heard that before?

"Second Origin? What is that?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent and clueless I could. I'd read about it somewhere before, I just couldn't remember what it told about it.

Moustache-Man sighed. "**Second Origin is a second container of magic in every living creature, non-magical as well as magical. It is a large, hidden magic that we all possess, but never tap into.**" He explained. I nodded in understanding, still not remembering much of what I once read. "**I can't believe those stars of yours could be talking about the Second Origin.**"

I thought back to the earlier events that took place in my mind. Something in me told me that the Second Origin was exactly what they were talking about. What else could they mean when they said I should use my full power? It is the only magic I didn't use, which I had. I looked back up at the Spirit King expectantly. "Is there any way to 'open' this container?" I asked.

The Spirit King nodded solemnly. "**Yes, but it is incredibly painful and-**" I cut the Spirit King off.

"I came here to get stronger." I told him with a determined look in my eyes. "We'll open the Second Origin tomorrow." I said.

Both the Spirit King and I waited for the Lion, who still sat with his arms around me, to protest wildly. But he didn't say anything at all. Moustache-Man and I exchanged gazes. Why didn't Loke say anything?

I pulled a little back from Lokes' embrace, which was much looser now. I looked at his face, he had closed eyes and took deep and steady breaths. I smiled at my Spirit, he was asleep.

I looked up at the Spirit King with the same gentle smile I'd given the sleeping Loke. "He's asleep." I said in a low voice, so I wouldn't wake him.

The big Spirit nodded with a wide grin. "**Ah well, I guess he's had a hard day today. First he had to beat you up, then he was convinced you were dead…**" he played with his beard for the hundredth time. "**I feel with my old friend.**" He said thoughtfully. He broke out of whatever trance he was caught in and looked down at me. "**Should I help you get him off you?**" he asked with an amused glint in his eyes. That didn't sound wrong at all.

I glared lightly up at him. "Yes, that would be nice." I answered.

He nodded and placed his index finger on Lokes' back. His finger began glowing faintly and in a flash of golden light, the weight around me eased and Loke was gone.

I rolled my shoulders a little, they'd become quite tired. I shot the Spirit King a thankful glance. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "**Oh, it was nothing.**" The index finger he'd used to send Loke to the Spirit World – hopefully – shot up and pointed at the sky. "**That's right! I have a special gift for you.**" He said as he looked through his pockets. "**Here it is.**" He pulled something tiny, for him anyway, out of his pockets and placed it in my hands. It was a little, thick book in a nice, green cover. 'Dragon Language' was written in a beautiful, old letters over the front of the cover in a golden color. The edges all around the book was also the golden color and some kind of metal.

"What is this?" I asked without looking at him, instead I was inspecting the book.

He snickered. "**Well, I thought you might want to look a few words up.**" He smiled. "**Try opening it.**" He urged. I did as he was told and opened the book, revealing the first page. It was completely bare, except on the page to the right in the middle, there was a red square, not a button or anything, just as if it was a picture, and with a golden line all around it at the edge. Underneath it stood in the same beautiful, antique letters 'Switch Languages'.

I looked up at the Spirit King. "What does this mean?" I asked.

"**If you send some of your magic through that square, the Dragon language and your language will switch places.**" He explained. "**For example, if you want to find out how to say 'fire' in the Dragon language, but the book is ordered after the Dragon language, you simply send you magic into the square and – voila! – the book is ordered after your language." **He told me.

I looked surprised at the open book. "Wow, that is so handy." I looked at the Spirit King. "Thank you so much!" I smiled. This book was sure to come in handy.

"**You're** **welcome.**" He smiled and waved. "**I'll see you tomorrow and then we'll look at your Second Origin.**" He said and disappeared in flash of golden light.

I giggled. "Oh, you big show off." I told him even though he was far beyond being able to hear me.

I faintly heard flaps in the background. I turned around and saw Alodiculis coming flying into the little field. He landed quickly and ran a few steps to slow down. He then proceeded to casually walk over to me and tower up above me. "**Are you ready for the last part of your training for today?**" He asked.

I nodded and I went into the depths of my mind. Again.

**Hours later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

It showed up that I, obviously in Alodiculis' eyes, wasn't able to find my Dragon powers, although I searched quite a bit. If you asked me anyway.

The day was finally over and I could go to sleep. I went back into Acnologias' and my cave and fell down on the soft moss in the lonely cave. Acnologia still hadn't come back from his training and I couldn't stay awake long enough for him to come back. I was completely wasted, I'd used up all my magical reserves and I was tired physically as well as mentally. As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell in a deep slumber.

**In case you're wondering, the reason Lucy was close to dying, like Loke thought she was, during the Spirit Kings training, is because she used all her magic, which is the same as having lost a lot of your life energy… If I remember correctly. Actually maybe I'm talking about Naruto and chakra. Yeah. Well anyway, let's just say it is the same here, and the only reason she survived here was because of her dormant Dragon powers and the untapped Second Origin. Yep, yep. I'M MIXING EVERYTHING TOGETHER! YAAAAAAAY!**

**Hope it was a guuuuuud (The Jim Carrey way) chapter. Originally I planned to first post it tomorrow, but tomorrow is pretty busy, and I will basically not be able to be on the Pc all day. Just great. So I'm posting today.**

**Anyway, what did you think of the first training session here? I know she might have been beat down a lot, but that is just the way it is. I got to spice this story up, ya' know. Besides, she was supposed to seem weak, which she probably does now. **

**Thank you LimeesLemoons, shiro heartfilia, 00halfblood, TheOfficialCryptic, EmyLove, LaedyLynx, MoonStar1312, Crazzygirl101, TheBigBadWolfxTheOncomingStorm, king of the lion, MelodyTheKitten, FT LOVER (Guest), dakrith, Shinigami Ou, clumzybeans, Atlanticfire, mjb376, Umi Ryuuzaki, fanman963, Baka-Bunny-Senpai, videogamerfan144, RawrrIt'sMe, naruto789987, FearMyLaserFace, Tsiera and all you other readers for reading, mainly, favoriting, following and/or reviewing. Amazing people, I just gotta say. It's amazing how this part always is so long….**

**No Translations in a while so…. Yeah.**

**~Line464d**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Guess what? You get home to you dad, and what do you see in the garage? A friggin' new car! Or should I say, yet another new car? It is a Cadillac convertible 1962, and lemme tell you, it's long. A little longer than two Kia Picanto's – if you know that car – just behind each other. It's a little limousine! And a cabriolet too. Awesome car I tell ya. – Not that you guys would have much to do with the information, I just thought you should know! ^_^**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Ah yes, Slowpoke has gone for a walk, I'll ask him when he comes back, but for now I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**In a clearing in Socubedo Forest – First day of training**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"**So what are we doing during this training?**" I asked. My SIC, Deamunas Tehepo, was the one who was supposed to help me train, at least in the start. He was a big, black Dragon, bigger than any of the Head Dragons, which was a feat in itself. He had marks all over his long form, which were a little similar to tiger-stripes, except somewhat thinner and longer and in a bright, neon red color. His wings were the five fans every Chaos Dragon had somewhere, just enlarged. A lot. The biggest ones closest to his neck and head and the three small ones behind the two big. Much like the fans on my head, actually, just much bigger. His neck and tail weren't quite as long as mine, but much thicker. His eyes were a dark red color, which made him look quite intimidating.

When I became the Head Dragon of the Chaos Clan, we were trying to find a new SIC, because the previous one had become too old. We usually would find a new SIC when they reached around the age of 400 years of age. Grandine had, nice as she was, helped me pick out a new SIC, and we'd found Deamunas. He was 74 years old, so he was relatively young. And he was my best friend in the whole Chaos Clan.

He'd taken care of the Clan while I was in Earthland, which I was really grateful for, and he'd sent a Mini Messenger Dragon to me once a month, so I could follow what was happening in the Clan during my absence. He also made sure to put up a communication Lacrima when there was a Head Dragon meeting. He was a really good choice for a SIC and all the Head Dragons agreed on that. Whether they said it or not.

Now Deamunas was in charge of my training, which I'd thought I'd completed. We were in a clearing in the middle of Socubedo forest. Apparently I would be 'too distracted' if I was on the field with Lucy, so we'd found another place for me to train.

Dravola and Glanasile had let Deamunas decide for himself how my training would be, so I didn't know how it would be like at all.

"**You're going to practice your control over your magic.**" Deamunas answered plainly, but with a faint smirk. "**As it is right now, you have absolutely no control over your power and your aim is horrible. You can't hit anything, even if it was right in front of you.**" He smirked fully. Of course I could hit a target; I had great control over my magic. What was he talking about?

I glared at my SIC. "**I don't have a horrible aim! I can hit my targets.**" I protested. Deamunas snorted at me.

"**Káo (No), you can't Ac-nii-chan.**" Basuril, who had tagged along, shook his head. "**But you're really good at close combat!**" He hurried and praised me with a wide smile and sparkles appearing all around him.

I sweat dropped. Thank you Basuril, you made everything much better.

Deamunas pointed up at the sky with his tail. "**Hit one of those birds up there and I'll admit you have a good aim.**" He looked back at me with a wide smirk. "**Or are you too afraid to lose?**" He asked.

I glared at him. "**I'm not going to lose, just you wait and see.**" I said determinedly and looked at the five birds above us. "**I'll hit one of those birds.**" I reassured the two Chaos Dragons.

"**I'm looking forward to seeing that.**" Deamunas said.

I ignored him and focused on one of the birds. It was black with a white stomach and a dark beak, making it a little different from the other four, which were completely black and with bright orange beaks.

I gathered a small amount of my elemental power in my mouth, I didn't want to kill the little guy, I just wanted to poke him a little or something.

I took aim at the bird and shot my Chaos element beam at the bird. It looked like a black laser-beam with small streaks of bright blue. The laser flew towards the birds in a high speed. It flowed closer and closer to its target and…

Flew over them. It flew far over the little flock of birds, missing completely.

"**You see?**" Deamunas smirked. He looked down at my cousin. "**Basuril, why don't you try?**" He suggested.

Basuril nodded and looked at the birds. He gathered his power in his mouth and took aim at the birds, just like I did. He shot five small lasers in a rapid succession. The five black and blue lasers flew towards the birds and hit them all one after another, without fail.

I watched it all with widened eyes as the birds flapped a little faster with their wings and flew away confused. How could he hit all five so perfectly when I couldn't even hit one? Sure he was a prodigy and everything, but even so… Did I really have such a bad aim that even a kid surpassed me?

Basurils' head shot in my direction and with a wide grin on it. "**Did you see that Ac-nii-chan? I hit all of them!**" He cheered happily.

I smiled at the little Dragon. "**Yeah. Maybe you could teach me some of your tricks?**" I suggested.

Basurils' face lit up and he fell in a daze with roses, sparkles and a pink aura around him. He had a sparkling, dreamy look in his eyes.

Deamunas snickered. "**Alright, I don't think he'll snap out of that anytime soon, so let's begin.**" His dark red eyes met mine. "**Go talk with your Dragon; he'll know what to do.**" He said with a straight face.

I looked at him as if he'd just spoken Arabic (A/N; No offense to the Arabic people) to me. "**What? Talk with my Dragon? What do you mean?**" I asked. What was he talking about? Talk with my Dragon – That would be impossible, the Dragon and I were one person.

Deamunas looked at me with that straight face for a few seconds, then dropped it and shook it. "**Don't tell me you've never met your Dragon.**" He glanced up at me with his red eyes. I didn't say anything, I just stood there with a dumb expression on my face. He shook his head in disapproval. "**What did your father teach you in all those years?**" He asked rhetorically.

I decided to answer anyway. "**Not much. He usually let me do my training by myself; he always told me it was better to discover things myself.**" I said. I'd believed every word my father said when I was little and I still did. No one was going to change that.

Deamunas sighed deeply. "**Now everything makes much more sense.**" He muttered. He looked up at me. "**While some things are best to discover yourself, some things are best when you've had help. This included.**" He told me. "**To have perfect control over your elemental magic, you'll have to go into a meditative state. It's different for everyone, but you'll know what to do when you get there. All I can say is that you will meet your Dragon there and he'll tell you what to do.**" He explained. "**Or show you.**" He added.

I nodded; it all seemed simple enough, really. Except one thing. "**So you're saying that my Dragon and I are two separate entities all together?**" I asked. That was the one thing he hadn't explained out right.

Deamunas looked at me as if I was the dumbest person alive. "**I thought that was quite clear. Ae (Yes) you and your Dragon are two different personalities of one body. Kind of like a person with a split-personality.**" He explained.

I'd always thought that my Dragon form and my Human form were kind of like a human mage with Take Over magic, where I just changed my appearance, but my personality stayed the same. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

I didn't really know what to do or say, so I kept my mental breakdown at bay and just accepted the words for now. "**Alright, so what now?**" I asked.

Deamunas looked baffled by my quick recovery, but answered me nonetheless. "**You meditate and go deep into the depths of your mind.**" He told me. Did I really have to meditate? I'd never done this before, I didn't know what to do. I just stared at my friend silently. He stared back for a while until he got the message and sighed exasperatedly. "**How dumb can you be?**" I heard him mutter before a black and red light engulfed him. He changed into his Human form and stood before me.

He had short, black hair that clung to his head, a little longer in the back than in the front. He wore a neon red t-shirt with black tiger-stripes on the sides and black jeans with three similar tiger-stripes on the sides on the jeans, just underneath the pockets in a neon red color. Just like the color of his scales as a Dragon. He had bright, neon red sneakers on, matching the rest of his outfit. He was a very tall and muscular man, just like he was as a Dragon. Except right now, he looked like a big rabbit to me. A big rabbit with dark red eyes.

He looked up at me with his, now quite small, red eyes. "First of all, you change into to your Human form." He told me and waited for me to do as he said I should. Quickly, I let the black and blue light surround me and stepped out as a human. Deamunas nodded. "Good, now you sit on the ground and cross your legs." He said, sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. I followed without saying a word. "Close your eyes." I followed instructions and closed my eyes. "And now let your senses overflow with the nature around you." Deamunas finished off.

I nodded silently and did as was told. I focused feeling the nature with my senses and soon it welled over me. The sounds, the feelings and the scents of the nature and wildlife around me and overthrew me, throwing me into an abyss darkness. I opened my eyes and saw only black oblivion. I blinked a few times, but nothing changed, it remained black and dark.

Then, out of nowhere, a bright blue curly mark appeared in the dark blackness. I immediately recognized it as one of those marks that covered my scaly body when I was in my Dragon form. I felt myself being drawn to the bright blue mark. Unable to resist it, I stepped closer to it and felt a strong urge to go through it. Following my intuition, I stepped into the blue light. A white flash of light blinded me for a second and I closed my eyes against the bright light. When I opened them again, I stood in the cave Lucy and I stayed in here in the Dragon Realm. I felt myself sink into the soft moss a little, not quite as much as I did when I was a Dragon though.

"**You took your sweet time showing up here.**" A deep voice that was way too familiar said behind me.

I turned around and faced myself. Okay, let me rephrase that. I faced my Dragon form in my Human form. I was smirking down at me. This was way too confusing. I was speechless as I stared at myself. "Yo-you're.." I trailed off.

I sighed at me. "**Ae, ae (Yes, yes) I know. I'm you and you're me. There**" I rolled my eyes at me.

I looked up at myself with wide eyes. I didn't know I looked _that_ intimidating as a Dragon; it was so much different to see this way than just as a reflection in water. Now, seeing myself from below, it was no wonder every living creature would run away. I looked evil and murderous there as I looked down at me.

I smirked down at me. "**What took you so long?**" I asked me.

Alright, I was confusing myself too much. I'll dub the Dragon form of myself as a nameless Dragon and I'll be me.

"I-I-I…" I stammered, trying to say something but failed. I think there's a mental breakdown on its way.

The Dragon sighed again, but kept grinning. "**Ae (Yes) you don't have to say it, I know. You didn't know the two of us were different persons, did you?**" It looked down at me as if expecting some sort of answer. I slowly shook my head, hoping I wouldn't offend the big Dragon. I could go to sleep calmly, the Dragon didn't seem to mind much, and it broke into a deep, roaring laughter, which echoed through the cave. "**You're so dense sometimes, Mini-Me.**" The Dragon laughed. It looked down at me at the corner of its eye with amusement shining through it. "**Oh, and to answer your earlier thoughts, we don't look 'murderous', we look 'bad ass', there's a difference.**" It smirked. "**Besides, as I'm sure you know, I, your Dragon form, am your true form, which means you won't be able to use your full power until I let you.**" The Dragon roared in laughter again.

Ae (Yes), I'd figured that much out myself already, but how was I supposed to get _permission_ from this guy to go all out? Deamunas said it would come naturally to me, what I was supposed to do, but I couldn't figure it out. Why was everything always so troublesome?

The Dragon looked around at the cave as if it only just realized where it was. "**Why is this the place I'm in anyway? What does it have to do with anything?**" It mumbled mostly to itself. Maybe it didn't know about Lucy? Please let it be true. It glanced briefly down at me. "**Ahh, that's right. This is the place we'll think of whenever someone mentions the Dragon Realm. That's because it now holds a great value to us, don't you think?**" It looked down at me again with a smirk plastered on its face. "**'What is it?' You may ask. Well, it is the place where dear Lucy and we will sleep for a loooong time~!**"It said in a happy tone. And that was when all my hopes crumbled.

Like Hell was he sleeping with Lucy! "Káo (No)! You're not getting anywhere near Lucy!" I yelled right up in its face. Unforgivable.

The Dragon smirked at me. "**So you finally said something.**" It snickered. "**I think you're forgetting that you and I share the same body. Besides, every time we've slept with dear Lucy, you've changed to your Dragon form, who is none other than me.**"

I felt myself begin to pale ever so slightly. Had I been reckless and let someone like _him_ so close to Lucy? I hadn't even known he had a personality for himself, so what should I have done?

"**You know, I could just pop in and take over anytime I want.**" My head shot up and I glared at the Dragon. It pouted a fake pout when it met my glare. "**Aw, don't make that face at me. I've been so nice and let you stay in charge for so long.**" It smirked again. "**If anything, you should be thanking me.**" It stated.

I snorted. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" I mumbled. I glared at the Dragon again. "If you ever take over my mind, don't hurt Lucy. Or anyone else I care about." I told him.

The Dragon rolled its eyes at me. "**You idiot. Didn't I just say we're the same?**" It sighed.

I sweat dropped. "Káo (No), you said we were two different persons in one body." I muttered.

"**Whatever.**" The Dragon quickly said. "**Point is, I feel what you feel. You love Lucy, so I love Lucy. If you love, hate or hold other feelings towards someone, I feel the exact same.**" The Dragon explained.

I was rendered speechless. He felt everything I felt? That was such a relief, I wouldn't have to be worried about my friends' and family's safety, if the Dragon decided to take over.

"**Thinking about it, I guess, in our case anyway, I'm your dark side.**" It suddenly said.

I glared at it. It really was, wasn't it? I already didn't like that Dragon, _that_ made it much worse. "You like tormenting me, don't you?" I asked suspiciously. It felt like it did.

It grinned, showing off its sharp fangs. "**I don't **_**like**_** it. I **_**love**_** it.**" It stated. "**You're so funny to 'torment', as you call it. You have the best reactions; I can already feel the next many years will be amusing.**" The Dragon laughed.

That's just great. "You know, I didn't come here just to chat with you." I told it, tired of its antics. This would be some long days.

The Dragon looked at me with its dark blue eyes. It sighed and nodded. "**Ae (Yes), I know. You came here to get stronger.**" It said. "**Well, to prove yourself worthy of my cooperation, go in here-**" It lifted its tail and a black and bright blue portal appeared behind it. "**And do what I tell you to.**" It smirked.

I eyed the Dragon, but went through the portal. A bright, blinding light appeared, making me cover my eyes with my arm. I saw the light fade away and removed my arm.

I was in an all new place. A place of destruction and chaos. It looked like a big city, which had been hit by several natural disasters and wars. There weren't one whole building; they all lay in shambles on the ground. There weren't anyone around either, dead or alive.

_Can you hear me, Mini-Me?_ A deep voice asked.

I looked around to look for my Dragon from, but couldn't find it anywhere. "Where are you?" I asked.

_Idiot, I'm not physically where you are. I'm still back in our favorite cave._ The Dragon sighed dreamily. _If only dear Lucy was here, I'm so lonely~_

I could feel my dislike towards that Dragon build. A vein bulged out at my temple and I close my eyes to keep myself from lashing out in the air, clenching my fists as well. "Well she isn't there, so tell me what to do already." I yelled at the air.

_How did I ever end up with someone like you?_ The Dragon sighed again, this time not dreamily, just exasperatedly. _You have to rebuild all these buildings._ It said plainly.

I stared at the cloudless sky blankly. Then dropped my head. "Are you kiddingme?" I moaned rhetorically and walked towards the closest building.

_Ae (Yes)._ The Dragon said with amusement evident in its voice.

I dropped the broken bricks in my hands. "_Damn_ you!" I muttered through clenched teeth.

The Dragon snickered. _Honestly, did you really believe that you'd have to rebuild all these buildings? You'd never get it done._ It laughed.

I growled a little under my breath. What had I done to deserve this? I'd make up for all of my sins, if I could get rid of this pest of an other self. Not that I had made many sins or anything. It would be impossible anyway, there was unfortunately no way I could get rid of that jerk.

A silhouette of black and blue appeared in front of me. It was just a big lump of black and blue, didn't particularly look like anything. The colors moved around as if it was pure Chaos magic.

_Slay that one and I will grant you my power and cooperation with your Chaos magic. _The Dragon told me.

The black and blue thing began moving around and bulge out here and there, as if something was trying to get out of an egg. A black and blue fat line stuck out at the top right, the same at the top left, the bottom right and the bottom left. At last a bigger bulge appeared right in the middle of the two lines at the top. It slowly grew up and looked like an oval that had merged with a bigger oval at the ends.

I looked in disgust at the thing, it looked really weird and disgusting. I didn't really know if I wanted to fight it, because then I'd have to touch it. "What _is_ that?" I asked no one in particular, having completely forgotten the Dragon.

_A little creation of mine. It's pure Chaos magic, which I know you've figured out already, Mini-Me._ The Dragon answered. _It's ready in a moment._

The Dragons' black and blue creation began to move in something that resembled spasms The big oval in the middle moved to the side as if it had been hit by a strong wave. Some of the Chaos magic, which was blown away, disappeared into thin air. The Chaos magic that wasn't blown away had formed into a well-built male torso. The lines protruding out from the torso began one after another to first bend one way, then the other in a ridiculously unnatural way. After that they kind of seemed like they were boiling and slowly formed muscular arms and hands or legs and feet. The top oval tilted unnaturally to one side, then the other and at last the energy pulled together and formed a face and hairless head. It didn't even have nose or ears.

_It's done!_ The Dragon announced happily.

A black and blue Chaos magic man stood in front of me, completely still, except the energy that moved around in him as if it had a life on its own.

I stared at the naked thing in front of me. How would I fight this one? "Can I even touch it?" I thought out loud.

_Of course you can._ The Dragon answered. _If you couldn't you'd never even stand a chance. You would never be able to hit it with that ridiculous aim of yours._ It laughed.

I sweat dropped. "You don't have to add salt to the injury." I muttered.

_Right, right, get the fight going already._ The Dragon said impatiently.

Hmph, how clever was that Dragon really? He just rushed on the destruction of his own creation.

I got into my fighting-stance and focused on my opponent. He stood unmoving and faced me. I began to build up Chaos magic in my mouth and got ready to fire a wide blast at the enemy. I felt it building and sent a little more to the Chaos magic I'd collected in my mouth to complete it.

The black and blue man stood as still as ever. I aimed at him and shot my Chaos magic beam at him. It hit him straight in the face.

I smirked victoriously. Well, that was surprisingly easy. So now I have-

I stopped my thoughts there. The beam I'd shot was being absorbed into the man and made him grow a few inches. I felt my eyes widen as I watched my attack being absorbed into my opponents face.

The Dragon roared in laughter. _Oh, did I forget to mention that since my creation is pure Chaos magic, your Chaos element attacks will have no other effect on him than to make him grow in size and strength? _It asked amusedly.

"Ae (Yes), you 'forgot'. You bastard!" I yelled at the sky, while keeping an eye on my unmoving opponent. The Dragon just continued his roaring laughter, maybe even a little louder.

I gave the Chaos man all my attention. Okay, so I couldn't use my Chaos element magic on this guy. I had to rely on my close combat skills in my Human form. Fortunately that was what I was best at.

I glared at the lump of black and blue magic in front of me. I crouched a little to be ready for whatever was to come and cracked my knuckles. It'd been a long time since I last had a real hand-to-hand battle that challenged me. This ought to be fun.

I crouched a little more and charged at my enemy with one hand pulled behind my head. When I was just about to hit him in the face, he simply twisted his upper part of his body so I missed by just an inch. I had expected this, no one would stand completely still when someone charged without having something like this up their sleeve, and shot my other hand forward, connecting with his solar plexus with a hard blow from below.

The Chaos man bent forward over my arm, baring his neck and back. I lifted my free hand, which had purposely missed him just a second ago, and elbowed him where his neck connected with his back. I quickly stepped back from him as he felt to the ground on his stomach. Normal humans would be out with two powerful blows like those, but my opponent was anything _but_ human.

He slowly rose to his knees and feet. I stared at him intensely, trying to read his movements, but it was hard since he didn't have a face. He stood straight, then imitated my crouched stance. Simultaneously we began to sidestep in a circle around each other, like two hungry tigers. We slowly circled closer and closer and at some point, we were at an arm's length from each other.

The Chaos man took a last sidestep, then quickly brought his right arm back to hit me in the gut. His arm shot forward in a fast speed and it seemed to grow a few inches. Just before it hit me, I quickly blocked, grabbing his hand with my left hand, which sent a jolt of pain up through my arm and shoulder.

That wasn't supposed to hurt so much, what did I do wrong? I looked down at where our hands met, they were both covered in a black and blue orb. My eyes widened. He used Chaos magic!

I looked up at my opponent and before I could react, his free hand hit my gut hard and with Chaos magic, like the other one was supposed to. I doubled over and spit out saliva, that had risen up through my throat from the impact.

How was I supposed to beat this guy when he had the advantage of being able to use Chaos magic? How could I win with such a big handicap?

I just had to step up my game a little.

_Eeh? This turned out to be rather entertaining. Mini-Me, get back up on your feet, I want this match to continue. _The Dragon said thoughtfully.

Oh so he enjoyed all this? I guess I'd give him the 'fun' he wanted. I got back up in my battle-stance, ready for another round.

_Besides, if you lose this one, I'll take over tonight when we're all alone with dear Lucy._ It added gleefully.

Oh _Hell_ no! There's _no_ way I would let that jerk take over! Especially not when I was alone with Lucy. There was just no other way, I would have to beat this guy to a pulp! That damn Dragon wouldn't win!

I felt my rage towards my other self skyrocket and the magic around me exploded. The loose bricks lying around on the ground were violently thrown away by the merciless push of the explosion of magic.

The Chaos man was also pushed back by the magic. It wasn't Chaos magic that had exploded, it was what some people would call 'the power of feelings', but I'd rather call it my 'inner power'.

I got ready to pounce and after the wind of my magic-explosion had died out completely, I charged my opponent. The Chaos man wasn't prepared for my sudden attack, so he wasn't able to dodge when I tripped him with a swing of my right leg. He fell to the ground on his back and I quickly landed on him with a leg on either side of him, keeping him immobile.

I began beating him up. A punch to the gut. A punch to the faceless head. A punch on his shoulder. I kept pounding him badly, completely blinded by my hatred for the Dragon. Too blinded to notice that the Chaos man had gotten an arm free. He quickly pushed me away with all the force he could gather in one arm. Which apparently was a lot.

I flew back a few meters and landed on the ground on my feet, digging my two feet into the ground, trying to stop sliding too far away from my opponent and a hand on the ground to steady myself. A big cloud of dust rose from the ground and fogged my sight completely.

I got up from the ground and ran into the dust cloud, hoping to find my opponent still messing around on the ground.

Just as I entered the fog, I was hit in the back violently, making me stumble forward, almost making me fall to my knees. I whirled around and just barely saw a glint of something black disappearing out of sight. Oh he was smart. I looked all around me on high alert, trying to locate my enemy, while also being on guard for attacks there were likely to come. Just as I'd foretold, I saw a brief flash of black behind me, a clear indication of him planning on launching a sneak attack when I was open. I acted as if I was clueless as to what he was planning, while being on guard and ready for the oncoming attack from behind.

A second later, the attack I'd predicted from behind was launched. The Chaos man came flying with his foot first, aiming for my back and covered in Chaos magic. I stepped to the left and the kick missed by just a few inches. The Chaos mans' foot flew right past my head and just above my shoulder. I stretched out my right hand, waiting for my enemy to fly into my clenched fist, using his speed as my power. I aimed perfectly, for once, and he flew straight into my outstretched fist.

I recoiled from the hard blow and took a step back, digging it in the ground as we slid a little. My fist was buried in his head where his nose would have been, had he had one, there was a little crater around my fist in his head, as if he was gel.

I readied my other hand for an uppercut and it shot forward, hitting him under his chin. Just as my uppercut hit, I pulled my right hand back and watched him as he flew high up in the air.

He hovered a pair of meters above me in the air and then he fell head first down in the grovel underneath with a thud, sending up another big cloud of dust and a little debris. I panted heavily and dropped my arms loosely at my sides. I glared at the cloud of dust, waiting for it to die out, so I could see the condition of my opponent.

The cloud slowly dissipated and I quickly spotted the black and blue Chaos man lying still on the ground.

I straightened my back with some effort and a moan, that blow he gave me in the dust cloud still hurt, and slowly and carefully made my way to the still man. I was on high alert for any movement. I stood right next to where he was sprawled across a broken wall of a building. He didn't look like he would get back up. At the corner of my eye, I saw his feet beginning to disappear and soon he disappeared completely, not leaving any hint of his existence back.

_So you won, Mini-Me. I'd rather have had my creation win but the match was quite entertaining so I guess it's alright. _The Dragon told me.

"Whatever… Let me… Out of here…" I said between pants. That battle with the Chaos man had been fun. Finally I was challenged by someone who stood a chance of winning.

_Impatient, are we? Alright, step through the portal and you're out._ The Dragon sighed.

The black and bright blue portal from before appeared right in front of me. I went through the portal with an arm covering my eyes, waiting for the blinding light to fade away.

Shortly after, I could see the light turn dark behind my arm. I dropped my arm and looked around at the cave Lucy and I was sleeping in.

"**What's with that dumb expression?**" The Dragon asked behind me. Why did he have to sneak up on me like that?

I turned around and smirked at him. "So… I have… Your… Cooperation… Now." I said, still panting heavily as the adrenaline left my body.

The Dragon scowled. "**Ae (Yes), unfortunately you do.**" It answered. "**I'll let you use your full Chaos magic and I won't take over your mind tonight. Blah, blah, blah, get going already.**" It grumbled.

I grinned at it and closed my eyes. I thought of the clearing I was in with Deamunas and Basuril, when I opened my eyes again, I was with those two.

Deamunas was sitting on a rock in his Human form and Basuril was lying on his back in his Dragon form. His wings lay flatly on the ground and with all four feet above him sticking into the air. I guessed he was looking at his claws, 'cause he was moving them around and poked them with each other.

Surprisingly, the exhaustion I had felt, when I was with my Dragon in my mind, had completely vanished and I as if the battle I'd just fought never had happened. I knew it had though.

I moved my legs to get up and that's when I felt the pain I had been waiting for. A wave of pain washed over my leg, which made me moan loudly. The pain wasn't the kind of pain you got from being hit hard by something, it was a pain of exhausted muscles.

But I didn't do too much in there, so how could I be so exhausted? Was it the explosion of my inner magic? It shouldn't have exhausted my muscles though, only my magic-reserves and they're not really exhausted at all.

"Oh, so you're back now?" Deamunas asked, walking towards me.

Basurils' head shot in my direction. "**Ac-nii-chan!**" He happily said and rolled around to his feet with a bright smile.

I nodded to Deamunas. "Yeah." I plainly answered. "Why are my muscles so sore?" I asked. Maybe they knew.

"Ah, that's because you've been very tense since you entered your meditative state." Deamunas told me. "What happened in there?" He asked, referring to my mind.

"A lot happened." I said and began explaining as Basuril dropped down and laid his head in my lap.

**A while later ~**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"**So you fought magic with your bare hands?**" Basuril asked. I nodded to him. "**Cool~**" He said with sparkled appearing in his eyes. He quickly snapped out of it though. "**Not that I expected less of you Ac-nii-chan!**" He hurriedly reassured me.

I smiled at him. "I know, Basuril." People told me that his adoration for me skyrocketed when I became a Head Dragon as a 16 years old buy, who'd just gotten his Dragon. I guess I was a bit of a prodigy myself.

"Your Dragon has an interesting personality." Deamunas commented.

I looked at my friend. "You think? I don't think he liked me." I said plainly. Everything that Dragon did and said screamed 'I don't like you!', at least if you asked me. Deamunas merely laughed at my words. I cleared my throat to get his attention again. "Deamunas?" I called in a serious tone. There was something had to ask.

Said persons' laugh halted when he heard my serious tone. He looked down at me attentively. "Yeah, what is it?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "My Dragon said something that kind of interested me." I began. Deamunas nodded for me to continue. "He said that he was my 'dark side', is that possible?" I asked.

Deamunas furrowed his eyebrows. "Káo (No), I've never heard of anything like that." He shook his head. "It's true that you Dragon form and your Human form feel the same towards other people, but you are two different persons. The only thing that binds the two forms together is the fact that you share the same body and hold the same feeling towards people." Deamunas explained, brushing a bang of hair away from his eyes. It fell back in place though and this time he just let it hang. "There's no such thing as a 'dark side'." He ended off.

I nodded and huffed. "Right. So he only wanted to torment me." I got up from where I still sat on the ground with aching muscles. Basuril had ended up moving his head pretty quickly, finding it more comfortable to hold his head himself. "That's just great." I sighed.

Deamunas smirked at me. "Is he really _that_ bad?" He asked.

I nodded quickly. "Ae (Yes). Ae (Yes), he is _that_ bad." I told him, which only made him smirk wider. I glared at him. "It's not funny, you know."

"Yeah, it is." Deamunas smirked.

Basuril pouted childishly. "**Káo (No), it's not! You should feel bad for Ac-nii-chan!**" He whined down at the elderDragon, who was in Human form. Deamunas stared up at him with a thoughtful expression. Basuril looked confusedly at him. "**What is it?**" He asked.

Deamunas shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing." He said. "I was just thinking how weird your childish acts looks from below." He simply stated.

Basurils' lower lip began to tremble. "**B-b-but, don't I l-look cute?**" He asked. He bowed his head extra much and sent Deamunas puppy-eyes through eyelashes that just appeared at the spot. Those irresistible puppy-eyes of his. They were truly irresistible!

Deamunas, who was caught by Basurils' puppy-eyes, which was beginning to water, slowly nodded without breaking eye contact with the little Dragon. "Ae (Yes), I was wrong. You look cute whether it's from above or below." He said as if in a trance.

I looked at my SIC caught in my cousins' spell with pity. I'd tried that many times, those irresistible eyes of doom. I patted him on the shoulder. "I know the feeling, my friend. I don't blame you for anything." I told him reassuringly and mostly in a joking manner too, but Basuril seemed to believe it to be genuine.

He returned his eyes to their normal state and beamed at Deamunas. "**If Ac-nii-chan has forgiven you, then I have too!**" He said happily and began skipping around.

Deamunas held his head in his hand groggily. "That cousin of yours is quite fearsome." He said with a slurred voice.

I sweat dropped. "Yeah, 'fearsome'…" I agreed, although not all genuine. "What'll be the next stage of training?" I asked to change the topic from my 'fearsome' cousin.

Deamunas, suddenly past the aftermath of Basurils' spell, smirked. "Oh, you'll hate this one." He told me. "We're going to practice control over your Chaos magic and with 'we're' I mean 'you'." He smirked.

I moaned exasperatedly. Of all things, control over Chaos magic. The thing I hated the most. "Great. What am I supposed to do then?" I asked, not finding any motivation to go on at all.

Deamunas held his hand up, palm facing the sky. "You're going to-" He began charging power to his hand. "Create a ball of Chaos magic." He ended off. The Chaos magic he had collected was sent up and gathered at his palm, hovering just above it, till it created a little black and bright red, Deamunas' Chaos elements' colors, ball the size of a big football. He looked at me. "Now it's your turn." He told me and let his Chaos ball disappear again.

I sighed. Why did I have to do this? Wasn't it fine if it was just chaotic? It was _Chaos_ magic after all. But I knew it had to be done, if I didn't go through with it, it wouldn't get much stronger.

At last, I nodded. "Alright, I'll try." I gave in.

Deamunas nodded. "Good. First you gather your Chaos magic in your hand." He explained.

I held my hand in the same position as Deamunas had and sent my Chaos energy to my hand. I felt the Chaos powers flow calmly to my hand and coat it in a black and blue glow. I glanced at Deamunas quickly, then back at my hand, afraid to lose the power I had collected. "Like this?" I asked without looking at him.

I could see my friend nod at the edge of my vision. "Exactly." He commended. "Now comes the hard part-" He smirked. "For you. You have to push the Chaos powers out of you hand and gather it in a ball above your palm." He informed me.

I nodded a little. Alright, I could do this! Piece of cake. It was just like with the portal I made in Earthland, which brought Lucy, Loke and I here, shouldn't be much different. I tried pushing the magic in my hand out, but nothing happened. The Chaos magic around my hand stayed around my hand.

I furrowed my eyebrows. What did I do wrong? I closed my eyes and tried to feel the magic in my hand. I found it quite quickly. It felt like a chaotic whirlwind of magic that was nowhere near being tamed. Okay, what I had to do was to tame that whirlwind, then I'd probably have more control over my Chaos magic. Yeah that was. I had to tame a whirlwind.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply to up my focus. I searched for the cause of the whirlwind in my hand. After some searching around, I found it. I focused on pushing the cause of the whirlwind out of the rest of my magic. If the cause was gone, then the whirlwind would disappear too, right? I tried a bit harder and finally got the cause out. Immediately after, the whirlwind died down and I opened my eyes. What I saw surprised me.

Hovering above my hand was a black and bright blue ball, the size of a golf ball.

Basuril jumped and cheered right next to me. "**Awesome Ac-nii-chan!**" He cheered happily. He'd probably be better at it than me.

Deamunas nodded. "Yeah, for you it is a good job." I glared lightly at him. He began smirking. "Now you'll just have to make it bigger and do it so many times it becomes natural, as if you have done it all your life." He added.

I lost my focus and my little golf ball dissipated into thin air. Again? I had to do that _again_? So many times it would become natural too? How many times would I have to do it then? 100 times? More? And bigger? Oh dear Mavis, kill me already.

"Get on with it already." Deamunas ordered and went away to the stone he sat on earlier, leaning his back against it with his hand behind his head, making sure to look _really_ relaxed.

I scowled and sent my magic to my hand. Again.

**At the end of the day~**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I held a ball of black and bright blue magic the size of a big handball above my palm.

I'd been creating these magic balls all day, gradually making them bigger and bigger. If you asked me, I thought I'd done a great job. Going from a golf ball to a handball in just a day was quite a feat for me.

I let the ball of energy go and watched as it disappeared. I was just about to create one more, when Deamunas interfered. "**I'd say that's enough for today. Basuril, fly home and get some sleep, it's late.**" Deamunas ordered my cousin. He had changed back to his Dragon form a while ago.

Basuril saluted with his wing. "**Ae (Yes) sir!**" He said as a recruit talking to his lieutenant. Deamunas waved him off and the little guy turned his head to me. "**Goodnight Ac-nii-chan!**" He said while beaming at me and flew away in his hyper-speed before I could say anything.

"**And Acnologia, follow me.**" Deamunas continued. "**I'll take you to your cave.**" He said and turned around, ready to fly.

I wondered how Deamunas' Dragon was. Was it, like mine, an asshole? Or was it nicer?

I nodded and changed to my own Dragon form and followed Deamunas as he flew over the Socubedo forest towards Lucys' and my cave.

How had Lucys' training been today? Had she found her Dragon powers yet or was she still searching? I looked up at the familiar night sky. My training had really run long, it was probably already over 9 Pm, so Lucy was most likely already sleeping. I heard from Glanasile and Dravola that her training was a little more planned than mine was. They'd told me her training ended around 8 Pm.

I looked at Deamunas. "**I think Lucy is asleep in the cave by now, so we'll have to be quiet.**" I told him.

He looked at me over his shoulder. "**Alright, we'll just land a little away from the cave and walk there in our Human form.**" He said as he turned his head forward again. I caught a glimpse of what I would call a smirk just before he turned away. "**Speaking of Lucy, I still haven't seen your special someone. That's wrong, considering I'm your best friend and SIC, don't you think?**" He asked.

I growled under my breath, imagining Lucy in only a little and revealing PJ sleeping. Vulnerable and unable to defend herself against ogling eyes. Not that I had seen her in her PJ. And I wasn't exactly sure why it was revealing either. A man's' imagination I guessed. Although what I had in mind fit her…

I shook my head to get rid of the pictures in my mind. "**Too bad. Maybe some other time, when she's awake.**" I suggested. I wouldn't let Deamunas or anyone else close to Lucy while she was sleeping and defenseless like that.

Deamunas simply nodded and flew on in silence. After a little while, Deamunas slowed down. "**We'll land here.**" He said and began losing altitude, dropping down into the silent forest. I followed without uttering a word and landed next to him.

We changed to Human form almost simultaneously and began walking through the silent and dark forest. "How's she like?" Deamunas suddenly asked.

I looked confusedly at him. "Who?" I asked clueless.

Deamunas face palmed. "Moron." He muttered. "Lucy, who else?" He sighed.

"Oh, right." I nodded. "Well she's very kind." I told him. "She'll do whatever she can to make others happy. She never gives up, she always fight until she can't stand anymore and then a little more." I said. What else? Now I thought about it, I really didn't know Lucy very well. "Uh, she's very forgiving too. I don't think she's able to hate anyone, no matter what." I thought back at the two last days with her. "And from what I understand, she loves all her friend and puts them above everything else." That's what I felt when she told that story of hers yesterday anyway.

Deamunas looked at me with questioning eyes. "You 'think' and 'from what you understand'? Don't you 'know'?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

I shook my head. "Káo (No), if you think about it, I've only been with Lucy ten days." I told him.

This seemed to surprise him. "Ten days?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Yeah, I met her when I was 14 and she 10, and we played together for a week in the Heartfilia Mansion. Then 7 years came and went without us meeting each other even once. She showed up near my cave in Earthland two days ago, and put that together with today, we've only been around each other for ten days." I explained.

Deamunas looked forward again. "That's crazy." He muttered.

I nodded again. "Ae (Yes), it is." I agreed.

The trees began to thin out a little and Lucys' and my cave came into sight.

Deamunas gestured towards the cave. "There you go." He looked at me with a smirk adorning his face. "Have a nice night with Lucy~" He told me.

I glared at him. "Thank you." I said sarcastically.

He just nodded and went back into the forest. Not long after, the silence was broken by the sound of him flying away into the silent night.

I stared in the direction Deamunas had flown, until I couldn't hear the flaps of his wings. I turned around and walked towards my cave. I walked through the entrance as quietly as I could and quickly spotted Lucy lying unmoving in the middle of the cave.

I stepped closer and stopped next to her, where I kneeled down.

The faint moonlight bathed the blonde girl in a silver glow. Apart from that, she looked like a mess. Her clothes were al ripped apart and there was a big hole in the shirt, revealing her belly button and the pale skin of her flat stomach around it. There was also smaller holes and ripped parts all around the shirt and the back probably looked the same. Through several of the smaller holes and rips in the shirt, her black lace bra was painfully visible. Nah, more like obvious. Seriously it just drew my attention instantly. I realized my thoughts were taking a rather perverted direction and shove them away.

Lucys' shorts were basically unusable now, much like the shirt, but didn't show off anything inappropriate. Although not much was needed for that to change, they were really short from the beginning. Too short, in my opinion. The funny thing was, even though her clothes were so torn, she didn't have a single bruise anywhere.

Her hair was also messy, half of it sat in the high ponytail she'd made this morning and the rest hung loosely around her. A strand of her golden hair had fallen across her face. I carefully brushed it away behind her ear, making sure she wouldn't wake. I accidentally touched her forehead when I moved the strand of hair and she felt really cold. I put my hand gently on her arm, checking her temperature. That too was really cold. Shit, she would get a cold at this rate.

I quickly pulled my jacket off and laid it over her as a cover.

_You know, that won't be enough, Mini-Me.___An all too familiar voice said in my mind.

"How can you be in my mind, Dragon?" I whispered out loud. Why did he also have to torment me now?

_Since you _finally_ contacted me, I'll be able to communicate with you any time~. _The Dragon said happily.

"Why you..!" I growled with a clenched fist and a vein bulging out at my temple. "Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked in a whisper, careful not to wake my sleeping friend.

_Take her clothes off._ It plainly said. Images of Lucy without clothes instantly popped up in my mind.

"WH-" I was about to yell, but stopped myself before I could begin. "What?!" I whispered loudly. "Why would I do that?" I asked.

_Oh stop being a pervert._ The Dragon snickered. _I only meant the torn shirt. Where did you get that vivid imagination from, by the way? Can't you share some? _It asked with amusement covering its deep voice.

I chose to ignore his question and comments. "Again, why would I do that?" I repeated my earlier question.

The Dragon sighed. _You're so incredibly slow, Mini-Me. _It told me. _Her shirt is too torn to keep her warm, you have to take hers of and give her yours._ It said.

"Right." I said and pulled my jacket off her.

I readied myself to pull off her shirt, when the Dragon interrupted me. _Take your own off first idiot._ It scolded me exasperatedly.

"My own?" I asked dumbly.

The Dragon sighed again. _Ae (Yes) your own shirt, you know, the blue one your wear under your jacket. _It said sarcastically.

"Ae, Ae (Yes, yes), I know, but why?" I whispered. What was that Dragon thinking?

_You are so slow it _hurts_!_ The Dragon yelled in annoyance. _You won't need it since you can change to your Dragon form, and it contains your body-heat, which she needs. So do what you gotta do quickly._ It told me.

I huffed at it and quickly pulled off my shirt. I grabbed the bottom and hesitated to continue. She wouldn't like this, I was sure of it. But then again, who would? It needed to be done though, or she'd get a cold.

_You know, it would be faster if you just ripped it off. _The Dragon chuckled in my mind.

I sighed and began pulling her shirt up. "Ae (Yes), I know, but I won't do that." It wasn't just Lucys' limitations I was stomping on here, it was my own as well.

_Oh, would that be too bold for you?_ The Dragon asked. I didn't answer its question. Ae (Yes), it was too bold for me. I proceeded to pull up her shirt, revealing more and more skin. It went over her big chest covered by that lacy bra. I carefully moved her arms above her head and pulled the shirt off the rest of the way. I threw her torn shirt away and picked my own up. Alright, how was I going to do this?

A golden light appeared on the other side of Lucy and the weird pink-haired maid appeared. She looked at me, then Lucy and back at me again with and ever unchanging straight face. "I think you should be glad it was I and not Brother, who appeared before you with Hime-Sama in this condition." She said monotonously. Who was her 'Brother' again?

"Yeah, who is your Brother?" I asked.

She looked into my eyes with her uncomfortable, piercing blue ones. "You know him by the name 'Loke'." She answered. Yeah I remembered that cat.

I nodded. "Okay, well… I guess you're right, but Lucy is cold and needs warmth." I told the maid, holding my shirt a little higher.

She looked at it and back at me with a faint smile. "So you decided to take advantage of your own body-heat for the cause." She asked with an even fainter hint of amusement.

I looked away from her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Can you help me?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'll help. I'll keep Hime-Sama sitting up and you'll put her shirt on." She ordered.

I nodded again, not sure what else to do as the maid got Lucy up in a sitting position. It was a wonder she didn't wake up.

I got Lucys' hands through the sleeves and slid it down over her head and let it fall down itself the rest of the way. It was much too big for her. The shirt, which was a t-shirt for me, its sleeves fell to her elbow and otherwise looked more or less like a dress on her. It was far less revealing than any of the other clothes she owned though.

I looked at the maid in front of me. "Thank you." I said.

She shook her head. "No need to thank me, it's my duty as Lucys' Spirit to make sure she is okay." She informed me. She looked at the leather jacket next to me. "What about that one?" She asked, nodding to the jacket.

I picked it up and threw it around her shoulders. "There." I leaned back, sitting on my legs.

The maid nodded. "Thank you for taking care of Hime-Sama." She said as she laid Lucy down again.

"No problem." I answered as I watched the two.

The maid looked at me and saluted. "Until next time, Acnologia-sama." She said. "Oh, and I'll keep this from Brother." She winked as she disappeared.

"Thanks?" I said to the empty cave. It accidentally came out as a question. I got on my feet and looked down at my sleeping friend.

_Would you do something about her hair? It's a shame that those golden locks of hers are so messy. _The Dragon broke in.

I nodded, too tired to do anything else. The days' events had finally caught up to me and I felt just how much magic I had used. I quickly pulled off the ribbon which held some of her hair in place. The now loose strands fell softly to the ground around her. Her hair was so soft, almost like silk. I held the weird, white ribbon in my hand. Somehow, it reminded me of Dragon scales. It had a weird smell hanging around it. Ash and flames, much like Igneels'.

Igneel. His son. Natsu Dragneel. Fairy Tail.

I put together the pieces and quickly realized she'd gotten it from that bastard who dared to hurt her. I was just about to rip it to pieces when I looked at Lucy. She probably loved this thing, if she didn't, she wouldn't have worn it. Maybe it was the only reminder of Fairy Tail and the people she held dear there.

I laid the ribbon back down near her head instead. I couldn't destroy that, it was something special to her.

I sighed and stepped back. I let the usual glow of black and blue engulf me and changed to my Dragon form.

I curled up around Lucy, my stomach touching her. I thought that maybe I could keep her warmer that way. I used my own back as a shield against the wind, letting it face the entrance of the cave.

I closed my eyes and relaxed, getting ready to fall asleep, when a certain line popped up in my head. 'You love Lucy, so I love Lucy'. That was what the Dragon had said earlier in my mind. 'Love'. Did I really _love_ Lucy? Wasn't it a little too fast to say that? Káo (No), I did love Lucy, I realized. It was a feeling I had deep down in my stomach. It was fast, but it was nonetheless genuine.

I loved Lucy.

And with that in mind, I let the sleep overtake me.

**Sooo, a bit of a realization here in the end. Now it's official, Acnologia loves Lucy. Yeah, now what to do next….**

**Oh and, what did you think of the fight scene here? It was my first, might I add, so I would absolutely LOVE to know what you guys thought of it. It takes about 1.595 words, not that I checked or anything.**

**I think this was my longest chapter so far, almost 10.000 words, just the story, without A/N and all. Amazing, isn't it?**

**Thanks to BecauseIamSoBored, mjb376, Ft LOVER (Guest), 00halfblood, albalion, PhycoticDREAMER, Finnish and PROUD, kaleyvaughn3, Shinigami Ou, darkrith, amuletspade1, sladaris, FearMyLaserFace, xMagicMayhem, akane1chan, FireDemonSlayer, bronzitewolf, michiruchama, XxKurayami, Poison Bat, KuroMuun, clumzybeans, sTaRAlPhAhOsHi, Paname, AngelaEienni, shiro heartfilia and all you other readers for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! It is MUCH appreciated, believe me. ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Okay, so this one is for REACHING ABOVE 200 FOLLOWERS! As always, you guys are AMAZING, WONDERFUL, FAN-**_**TAS**_**-TIC (For the DW fans), AWESOME, BRILLIANT AND ALL THE OTHERS, WHICH I CAN'T REMEMBER RIGHT NOW…. Gomenasai minna! **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke? Well, Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail.**

**In the Cave – Dragon Realm**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I woke up, still feeling tired but not able to sleep any longer. I hated that kind of mornings. I blinked a few times to clear both my vision and my mind. I looked down at the girl that seemed so tiny and vulnerable when I was in my Dragon form. She was still sleeping so it was probably still early in the morning. Her training was probably much tougher than mine, if her clothes were anything to go by. Well, it wasn't exactly the most appropriate clothing she'd chosen, but even then I wondered what could have made that big hole on her stomach. Had she been taking hits, so she would have a better resistance and stamina when she was in close combat? Or was it for some completely other reason? Had a Sky Dragon healed her? I guessed it was Grandine, since only she could heal someone so perfectly and without leaving even the smallest indication of a scratch behind. She also was the only Sky Dragon who knew about Lucy, so it really couldn't be anyone else.

But then that made me wonder why Grandine would even be necessary. It made me wonder how battered Lucy had been.

I moved my tail closer to her, as if that could prevent her from going out again. It wouldn't though, Lucy was too determined to get stronger and why would I stop her? It was a choice she had made even before we reunited.

The desire to get stronger lay way back, actually. She'd wanted to be strong mage of Fairy Tail as soon as she had heard about them.

**Acnologias' memory – Seven years ago**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"_Look Acnologia, it's Fairy Tail!" A little blonde girl with golden hair and warm, brown eyes said and pointed at the Lacrima TV. It was one of those commercials about the guilds, as the humans called it, which should make you want to join the different guilds._

_I'd learned that the Fairy Tail guild was Lucy's' favorite. It was also the strongest guild around. And most destructive._

_I nodded and smiled at the girl. "Yeah, I can see it. It's your favorite, right?" I asked rhetorically. We'd only know each other for a day and she'd told me that a million times already._

"_Yeah! I wanna join one day and then I'll be as strong as Natsu and Erza! Stronger than both of them together!" She said excitedly and acting as if she had a sword in her hand like the red-head, Erza, I believed. She switched to a more serious expression, imitating Erza in the TV and pointed her non-existent sword at the TV, just as the red-head did. "Fairy Tail is a place for everyone. Come join today." She said, mimicking Erzas' posture, expression and voice perfectly._

_I chuckled at my little friend. She'd watched that commercial too many times. And so had I._

_First time I saw it yesterday, I was surprised by how young they all seemed. Lucy had told me that the youngsters, which had been shown, were the 'new generation' and that no one would come if they only showed the old farts. I had laughed at those words, but agreed, it probably wasn't old people they wanted to attract._

_Lucy quickly grabbed my hand with her tiny one and pulled me out of my, towards the door. "Come on Acnologia, we're going to play Fairy Tail!" She said happily and with a beaming smile over her shoulder. Then she focused on pulling me after her again._

'_Fairy Tail' was a game we'd played a lot. It was where we each were a member of Fairy Tail, of her choosing, and had a battle with non-existent magic. I'd basically learnt about every of her favorite members after she had repeatedly explained who each of them were and what kind of magic they used._

_I relented and let her pull me after her. "Okay, who am I then?" I asked as she pulled me out of the back door and into their gigantic garden._

_She looked at me back over her shoulder – again – and smiled widely at me - again. I wasn't sure if I liked that smile or not. "I'm Natsu and you're Gray." She told me._

_I sighed inwardly. So I was the stripping idiot, huh? Although he had pretty cool magic. Nothing like fathers' though. "Alright."_

_She ran, a little restrained due to her long dress, to a spot a little away and pointed at a spot at my right. "You can go there." She said._

_I nodded and walked to the spot she pointed on. "Here?" I asked to be sure that I was at the right spot._

_She nodded. "Yes – I'm all fired up!" She said and raised her fist in the air, like when Natsu lit it on fire – she told me._

_I smiled and raised my own fist similar to hers. "Bring it, Flame Head." I said in what I believed to be Gray-like. _

_She broke out laughing and shook her head. "No, it's like _this_." She laughed and brought her fist down on her open palm._

_Oh right, that was the way that stripper stood. I quickly changed my posture to the two-handed Ice Make position. "Alright then, bring it on." I smiled._

**Back in the cave**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I was really a year ago; it still felt like that single week was just a few days ago.

I'd known everything about the plans the Head Dragons had for the two of us and why too, when I met her. I had known as soon as they had figured it all out. My father had always told me about how there was one girl waiting to meet me, even if she didn't know herself. He told me how much he had loved Layla, the-girl-who-was-waiting-for-me's mother, but also how the love of his life had fallen for a human. He told me how that human forbade Layla from transforming to her Dragon form, which I knew was the same as Hell. I had asked him why Layla hadn't just run away and he told me it was because she loved the human, even though he did all that. He would have gone through the same, if that would have made her happy. Love made people do crazy things, he told me. Back then I had just thought he was crazy, but now I understood. Very well at that too.

I'd always thought it all to be too fairytale-ish, didn't quite believe that a girl could be waiting for me, but father kept insisting and I kept away from other girls, to make father happy and proud. He often told me stories about Layla, the adventures the two of them had gone through. Apparently he and Layla were childhood friends, much like Lucy and I, but on other conditions and they saw each other every day. She was a sweet, naïve girl with lots of energy and a heart unable to hate anyone. Lucy was so very like her, all the same traits.

I tried my best to keep away from any girl; I wanted nothing to do with them. It was all for my father and the girl who was waiting for me. But one girl had managed to break through. The only girl who was too stubborn to give up, refusing to lose.

That was Chylirobi Kapura, of course. The only female friend I had in my young days.

In the start, she had tried to approach me, but I had just refused and walked away from her. Later she tried again, with the same result, and again and again and again, until it just became too much and I was a real douche and pushed her away, literally. She yelled at me and asked why I had to be such an asshole, when all she ever tried to do was to be nice and my friend. She walked away with her head held high and her back straight.

Her words had hit something in me and the next day, I'd apologized to her. She had said everything was fine and that I probably had my reasons for doing what I did. I'd nodded and told her everything about the girl who waited for me. Somehow the thing with Laylas' daughter had become a heavy burden I'd been carrying around and I just needed to tell it to someone.

Chylirobi had been very understanding and listened to everything I told her. She told me how similar her own situation was. Her father had since she was little already found who he thought she should mate with and had ordered her to stay away from other boys, so she wouldn't get other ideas.

She'd been a little rebel and had made a lot of male friends in the dark, without her father knowing, of course. She told me that she soon wanted to tell her father that it was none of his business, who she was going to mate.

Even though I didn't want to rebel against my own father, her words were still strong and they made me rethink basically everything. I decided that I would back this Fire Dragon up whenever she stood up to her father, if she wanted me to. When I told her as much, she had become overly happy and almost hugged me to death. Which made it the first time I had been touched by a girl my age. And I was just about 9 then.

Chylirobi and I began playing together a lot, without telling any of our parents. It sent a thrill down out spines every time, because it wasn't completely allowed. Which also made it more fun. We quickly became each other's best friend, but never more than that.

Finally she told me she would tell her father what she thought. We were both only 12 years old then and we both had minds beyond our age, which in itself was something.

She brought me along with her to her father, and only me. She told me she didn't need anyone but me to back her up. Her father was a big Dragon, I don't remember much else. And he didn't like what Chylirobi told him, or the fact that I was with her. He got really mad and almost kicked me out, but Chylirobi stopped him. She asked him what made him think that he was supposed to choose her mate, what made him think it was his choice and not hers. When her father had no reply, she continued. She wanted to know why her father wanted her to mate someone she didn't love, why he would make her bind her life to someone she didn't even know, why she didn't mean something to him.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks in the end. I remember her father changing form and enveloping her in his embrace, muttering an apology.

That was where I felt it was time to go, and so I did. Leaving the two of them to figuring the last out between themselves.

A few days later, Chylirobis' father had come to my father personally, to thank him for having me take care of his daughter. I was afraid what my father would say, but all I could see in his eyes was mild surprise and something else. Pride.

I didn't know exactly what my father was thinking, so I muttered an apology when the Fire Dragon had left. My father had been confused as to what I was apologizing for and when I explained I was sorry for being friends with a girl, he just laughed. He had never said that I couldn't be friends with other girls, only that there was one waiting for me in Earthland, the human realm, and that I'd have to meet her before I made a decision.

Realizing I'd gone too far down Memory Lane, I came back to reality and looked outside, where the few leaves I could see from where I was in the cave, were bathed in a warm, golden light.

It was still early, so I dropped my head to the floor and closed my eyes, waiting for the day to begin. Deamunas would first wake up in the middle of the day. I was usually like that too, but today was different for some reason.

There was still a lot of time to test my patience in.

**Later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Hime-Sama, wake up." Someone shook me lightly out of my slumber. I groaned a little and turned my back to it. Suddenly I felt a déjà vu. I shuddered. Creepy. "Hime-Sama please get up." Apparently I had turned the wrong way.

I opened my eyes and looked into Virgos' extremely blue eyes. "Virgo." I stated, while I blinked a few times. "What are you doing here?" I asked drowsily.

"I woke you up so you can take a bath in the river before Alodiculis comes by." She explained monotonously. "Punishment?" she then added.

Virgo, oh Virgo. I smiled at my unchanging Maiden Spirit. "No, thank you though, Virgo." I looked down at myself, about to ask if she had brought some new clothes instead of the torn ones I was already wearing, when I found myself in a blue t-shirt, which was way too big for me. "Virgo, what is this?" I asked, while noticing the leather jacket on the ground behind me. It didn't take long for me to put two and two together.

The corner of my Spirits' mouth twitched slightly upwards. "That is Acnologia-samas' shirt and jacket." She stated.

Acnologias' scent welled over me just as she said that and I inhaled his scent of a wet forest. I nodded. "Yeah, but why am I wearing it?" I asked. More like how.

A glint appeared in my Spirits' eyes. "When I appeared in the evening, because I could feel you were cold, I had decided to lie next to you, skin against skin to heat you up-" I widened my eyes. What was she thinking? Was she turning into a pervert of some kind? She had probably been too much with Taurus. "But when I appeared, Acnologia was already on it." What? Had he had the same idea as Virgo? "He told me he had decided to take off his own shirt and replace it with yours to warm you up with his own lingering body heat on the shirt." I sighed inwardly in relief. Acnologia wasn't going to… Uh… Yeah. Do _that._ And Virgo had probably taken over and changed my clothes herself. I could handle it much better if she had done it.

"So I helped him getting it off." She said monotonously as always. I looked at her in horror and my face heating up quickly. S-s-she h-had let h-him t-t-ta-ta… ARGH! No. That just didn't happen! I hid my face in my hands to hide my warm cheeks. "Hime-Sama, punishment?" She asked again.

I really considered it this time, but shook my head. I would never do anything to hurt my Spirits. "No." I took a deep breath to cam myself down and looked up again. "Have you brought some new clothes?" I asked to change the topic.

She nodded. "Yes." She handed me the clothes and towel she had in her arms. "Summon me when you're done." She saluted and disappeared.

Well, great.

I looked at the sleeping Dragon Next to me. He'd done it with good intentions, I knew that. At least he didn't crawl through my window and into my bed while I was sleeping. It was nice of him though, he didn't want me to freeze.

I took his shirt off and folded it neatly next to his big head, with his jacket on top of it. I spotted the ribbon I had worn lying on the ground next to where I had been sleeping just moments ago. It was a ribbon I had gotten from Natsu during a mission. We had been dealing with some thugs and one of them, unfortunately for him, ripped off a part of Natsus' scarf. Natsu had been so mad, madder than I'd ever seen him and he beat the poor guy down in the ground. Literally. After the battle, and when Natsu had calmed down a bit, he gave it to me and said that maybe I could use it as a ribbon or something. And so I have. It was one of those things I just couldn't throw away. I knew how much Natsu loved that scarf of his; he might as well have given me a part of himself, so I couldn't simply leave it behind.

Putting the ribbon on top of all of my clean clothes, I went to the Dragon and kissed him lightly on his snout. "Thank you." I whispered. I didn't know why I did it; it just felt right, somehow.

I went out of the cave silently, giving the sleeping Dragon a last glance and quickened my pace towards the river. I was only walking around with a bra and a pair of shorts after all.

It didn't take long to reach it and I quickly threw away my remaining destroyed clothes. I submerged myself in the water in the river. It was nice and cool, not too deep either, and the stream wasn't strong at all. It was the opposite actually; it was gentle and almost caring. Put all that together, and one could safely assume I was comfortable in the beautiful water of the river. There weren't any waves, just to make it all the much better, the water was just calmly flowing along in the river, which was several times bigger than any river in Earthland.

I found a rock which protruded out of the river-bank, which was going up sharply at the sides. The stone was big, I could easily lie down on my back on it and there would still be space left. I closed my eyes and leaned back on the edge of the river bank, enjoying the wonderful water I was sitting in and the beautiful nature around me.

I had almost dozed off when I heard two splashes on either side of me. I opened my eyes in alarm and looked at the two ladies on both of my sides.

At my right, there was a beautiful young woman, looking around the age of 25, but I knew looks could be deceiving after what Alodiculis told me the other day. She had pale skin, but not white. Her hair was long and curly all black, but with a hint of purple where it reflected the sun. She wore ivory white nail polish, which, might I add, fit her perfectly, and made her nail seem a little like claws. Her face was feminine, but had a hint of danger, a sure shot to make every guy look after her in the streets, which her dark ivory white eyes didn't help with.

At my left, there was another young woman, who also looked about 25. Her skin had a warm sun-brown color, which almost glowed. Her hair was wavy and a royal blue color, a little darker than Wendys'. The outer hair from her forehead and sides were pulled back to the back of her head, where it was held in place with a metal ring with beautiful patterns, and from it, her hair was loosely braided, which faded out in the end. The rest of the hair fell freely around her flowing calmly with the waves. She had a very feminine face and beautiful, purple eyes.

I recognized both women. "Skyadrum, Amelane." I stated, just to say something.

Skyadrum flashed me a grin. "Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lucy, hope you don't mind if we join you?" She asked.

I flashed her a bright smile. "No, not at all." I told them. I really had to look those words up sometime, I wished I had brought that dictionary Moustache-Man gave me the other day. "Why are the two of you here?" I asked the somewhat obvious question, although I already had a good idea.

"I wanted to talk with you about your aunt, Silvia, and when I told Skyadrum, she wanted to tag along." Amelane explained.

I nodded, so I was right. Again. I looked at the human – no Dragon – and she wore a serious expression. "So why doesn't my aunt like me?" I asked flat out.

Amelane sighed. "Well, it isn't exactly _you_ she doesn't like…" She trailed off.

Skyadrum took over for her. "It's you mother, Layla, she doesn't like." She said. More like didn't.

I looked confused at the Shadow Dragon. Why didn't Silvia like my mother? "Why?" I asked dumbly. All I'd ever known my mother as was perfect. Who wouldn't like her? So the fact that Silvia didn't like her stunned me more than it probably should.

"It's a long story, really." Amelane said slowly.

I turned my head to her. "Alodiculis can wait." I said eager to know about everything.

Skyadrum giggled a little girlishly for her otherwise fierce appearance. "He sure can." She agreed. "Well it started from when they were children." Skyadrum started. Layla was the older of the two and so she was the one of them who was supposed to take over the Head Dragon spot from their father, Sahyragino Mau'Te Rongo." She explained.

So that would be my grandfather on my mothers' side. Sahyragino. What was he like? Would I still be able to meet him or was it too late?

"Layla was taught about the position as a Head Dragon. How to behave, the paperwork, the SIC, how she should do certain things, how to avoid other things and many other things regarding Head Dragon. And she was exceptional at it all. Silvia wasn't taught those things, but she often listened to everything Layla was taught. Silvia had always wanted to be a Head Dragon, whereas Layla didn't find it so intriguing." Amelane told me.

I could relate to that, my childhood had also been to learn the aristocratic way of life, which wasn't so extremely exciting to me.

"Silvia became jealous of Layla, because why did she, who didn't care for the title of a Head Dragon get lessons and be depended on to be one? Why wasn't it she, herself, the one who was supposed to be the one, when she cared and wanted to be one?" Amelane continued.

"One day, when Silvia had had enough, she asked her father those questions. Her father simply replied that Layla was more fit to be a Head Dragon precisely because she didn't want to and she was the first born as well." Skyadrum told me. I could see what he meant; she would be fairer to everyone, despite their statuses, when she didn't even care for her own. "Silvia began to be more and more envious of Layla and began to hate her, because Layla always had to be so perfect. Always had to exceed her in everything. Beauty, intelligence, social life, personality. And on top of that, she also had their fathers' attention." Skyadrum smiled faintly as she explained. "Soon enough, Layla found a Celestial key here in the Dragon Realm. She had read a little about them and knew what they could do, so she tried it out. Of course, it worked and she called out a Spirit. She went to her father and showed it to him. He was very proud of her, that she could do that. When Silvia tried it out though, it didn't work; she couldn't call out the Spirit." She said and glanced to me. "Maybe I should add that it isn't normal for a Dragon to have human magic, and especially not Holder Magic."

"Layla had always had a good friend from the Chaos Clan, since she was a little girl actually." Amelane said. "It was Kurama Tehepo, Acnologias' father, and they often played as children and were often together as adults." She explained. "Silvia hated her sister so much for everything and anything and they were rarely seen together. Many would say she at the time was almost blinded by her hatred."

"But then she fell in love." Skyadrum said, faking a dreamy, girlish expression and voice. "In a certain Chaos Dragon too. " She then said with a hint in her words. I gaped at her. No, it couldn't be… "Kurama Tehepo, of course, Laylas' best friend." Skyadrum continued. Of course it just had to be Acnologias' father. Mamas' decided mate.

"Ae (Yes), Sahyragino had already pulled back from his spot as Head Dragon and let Layla take over. It was known that he was searching for a mate for his oldest daughter." Amelane continued the story. "Then Kurama became the Chaos Clans' Head Dragon, and that Dragon caught his eye. He knew that the two Clans had often had their squabbles and wanted to put an end to that. He also knew that the Chaos Dragon and his daughter were really good friends. So he spoke with Kurama and the other Dragon was willing to meet the Peace Head Dragon in a completely other way." Amelane said. I wondered how a father could such thing to his daughter, thinking of Silvias' feelings.

"None of them knew of Silvias' infatuation obviously, since she hadn't told anyone about it at all." Skyadrum reassured me. I let out a breath of relief, fearing that my grandfather had been a monster and found out he hadn't. "Layla and Kurama went on a date of sorts, with her father watching their progress in the dark. There was a great chemistry between the two and it is said that Kurama fell head over heels for Layla."

"Sahyragino noticed their good chemistry and after asking Kurama if he wanted to, he announced that Layla and Kurama would mate, to end the problems between the two Clans and unite them." Skyadrum continued with a frown.

Amelane nodded. "Layla wasn't entirely happy with her fathers' decision, but instead of saying or doing anything, she sought to find another solution." She said. "When Silvia heard of her sisters' and the man she loved's announced mating, she became furious. Not only had Layla taken the position as the Head Dragon from her, she had also taken the heart of the man she loved."

Skyadrum rolled her eyes at Amelane. "Always so dramatic." She smiled a little. "Then, as the Head Dragons went to Earthland to check that everything was fine, Layla fell over Jude and when the Head Dragons made to leave, Layla told us she wanted to stay behind, because she had fallen in love. We tried to convince her to come with us back to the Dragon Realm, and especially Kurama tried hard, but she refused and we let her go." Skyadrum said slowly as she probably remembered the whole thing.

Amelane looked down in the clear water with sorrow in her eyes. "When Sahyragino found out about this, he was about to go get her back, but surprisingly Kurama held him back, asking if he wanted his daughter to be happy or not. Sahyragino followed what Kurama was indicating and let his older daughter be with the human." Amelane sighed. "Kurama was crushed the next many months, and the SIC he had did all the work for him. I don't think the poor guy ever completely recovered from it, always blaming himself for not being good enough. Silvia gained the Head Dragon spot pretty quickly after, but she never really could fill Laylas' spot." She said and glanced at me. "I believe you know the rest of the story from then on."

I nodded, not looking at either of them. This was such a tragic story, both for Kurama and Silvia. "So that's why, I understand now." I muttered lowly, knowing both of them would understand what I meant.

Skyadrum simply nodded and Amelane sat with a solemn expression. They'd seen it all first hand; it probably was much harder to talk about for them than any outsider.

Amelane suddenly smiling widely, looking at me. "Let me do your hair for you." She suggested kindly.

I nodded, not entirely sure what she would do or why, but trusted her. All I had to do today was looking for my hidden Dragon magic, being beat down by Loke and have my Second Origin opened.

I turned my back to the Water Dragon to give her more space to work with my hair. I looked into Skyadrums' ivory eyes, which were smiling. "I almost forgot." She said.

Forgot what, I wondered. I felt my hair being soaked and looked down at my reflection in the water. My hair lay in an orb of water, controlled by Amelane. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you doing Amelane?" I asked.

Amelane simply smiled and said. "Wait and see."

I did as I was told and watched my reflection. Slowly the orb of water changed color to the blonde of my hair. At some point, you couldn't see through the water because it had turned so blonde.

"I'm just returning your hair to what it's supposed to be." Amelane finally said vaguely. 'Restoring'? 'What it's supposed to be'? What did she mean? I felt the water disappearing and looked down at my reflection in amazement. My hair was no longer blonde, like it had always been, no, it was a beautiful silver color, which was nothing _near_ gray, mind you, and it glistened in the sun. "Wh-wha?" I asked dumbly, staring at my reflection.

Skyadrum giggled. "It's beautiful, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah, but… Why?" I asked, not able to form whole sentences. I knew there was a deeper meaning with all of this, but it was still so weird. How could she just pull out the blonde color as if it was some random dye?

"It's your natural hair-color, Lucy." Amelane said behind me. I turned look at her for an answer. "When your father figured out your mother was a Dragon, he wanted her to erase any and all traces of her Dragon nature. Layla was also silver-haired like you, but she dyed it blonde, because the blonde color is somewhat similar to the silver in some ways. To keep color unchanging, she infused magic in." Amelane explained. That _old_ man… It was just a hair-color! "When you were born, you had the same beautiful silver hair-color as your mothers' naturally was and since neither your mother nor your father had silver hair, yours was dyed in the same way, with magic." Amelane continued.

"If you're wondering, the spell made sure the new hair which grew out, would also be the same golden, blonde color, so no one would be suspicious. You included." Skyadrum added quickly. She was right. I was a quite curious person. I wasn't like _Papa_ went in and dyed it while I was sleeping. At least I hoped not.

"Alright… That's… Weird. I don't think I'll get used to this anytime soon, but it's very beautiful." I stated looking down at my reflection again.

Skyadrum smiled. "We don't expect you to either, take your time." She reassured me.

I nodded and a faint sound of flapping wings alarmed me that Alodiculis would soon be there. While I was sitting in the river. Naked. "_Shit_." I muttered as I jumped out of the water and hurriedly put on my clothes. That conversation had taken longer than I had first thought.

Skyadrum laughed at me as she changed to her Dragon form, Amelane doing the same. Apparently they hadn't worn clothes at all. "**See you later, Lucy.**" Skyadrum as she spread her ripped wings, ready to fly.

I smiled at her while putting on my clothes in record time. "Yeah, thank you for sharing." I said, knowing they'd get what I meant. They nodded and smiled as they flew away. I sighed, why did everything have to happen so fast? Couldn't I even get a small breather?

**Later~ With the Spirit King**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

Training had gone on pretty smoothly so far, not so many causalities as yesterday.

With Alodiculis – Capricorn wasn't there this time, having other things to take care of in the Spirit World – I'd gotten absolutely no result in finding my Dragon powers, really. He had complimented my hair a little, with a smile, but hadn't said anything otherwise.

Loke on the other hand had freaked out, using a half an hour on asking questions, making me retell what Skyadrum and Amelane told me, while playing with my now silver hair, pissing me off in the end. He told me he liked it though and thought it fit me even more than the blonde, just that it needed some getting used to, which I had agreed with. I think he realized he went a little too far yesterday somehow and instead tried a different approach to it all. Instead he taught me some different moves to block and attack and testing them out, correcting the countless mistakes I made. He told me we'd start out there and then gradually do it like we started out with, when I was ready for it.

So now I was with the Spirit King, getting ready to open the Second Origin. He'd already explained everything. Second Origin was basically a big container of our magic, which was completely untouched for everyone, unless they got it opened just like I was about to. I didn't think he thought that the Second Origin was what those stars were talking about, but just wouldn't say it. Something about the way he acted just told me so. I'd find out though, I just needed some time to think it over.

"**It'll be very painful Lucy; you probably won't be able to do much the rest of the day.**" Moustache-Man told me.

I nodded Yes, I knew. Wait, maybe I should begin saying 'Ae' (Yes), instead, I was a Dragon after all. Ae (yes), I'd looked the words up. Apparently I'd gotten the nickname 'The Lost one'. I guess it fitted me.

"**If you're ready, I'll begin.**" Moustache-Man said.

I nodded again. "I'm ready." I reassured him.

He gave me a last glance. He obviously didn't want to do this, he'd also tried to talk me out of it, but I would have none of it. Ae (Yes), it was going to be a little painful, maybe, I could take it. I didn't expect my training to be painless; it was supposed to be rough. Besides, I can't count how times I'd been roasted by Natsus' flames or frozen by Grays' ice. I'd clearly survived that, so what would a little extra be?

There I went again, drawing Fairy Tail into everything. Why couldn't I just be over them? For time being at least. Not forever.

I already knew the answer to that though. Because I loved them. Because I loved them, I couldn't let them go. Even if they ignored me for so long, I had already forgiven them. Except for three persons and a Neko. Obviously those would be Erza, Gray, Happy and most of all Natsu.

Natsu. I'd thought we were best friends. I thought nothing was supposed to be able to separate us. I thought that I meant more to him. That what we had, the adventures we'd had, both good and bad, were stronger than this.

Apparently I was wrong. Dead wrong. We might have had been best friends, but the reality was we never were. I might have meant something to him, but obviously not enough. We had had many adventures, but they couldn't the adventures he'd had with Lisanna. I would never be able to be anything more to him than Lisanna was. I was way outclassed.

And it saddened me. Too much for my own liking, in fact. I missed all the times I'd had with Natsu and the team. Also when he broke into my house late at night and snuck into my bed. I know I might have said that I hated it, but the month after we had returned from Edolas, the bed had been so cold and I often found myself missing Natsus' unnatural body-heat.

I still kind of did.

_Face it Lucy, you loved the moron._ A faint, barely audible voice said. I didn't care where it originated from; I was too preoccupied with my thoughts. Maybe it was right. Maybe I _did_ love Natsu. But that would be in past tense. Looking back at everything now, it was quite obvious I had, I just hadn't realized it. I did now though, but it was too late. I didn't love the fire breathing idiot anymore.

"**Lucy?**" The Spirit King asked, throwing me out of my rather depressing thoughts.

I turned my head and briefly at him before shaking my head to clear the fog of thoughts. "Sorry, I'm back now." I apologized with a small smile. I found no reason to share what I had thought with him, so I kept my mouth sealed.

"**Good then.**" He smiled back. He didn't ask what I had been thinking about, which was a relief. "**It would be better if you sit.**" He gestured for me to sit on the ground in front of him.

I did as was told and sat on the ground on my butt. I signaled to him with a nod that he could begin. He sat in front of me and extended his hands out, palms facing me. Then he closed his eyes and began humming a little, soon enough, his hands glowed in a faint golden light. The light expanded and formed a big '8' lying down and the holes filled. It began flowing out of his two palms and towards me.

I looked at it in amazement as it flowed closer. Everything around the two of us seemed to turn dark and the only light was the magic around the Spirit Kings' hands. The magic moved slowly, but surely. When it finally touched me, it flowed into me above my heart in my chest. The magic was warm and nice and sent a wave of comfort through me wherever it went.

The Spirit King hummed a little louder and the light intensified and made me glow with it. "**There.**" He muttered, keeping his eyes closed. He leaned forward and pushed his magic into me in a faster pace and in a certain spot around my stomach.

It sent a jolt through me when his magic, which he had covered me in, began to retreat down to my stomach. My own magic began reacting to the sudden shift and coursed around in my body in an almost painful speed.

The Spirit Kings' magic pooled in my stomach, being somewhat still, until he thought that he had collected enough magic and began his work. His magic began moving as one unity and tried splitting my organs apart.

That probably wasn't the reality of the situation, but it was what it felt like. Whatever he was doing sent waves of pain through me and confused my own magic, so it flew around at random, pushing at places it had not pushed before, sending smaller jolts of pain throughout my entire being.

The Spirit King kept pushing his magic into me, if not faster than before, trying to split whatever he was splitting. The force he used intensified and the pain bolted through me, much harder than before. It hurt so much I wasn't even able to scream it out.

I felt myself begin to sink down to the ground, but was unable to do anything to save myself from falling. I fell to my side and rolled to my back, still unable to do anything at all.

Then, in a flash of pure agony, Moustache-Man split that something apart. At the same time, the agony was so painful; my voice broke through whatever barrier held it back. I arched my back and shrieked in pain. I was sure every Dragon in the Dragon Realm was able to hear me. That was how loud I felt I was screaming.

A new magic flowed out of where Moustache-Man had split that something up. It was both familiar and highly foreign at the same time.

The new magic began mingling with my old magic. At first, nothing seemed wrong and my muscles automatically calmed with the absence of pain, but then they began merging with each other, fighting for dominance.

The merging pushed every nerve everywhere, none was left out. My back arched again and I moved in pained and incontrollable spasms. I had lost control of everything unwillingly and high pitched shrieks of agony rippled through and out my throat. Not as loud as the first one, but loud enough.

The war in me continued raging, even if I wished with all my heart for it to stop. My wishes had no influence on anything right now though. I wanted nothing else than the pain to stop. I couldn't see, hear or feel anything except the pain and my own agonizing screams.

The war of dominance seemed to rage for an eternity, probably because I had lost all sense of time. The pain was continuous and unwavering all the time.

Finally, after I don't know how long, the pain died down a little. Not completely, but what was remaining was insignificant compared to what I'd just gone through. Everything I'd been through was water next to this. I knew I'd been warned, but this was so much more than I had expected it to be. I was just about to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness, when I felt water get thrown in my head.

My eyes shot open wide and I jumped up in a sitting position, despite the wave of pain that washed through me.

"You're not dying on me Lucy. Not now." A firm female voice said. The voice was unmistakable, but I never thought I had ever heard that voice so filled with sorrow.

I looked up into the deep ocean-blue eyes surrounded by light blue hair of my Mermaid Spirit, Aquarius. Her eyes showed a deep fear and sorrow which I had never seen Aquarius express ever. I wondered what could make her make that face. Surely it wasn't for me.

Suddenly I realized what she had said and widened my eyes. My vision didn't get less blurry by that though. "What? You called me 'Lucy', not 'bitch' or-" My words were cut off by a fit of coughs. My voice was weak and shaky almost not even hearable for even myself.

"S-sorry, but you m-must not speak t-t-too much, Lucy. P-please lie down again." A timid voice said to my right. I turned my head and looked at Aries with my blurred sight. "S-sorry!" She added timidly.

I smiled at her and tried to reach out to her to reassure her I was alright, when I found myself unable to move my hand more than a tiny twitch. Aries seemed to notice what I was trying to do and took my hand in both of hers and smiled at me. I quickly covered the flash of pain I felt from her touching me and moving my arm. Two hands gripped my shoulders from behind carefully and gently pushed me down on the soft ground, which also hurt a lot.

Wait, 'soft ground'? I glanced down at the 'ground'. It was the same color as Aries' hair and fluffy. It was Aries' wool. I thanked her in my mind, not trusting my own, weak voice.

The gentle hands pushed me down so I lay on my back on the soft wool. I looked with a not quite as blurred vision at the owner of those hands. Loke looked down at me with worried eyes. "Just lie down Princess. You are in no condition to move around." He told me.

I nodded slowly, but cringed in pains just as I began. My Lion was right as always. Instead I just smiled at him, to which he just gave a small smile in return.

I wondered why they all were here and tried to ask him with my eyes. Loke looked confusedly at me, obviously not understanding what I was trying to say. Someone else knew though.

Aquarius huffed exasperatedly. "Idiot Lion. She's asking you why we're here." She told Loke.

Lokes' face lit up in realization. "Oh, the Spirit King came back an hour ago and told us you might need us." Loke said. An hour? Had it really only been an hour? "At first we didn't understand, but then the intense pain you went through crashed down on us." He said slowly and shuddered. "We all came immediately." He added with the smallest smile I'd ever seen him wear. Never did he remove his hands from my shoulders.

"I gave you some medicine against the pain, Hime-Sama." An unmistakable monotone voice said. "Is it time for my punishment?" Virgo asked as usual.

I tried to giggle, but it sounded really creepy, so I stopped immediately and looked down at her.

And all my other Spirits.

They all came? Just for me? I felt my eyes water up just at the thought of it.

"Moshi-moshi Lucy-dono." Sagittarius greeted.

"Are you-" Gemi started.

"Feeling better, Lucy?" Mini ended. I smiled at the two of them, hoping it would be answer enough.

"We are happy to know that." Scorpio stated.

"Should I play some music?" Lyra asked.

"I'll find some music in the Celestial Archives." Crux said and fell asleep, snoring loudly.

"That will not be necessary, Lyra play something calm." Horologium said. Lyra nodded and began playing a calm and relaxing melody on her lyre.

"I like your new hair – ebi." Cancer complimented.

"I like her buuhbies." Taurus said with hearts in his eyes.

"Do you need anything, Miss Lucy?" Capricorn asked. Somehow, when Capricorn called me 'Miss Lucy', I didn't mind, but when Acnologia did it…

"Puuuun~" Plue said before I could reply to Capricorn, standing next to my wool bed.

"Pyx!" Pyxis said, his compass going haywire.

My eyes watered up at all of them being worried and showing up like this.

"No crying now, Princess. Of course we'd be here." Loke reassured me. I looked up at him with a tear rolling down my cheek. He was smiling. "We're your Spirits after all, aren't we?" He asked while he caught my tear with a thumb never breaking eye contact. Much more than that Loke, much more.

I nodded ignoring the pain that shot down my spine and trying not to show it.

Lyras' beautiful song was the only thing that could be heard around us for a while.

"I cannot hold this for much longer, my time is soon up. I will depart for the Spirit World now I know you're okay Lucy." Horologium said, breaking the silence.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. I didn't feel anything, so why was his time up? I could usually feel it when my Spirits couldn't stay in the human – or Dragon – world for much longer.

"We're using our own magic, Lucy." Aquarius told me, again being the one who could read my thoughts.

"There is no way we would use your magic-" Mini started.

"When it is as unstable as yours was and you haven't summoned us!" Gemi ended off, looking at me with determination in their eyes.

I smiled warmly at them. Of course they wouldn't. I was proud of them though. They had stayed in the human – or Dragon – world for over an hour. They all had.

That showed just how strong willed they all were, even Aries, and how much they loved me. Even if they didn't show it, mainly Aquarius.

The facial expression she had made worried me. I don't think all that sorrow she surprisingly showed, was all directed at me. But I wasn't about to pursue it, if Aquarius wanted to tell me, she would. I was sure of it. It didn't make me worry less though.

"I think most of us are going back, we don't have much magic to go on any longer." Capricorn stated. Most of my Spirits nodded.

I looked alternately at all of them. They were my closest friends and here they were, all together just because I'd suffered some pain. These guys were amazing. And I would make sure they would stay with me as long as possible.

"Who's going to look after her first?" Loke asked. Look after me? Hell no! I could look after myself, I wasn't _that _weak. It wasn't like Oración Seis would revive and go look for me here in the Dragon Realm. I wouldn't get into any trouble. Besides Alodiculis would be here soon.

I was about to sit up and protest when a cool hand held me down. "Forget it Lucy." Aquarius said with a hint of her usual fierce self. She looked at Loke. "I'll go first." She said without making any space for any kind of discussion. She looked at Aries. "Aries, I'll need you to help me get her back to that cave of theirs, without having it hurt her too much." Aquarius told her.

Aries nodded quickly. "O-okay Aquarius. S-sorry!" She said quickly and timidly.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Aquarius said as she nodded. She looked back at Loke again. "I know there's no way you'll leave her side Leo, so you might as well come with us." She added and smirked a little at him.

Capricorn nodded. "Now that's settled I believe the rest of us will go home now. One of us will come later and replace you Aquarius." Capricorn said to the mermaid. Aquarius simply nodded.

What? No. They're doing too much, I was fine, no need for all that fuss.

To prove that, I would stand on my own two feet. I turned and quickly got on my feet like I normally would, then a shockwave, pain shot through my entire body and I began to fall to my knees from the sheer force of it.

Aquarius was quickly there though and caught me before I fell too far. "A little help?" She asked from a faraway place.

The pain flooded my senses and made everything seem far away. Someone grabbed my shoulder and they tilted me gently backwards, Aquarius taking my feet, they placed me gently on my wool bed, without moving me around too much.

"Thank you Scorpio." She said. So Scorpio had grabbed my shoulders? Guess that makes sense in a way. Everything cleared up as soon as I touched the wool; it was like it had a magical effect. Maybe it had.

"We are happy to help." Scorpio replied with his usual hand sign and one eye closed in a wink. I sweat dropped inwardly. Not the time Scorpio, not the time.

Aquarius turned her head and glared at me furiously. "When I say 'Forget it', Lucy, I _mean_ it. Now you lie down _exactly_ as you are right now and you do _not_ move a muscle." She scolded me with an underlying deadly tone.

Something in me told me I would die if I didn't do as Aquarius told me. I whimpered pathetically in fear of the wrath of my strongest and most dangerous Spirit.

Then all of my Spirits left one after another saying a small good bye and a 'get better'. The last to leave was Scorpio. "We'll see you later Sweety." Scorpio said and kissed Aquarius' forehead in a loving manner, with a blushing mermaid on the other side of his lips. "We'll come back when you've reached the cave and keep you company." He said, directed at me.

I nodded weakly, feeling like a huge burden to everyone. I had watched the conversation between Aquarius and Scorpio. I had never seen them interact with each other in that way, I was kind of ashamed to admit that I more often than not forgot their relationship. It was embarrassing, wasn't it? I should at the very least be able to remember my Spirits' relationships. I could easily remember Lokes' and Aries' not too evolved relationship, because their backstory had made a big impression on me, which mad it all hard to forget. But with Aquarius and Scorpio, I had no backstory on the two of them.

Actually, thinking about it, I didn't know much about my Spirits' previous owners and backstories. Maybe it was a private thing that should not be pried on unless necessary. Or if they shared it themselves.

Turning back to reality, I saw Scorpio disappear in a golden light. What he had called Aquarius was stuck in the forefront of my mind. He'd called her 'sweety'. 'Sweety' of all things. Probably not the most fitting of all things in my opinion, but it was cute. I didn't meant to be mean to Aquarius, but she never really struck me to be the 'sweet' type. I loved her no less though.

"Okay, let's go then." Loke said and began walking towards the river.

"Hold it lover boy." Aquarius stopped him. Loke turned around and looked at Aquarius with a questioning expression. "That Peace Dragon – What's his face?" She asked.

"Alodiculis." I said in a low, weak voice that hurt my throat.

"Exactly, Alodiculis, he'll be here soon and won't know what's been going on." Aquarius said. She was right, what about him? "You are going to stay here and wait for him, so you can explain the situation to him." She ended.

Loke nodded, a little unwillingly I think. "Alright, I'll wait here." He looked at me. "But I'll come back as soon as I'm done here." He told me.

Aquarius muttered something under her breath and turned to Aries. "Can you make this wool fly in the air?" Aquarius asked.

Aries nodded. "Y-yes I c-can, b-but not all the w-way to the cave. Sorry!" She said.

Aquarius smiled. "That's okay Aries. I'll take over when you can't." She reassured the lamb. I just watched it all incredulously. Aquarius just offered to help someone. Why hadn't I seen this side of her before now?

"Alright." Aries muttered. She made my wool bed hover in the air beside her and when she moved, it followed.

We walked – or flew on a cloud of wool – in silence, neither of us having much to talk about, being the weird group we were. I couldn't remember having those two work together ever. They were so far from each other personality wise as well as power wise, where Aquarius was doing heavy attacks and Aries great defense, I doubted they would work well together. This proved me wrong.

All the way to my and Acnologias' cave, they worked well together. Aquarius carrying us all over the river nonviolently and storing some water to help Aries when she got tired. Which she got in the middle of the forest. Aquarius took over and carried me on a wave of water, still on the wool bed, which apparently was water resistant, like some kind of princess, despite my many protests.

It all went on in complete silence between the two, showing how little they had to talk about. The only thing breaking the silence were my continuous protests, reassuring them that I could walk perfectly fine by myself. They didn't think so though. Aries, as a change of character, went as far as to locking me to the bed with a belt of wool over my arms and stomach.

How they knew where to go was beyond me, I hadn't even called any of them out near it, somehow they just did.

"So this is your cave?" Aquarius said unimpressed. We had already walked – or flown – all the way to the cave, it hadn't taken much over 10 minutes, the two of them moved fast.

I tilted my head back and looked at the familiar rock walls. "Yeah, that's it." I confirmed. My voice had turned perfectly fine during our walk.

Aquarius nodded and began walking into the cave, dragging me after her on her wave of water. Aries followed us into the cave, looking timidly and warily, as if something could jump us at any moment.

Aquarius walked me to the middle of the soft moss in the cave and gently heaved my wool bed down. It sent a flash of pain through my back and all the way to my toes when I hit the ground, making me groan lightly. When would this stop?

Aquarius turned to the wary lamb. "Thank you, Aries, you were a great help." Aquarius thanked the timid girl.

I was still not even near being used to Aquarius' nice side, it was just so weird.

"I-it was no pr-problem really." Aries said, fumbling with the words. "L-let me just d-do one last th-thing." Aries muttered and walked towards my wool bed and kneeled. She placed her hands on the side of the bed and pushed her magic into it. I felt the bed wiggle and move under me and when she pulled back shortly after, the bed was much more comfortable. "I-I-I r-renewed the wool. S-sorry!" She said and disappeared before I could say anything.

I sighed and wiggled in my bed, still being locked to my bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. Why hadn't she removed that belt of wool? I wasn't _that_ much of a problem, was I? I yawned, making my chest hurt in the process. It seemed I had gotten tired because of everything.

"Lucy." Aquarius called. I turned my head to the hovering Mermaid Spirit. "Your magic is more stable now, would it be okay if I began using yours? I'm running low on magic myself." She asked.

I remembered how Loke had explained that it began hurting when he had been in the human world in some time. And he was the leader of the Zodiac keys and probably most stubborn of all of my Spirits.

I looked back at my Spirit, she was sweating bullets and her tail was twitching. She had a pained expression on her face as well. I nodded. "Of course." I said matter-of-factly. I never would be able to just stand back and watch my Spirit friends suffer. Ever. If anything I would suffer with them and if I could, I would take their pain away. That was also one of the many reasons I fought alongside them instead of letting them do all the work. I felt a little change in my magic and relief flooded my Water Bearing Spirits face. "Thank you." She muttered with closed eyes.

I smiled warmly at her, happy I could relieve her pain. I smiled a little wider. It wasn't quite as hard keeping Aquarius' Gate open. Usually I would be completely depleted of magic when I kept Aquarius' Gate open in 10 minutes, now I felt like I could keep her Gate open in several hours in a row.

I decided to try my luck just a little. It probably wasn't the cleverest thing I had done that day, but I just _had_ to test my limits.

I pulled out Scorpios' key, which Aquarius noticed. Her eyes widened in realization. "No, Lucy, don't!" She tried to stop me, but I had made up my mind.

I held out Scorpios' key as much as the wool belt allowed me to. "Open Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" I said loudly, but without the force I used to use.

Scorpio appeared in a golden light in his usual pose. "We are!" He said as he appeared. Then he realized what was going on. He saw Aquarius and could probably feel that she didn't use her own magic. If he couldn't, he could see it in her face. He looked down at me with worried eyes. "Lucy… Why did you call us?" He asked slowly.

I just smiled, not giving any other answer.

Scorpio looked at me a while longer, waiting for an answer. He soon enough realized he wouldn't get one. He sighed. "We're going back and will come back with our own magic. Lucy you can't have two Gates open at the same time." The scorpion said and tried to close his own Gate.

I prevented that from happening though. I smiled at my Scorpion Spirit. "You can only close a Spirit Gate if both agree, isn't that right?" I asked rhetorically. Scorpio looked at me with a defeated expression. That was answer enough for me. "You said you would keep Aquarius some company, now you can. I think I'll take a nap." I said and yawned once again. I closed my tired eyes to try to fall asleep.

"No Lucy! Call Scorpio back!" Aquarius insisted. I peeked open an eye and looked at her and her often mentioned boyfriend.

Scorpio was holding one arm out to stop her; he was shaking his head lightly. "No, Aquarius, she's too stubborn." He told her. He was right about that though.

Aquarius looked at him and then down at me. "Lucy…" She muttered.

I closed my eyes again and fell asleep with a content smile on my lips. I had won.

**There you go. Did you see it? Did you? No? Well, it was a chapter at over 10.000 words! Without the A/N of course. They just keep getting longer…. I'll try to tone it down in the next chapter .-.**

**Anyway, I know I have posted a day early, but I have to figure everything out with school and everything, so for now I believe it will be at the end of Saturday I will be posting, since I usually don't have much to do Saturday and it's just right up and down Monday. So yeah…**

**Hope you liked my chapter! And the cliffhanger as well ^_^**

**Thanks to Amethystfairy1, FT LOVER (Guest), 00halfblood, darkrith, clumzybeans, Little Indian Girl, AnimeLoverYuki, mjb379, EmilyAG18, FireDemonSlayer, Lunarwolf02, final-zangetsu, NightVVingz, bronzitewolf, AriquRmegustaleer, Eeveexme, Xrayxanne, Pikachu17, JayJayinMay, kuroneko98 (Guest), blackcat98, Alice Summers, fobgrvt, donuts 2000, freezing1203, XinderXD, Shiranai Atsune, anj18, Howl At The Lycaon Moon, DemiseSurvive, gokuss4kamehameha, Estaanchie and every reader, thank you for everything! I am more than overjoyed! There's really many here this time, I think in the start of the week here, there were 8 reviews in a row O.o – that was how I looked when I woke up. It's amazing guys, just amazing.**

**Oh, final note: It has come to my attention that some of you don't know my gender. If it has any interest to you; I'm a girl. As far as I know anyway.**

**~Line464d**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**With this chapter we've reached over 100.000 words! - although some of it is A/N and stuff, it's still amazing, don'cha think? I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is slow as always… I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**In the Cave – Dragon Realm**

**Aquarius' P.O.V**

"But Scorpio she shouldn't keep two Gates open at the same time, not in this condition." I said to my boyfriend. I may not have been as expressive about it as Leo, but I also cared for out little, not-blonde-anymore Master. I hated to watch her suffer just as much as the other Spirits did.

Lucy had fallen asleep on that wool bed a while ago; she probably needed the rest after getting her Second Origin opened.

Scorpio and I sat with our backs against the cave wall, watching our Master from a distance. We had both tried to go back to the Spirit World several times, but the results were the same as the first time. Eventually we had pretty much given up.

Lucy's magical pressure wasn't at a dangerous level in any way; it felt like she could keep this up all day. I knew the Second Origin could open up for a lot of magic, but I didn't expect this much.

"We know, Aquarius, but there's really nothing to do about it." Scorpio said with a defeated voice. He usually was so energetic, but now he was more like a deflated balloon.

I looked back at our sleeping Master. I hated that Scorpios' words had to be true. I had to ask myself again, why I always had to have such stubborn Masters. Couldn't I, just for once, have a less stubborn Master?

On the other hand, that would be boring. If my Master just gave up whenever he or she faced something difficult, it wouldn't be challenging at all.

Why wasn't there something like Forced Gate Closure for Spirits? That way, we could close our own Gate if our Masters wanted us to do something outrageous. That would be just wonderful. Then I could also have some fun irritating my Master by just disappearing in the middle of a battle. If we could do that, this situation would be prevented easily and Lucy wouldn't be overusing her magic.

Realizing my thoughts had been drifting, I turned back to reality. I looked down at Lucy again. Why was she so much like _him_?

Lucy was lying completely still; her chest didn't seem to be moving much. I suddenly got afraid. What if it was like with _him_? I wouldn't be able to go through that again. I got up and rushed to my Master with Scorpio calling in the background. Up close, it was obvious that everything was fine and it was just my eyes and mind playing tricks on me.

I dropped my head and closed my eyes to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. I couldn't go through it again. I just couldn't.

Two strong arms circled around me from behind and pulled me back into a hard chest. I let the warmth embrace me and leaned into his chest. "Why don't you just tell her Aqua?" He asked in a low voice, sending a tingle all the way down my spine. He used the nickname for me, which only he was allowed to use.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. She doesn't need to know." I told him.

Scorpio sighed deeply. "Are you really sure about that?" He asked. I knew what he was thinking, but I wouldn't tell her, she didn't need to know. Not yet anyway.

She probably wanted to know though. Especially with how I was acting earlier. That was a slip on my part, I revealed too much.

I didn't want to tell her about _him_, not if I didn't have to. I didn't want to remember the whole thing, so I could relieve it and feel the pain once again.

I shook my head again, more demanding this time. "No, I won't tell her unless it's necessary." I said.

I could feel him nod, knowing he had accepted my words, which I had expected. "There's no changing your mind, is there?" He asked rhetorically.

I knew he already knew the answer, so I just smiled a little. I opened my eyes and looked at my sleeping Master. "She's strong enough to pull through this, right?" I asked. Surprising myself by how scared my voice sounded in my own ears.

Scorpio pulled back and turned me around, looking into my eyes. "Of course she will, why wouldn't she? She's strong." Scorpio reassured me. "She's not _him_, Aqua, she's _Lucy_ and nothing will stop her. Don't compare her to _him._" He told me. His eyes told me that he wasn't lying, but merely telling me what he believed to be true.

Lucy would pull through, Scorpio was right, she wasn't _him._ She wasn't weak. I nodded and watched relief was over his face.

"Aquarius I know how you might feel about this, but you really shouldn't doubt Lucy, she's stronger than one might think." A cat-like male voice said. Only one person could sneak his way to me without me noticing.

I didn't look in the direction of the cave entrance, where the voice was coming from, as I spoke. "I know Leo, that's what Scorpio just stated." I told him exasperatedly. Sometimes I just couldn't take that cat.

"Scorpio? Why are you here?" Leo asked. I moaned. Did he first realize now? And he was supposed to be our leader. I looked at the not-worthy leader.

"Hello, Leo. Lucy won't let either of us go back." Scorpio explained simply and gestured to her while doing so.

"What? You're both running on her magic?" He asked, staring at both of us as if we were to blame.

"Yes, at first, when we reached the cave, I asked Lucy if I could go with her magic, since I was almost out and hers had become stable again. She let me without any problems, but before I could stop her, she had called out Scorpio and refused to let him go back, even as she fell asleep." I explained. There, it wasn't our fault.

Leo looked down at Lucy. "Of course." He sighed and began walking towards out Master with his cat-like grace. He knelt down on the other side of the wool bed and placed his hand on the wool belt, dispersing it into thin air. That was why he was our leader, if he wanted to, he could do what he wanted with all of our magic, we Zodiacs. No one knew of it, actually only the Spirit King and the Gold keys knew he could. He never told any of his Masters, afraid they'd make him do something to the other Zodiac Spirits, he didn't want to. "What's with the belt?" He asked, cutting me out of my thoughts.

I looked at him without smiling. "She moved around too much, we had to restrain her." I explained simply.

"It doesn't surprise me." He smiled gently at our Master. He looked up at us with a more serious expression. "We'll have to wait until she wakes up with sending the two of you back again." He said what we already knew.

"Yeah, we know." I sighed. Way to state the obvious.

He looked alternately at the two of us and adopted a frown. "Have you felt any irregularity in her magical pressure?" He asked at last. I just _knew_ he would ask that.

"No, we haven't felt anything so far, it's like it doesn't even bother her." Scorpio answered. I nodded in agreement with him. She had been sleeping calmly through it from the beginning, so it really didn't bother her in the least.

But maybe it's just because she's sleeping. Maybe, if she was awake, she would be feeling her magic flow out and disappearing. Maybe she would be hurting with every second. Maybe-

Fingers snapped in front of my face, jolting me out of my trance. I looked at Leo with what I hoped was a glare; it was hard to make one with that kind of thoughts swirling in your head.

Leo just looked at me with sad eyes, completely ignoring my glare. "Aquarius, I know what you are thinking. It won't be like that this time, Lucy is much stronger." He told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why did he always have to be right? It was annoying. "How do you know _that_ was what I was thinking about?" I asked him.

Leo sighed. "Of course I would know, I'm your leader after all. What kind of lousy leader would I be if I didn't know what you guys were thinking?" He asked.

He was right about that though. He always knew what everyone was thinking. It was kind of creepy sometimes, but also nice when you needed someone to talk to. Although I would never talk with him about that kind of stuff. I just shrugged, feigning that I didn't care. "I guess she's strong enough, then." I complied, feeling the truth behind my own words.

"Well, that's not what I've been told. That I'm strong I mean." A tired voice said a little below us. We all looked down just to see Lucy stifle a yawn. Oh, no, had she heard what we'd been saying? Did she want to know now? Lucy looked at me with tired, brown eyes, which shone in amusement. "Calm down already Aquarius, I didn't eavesdrop on your conversation. I only heard your last comment." She reassured me and began beaming at me just as she had said that. "Thank you for believing in me though." She smiled.

"I'm completely calm! And don't get too cocky, it wasn't very deep-felt." I told her, feeling the fury begin to flare up in me. How dare she tease me like that? Me, Aquarius, the Water Bearer Spirit?

I began regretting my words just as I'd said them though, I was a little too tough sometimes, it was a bad habit of mine, but I should at least be able to bottle it up now with the whole Fairy Tail thing. Obviously I couldn't. I really needed to work on my self-control someday.

Leos' face broke into a wide smile. I sighed inwardly. That just ruined the feel of amazing leadership he had about him. "Princess! Good you're awake!" He cheered, not so leader-like. Moron cat.

"Lucy." I called to get her attention from the Lion.

She turned her head in my direction and looked into my eyes with her big, brown orbs. "What is it, Aquarius?" She asked.

I looked at her silently for a pair of seconds before answering. "You need to send Scorpio and me back. ASAP." I told her firmly, knowing she would refuse.

She looked confusedly at Scorpio and me. "Why? I don't feel anything." She reassured us.

I sighed, but let Scorpio answer. "Maybe you won't feel anything now, but you will tomorrow. On top of the Second Origin." He added in the end.

Lucy moaned. "I'll be feeling the Second Origin tomorrow too?" She asked exasperatedly, I nodded. She didn't know? "Great." She simply said. She looked at the two of us with an apologizing gaze. "I'm going to send you back then, I'm sorry." She apologized.

I looked down at her, hoping I showed her just how big an idiot she was. "Lucy, we _asked_ to be sent back. We've waited all this time, when you slept, for you to wake up so you could send us back. "I told her with and underlying tone of annoyance in my voice.

She smiled at me. "Right, right. Thank you for staying." She said.

"It wasn't a choice! I was forced to!" I yelled at her just as we were sucked through our Gate. I flew through the stars at a high speed, before landing in the familiarity of the Spirit World. I sighed. "Great, she probably didn't hear that." I muttered.

"We're sure she did." Scorpio smiled at me.

I smiled in return and clung to his arm. "Whatever you say."

**The clearing in Socubedo Forest**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I'd been training all day and was still at it. I hadn't progressed much, only managed to grow the ball of Chaos into a small football-sized one. Pathetic, isn't it?

Well to my defense, my mind had been quite foggy all day. To specify, since this morning. I could almost still feel her warm lips on my nose.

Ae (Yes), I had been awake and it had been haunting me all day. In a good way of course. I'd been in some kind of state of pure bliss. I didn't think it would affect me so much if I hadn't… Uh… _Decided_ how I felt for her the other night. That also meant I'd been completely unable to concentrate on the task at hand.

The fact that my Dragon constantly harassed me didn't help at all either.

In his eyes, I was an incompetent fool and he was unfortunate to be stuck with sharing the same body and soul as me. Actually, he was probably the Dragon in the most miserable position of them all. Why was he stuck with me, who couldn't even handle a single kiss on the snout from the girl I loved?

When he had mentioned the kiss though, he seemed to be more than satisfied with himself. I'm afraid his huge ego grew a few meters at that point.

_Mini-Me, you are so useless it's a wonder dear Lucy even took the time to kiss your snout.___My Dragon interrupted me. I tried ignoring him and focus on the ball above my palms, trying to make it a little bigger. The Dragon paused for a few second before continuing. _Actually, thinking about it, she kissed _my_ snout, not _yours_. _He said optimistically. Keep focus! _I can still feel her lips on my snout, can't you?_ He then asked, just to make sure I would lose my focus.

Which he succeeded in very well. The football-sized Chaos magic ball I had been carefully making, disappeared into thin air just as he finished his question. He knew perfectly well just _how_ real that kiss still felt. How hot and perfect it felt. How vividly and clearly I remembered it. How-

"**Why are you blushing, Ac-nii-chan?**" Basuril asked, pushing me out of my wonderful dreams I'd have loved to continue. Wait… Blushing? I moved a hand to my cheek to feel the temperature. It was scorching hot. To me anyway. How long had I been doing that?

Deamunas perked up from where he lay at Basurils' words. "**What? Blushing?**" He asked with his deep Dragon voice. He looked curiously at me. "**Acnologia? Is that why you haven't been able to concentrate all day?**" He asked and before I could answer, a sly smirk appeared on his huge Dragon face. "**Is it about **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)?**_" He asked. I felt my cheeks heat up even more, but tried not to show it. Deamunas narrowed his eyes playfully and his smirk grew in size. "**Oh so it is. What happened between the two of you?**" He asked, looking at me as if he expected an answer.

I stared at my smirking friend speechless. How did he know? Was I _that_ obvious? I couldn't find the words to answer him; they got stuck in my throat.

I didn't have to answer though, Deamunas could easily continue. "**Have you two been making out? Have you declared your undying love for each other?**" He asked as he came closer and closer with every question. His smirk only growing wider and he narrowed his eyes playfully at me. "**Have you maybe been a little dirty, Acnologia?**"

I quickly shook my head to deny what he suggested. "No! It's nothing _like_ that!" I reassured him.

_Isn't it though?_ The Dragon asked. What was that jerk talking about now? _You remember yesterday, right? _I knew exactly what part he meant. How could I forget? _Yeah, you pulled her clothes off, I'm certain you remember that part. What would you call that?_ The Dragon asked and began laughing loudly. That damn Dragon.

Deamunas lowered his head to my height. "**What is it like then?**" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, you're misunderstanding everything." I told him. How would I get myself out of this one?

Deamunas snickered. "Yeah? Then tell me what I misunderstood?" He suggested, never did the smirk leave his face.

I looked at the ground. "W-well…" What was I supposed to say? 'Oh, I just pulled off her shirt because she was freezing and let her wear mine', I couldn't say that. He would just get the wrong idea, quickly dubbing me as a pervert or something. If he hadn't already. "Nothing happened." I half lied. While I _did_ pull her shirt off and everything and got a k-ki-kiss, it didn't hold any meaning of any kind of 'love', like he could be imagining.

After thinking that I felt my mood dive all the way down to the bottom of all bottoms. That was right, that kiss of hers, it had no special meaning whatsoever, it was just a simple 'thank you', nothing more.

Deamunas looked confusedly at me and the gloomy aura suddenly hanging around me. "**Whoa, there. That's what I call a change of mood.**" He muttered. A smirk appeared on his face. "**Okay, I get it, there's nothing going on between you and Lucy.**" He said.

With those words, the aura around me turned even gloomier and I looked down at the ground. He had said it, the truth. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Deamunas raised an eyebrow and looked at me for a moment. "**I think training is over.**" He turned and looked down at Basuril. "**Basuril, it's time for your dinner, I'm sure your mother is waiting for you back home.**" He told the little Dragon.

Basuril nodded, with a happy face. "**Okay~. I'll see you two tomorrow then!**" He said and hurried on home.

Deamunas turned to me with an unreadable expression on his face. "**You know, I don't know what happened to you, but you really gotta snap out of it.**" He said and laughed a little. "**Or else you'll never get Lucy.**" He smiled. Genuinely for once.

I looked up at him. Was it common knowledge that I loved Lucy? Apparently there was just no hiding it. I nodded; there was really nothing else to do. I knew what he said was true; I had to be myself, that was the only way I'd ever succeed. I had to fight for her, not just give up whenever an obstacle showed up. And I wouldn't hand her over to anyone!

That was, unless she loved whoever it would be, then it really wasn't my decision. But regardless, I felt determined now, determined to make Lucy mine.

Deamunas snickered. "**Now you're gotten 'determined to make Lucy yours', to quote you, I believe it is time to go back to her. What do you think?**" He smirked.

I looked at him in horror. Had I spoken out loud? "Did I…?" I trailed off, but knew Deamunas would know what I was hinting at.

He smirked wider. "**Yeah, you spoke out loud.**" He confirmed. Absolutely perfect. "**Now if you wouldn't mind, please change to our Dragon form.**" Deamunas ordered.

I nodded and let myself turn to my Dragon form. Deamunas and I flew off towards the cave, just like the day before.

_It's good to know we're on the same page. _The Dragon told me and before I could wonder what it was he was talking about, he told me himself. _Now, which personality would Lucy like the most? Your pathetic one, or my awesome one? _He paused a moment to think. _I actually think she prefers yours, sadly. I get the impression she's more to guys like you. A shame really. _The Dragon snorted. _Well, I bet her Dragon is more into guys like me, so it would even it out._ The Dragon kept blabbering.

I rolled my eyes at him. Although, I had to give him credit for his great admittance there, I didn't think his ego would be able to handle something like that. But he was probably right; he would probably fit better with the Dragon form, for several reasons.

_However, I'm still planning when I should take over, you know. You're simply progressing too slowly. _He told me. Oh that jackass, who did he think he was? _With Lucy, that is. Not your magic control. Although that is moving quite slowly too. _The Dragon snickered.

SHUT UP YOU DAMN DRAGON – I screamed in my mind, which made him laugh out loud, but otherwise he kept silent. Oh well, it seemed to work.

Deamunas looked weirdly at me. "**Having problems with your Dragon?**" He asked.

How could he see that? Could he read minds or something? I nodded. "**Yeah, he's being a **_**real**_** jackass right now.**" I almost growled.

Deamunas snickered. "**What did he tell you?**" He asked.

Well great. Now I was in a bind, 'cause it would be weird not to tell him. I'd just have to cut some of it off then. "**He told me how **_**slow**_** I was progressing with my magic control.**" I told my friend through clenched teeth. If I was slow, then he was slow too. Stupid Dragon.

Deamunas looked forward with a smile playing at his lips. "**I agree with him.**" He said bluntly.

My head shot in his direction. "**What? Why?**" I asked and glared at him. Well that was supposed to be my best friend. The support I feel I get from him, it's overwhelming.

Deamunas snorted. "**Compared to others you are really slow. Especially today.**" He said and sent me a glance. "**But for you it's progressing somewhat fast, actually.**" He smirked.

I just huffed. Right, thank you for the faith though.

I heard a loud voice from below me. "BUT WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" A voice I sadly recognized yelled. I looked down and saw the tip of my cave peek over the trees. We were already here.

I looked at Deamunas. "**I would believe we reached the cave. And that Lucy is awake. I guess you can meet her today then.**" I told him. He just nodded, probably trying to figure out who was yelling. We slowly descended down through the trees, not making much noise.

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU, DIDN'T I?! YOU WERE ASLEEP!" Another voice yelled back. Although her voice had a sharp edge to it and was yelling, it was as beautiful as ever. What were they talking about anyway?

The first voice grumbled something, I couldn't make out what it said.

I sweat dropped. Well, nothing new there. I motioned for Deamunas to follow me. Even as we went closer to the cave, in our Dragon forms too, Lucy and Loke didn't seem to notice us. Which _did_ say something.

"I'm sorry Loke; I know you would have wanted to know about it. But just think about it, if you knew, you'd have done all you could to stop me." Lucy apologized to Loke. What had been going on? If it was something Loke would have stopped then…

Loke sighed. "Yes, I sure would." He told her firmly. "Listen, don't go and _do_ things like that again. Please tell me next time. I just.." He paused and inhaled deeply. "I just don't want to see you suffer." He told her.

I furrowed my eyebrows – had I had any – and looked at the two of them. Lucy was sitting on the moss floor and with her arms around that cat. He didn't want to see her suffer? What had she been doing to make him act that way? Had she been suffering?

Ae (Yes), I concluded, she _had_ been suffering, one way or another. Why else would Loke talk like that? I marched up to the two tiny humans and my shadow put them both into darkness. "**Just what have you two been up to?**" I asked menacingly. If Lucy had been suffering, I demanded to know what had made her do so and get rid of it.

Lucy looked up at me with wide eyes. She probably hadn't expected me to show up like that. Neither had Loke. He looked up at me enraged. "Oi Dragon-boy! Don't just sneak up on people like that! We were having a personal moment." He told me. Oh, a personal moment, huh? What kind of personal moment?

I glared at the cat, making sure never to break eye-contact. The cat was persistent though; he looked up into my eyes defiantly, seemingly not backing down anytime soon. However, I could see the sweat begin to form. My mouth turned upwards in a victorious smirk, but I kept glaring at the cat. At last he looked away, down at the ground next to him.

I looked at Lucy, expecting an answer for my earlier question. She sighed and waved a hand dismissively in front of her. "It's nothing. I just opened my Second Origin." She told me and looked up at me with a hint of hope in her eyes.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Second Origin? Where had I heard that before? I looked through my memories to try and figure out what that word meant.

Deamunas knew what it meant though. He took a step forward and stood next to me, looking down at Lucy with wonder in his eyes. "**Second Origin?**" He asked for clarification. Lucy just nodded. I looked at my friend in hope of an explanation. He took a step back and looked shocked. "**That… You opened your Second Origin? But that's supposed to be incredibly painful! I've heard of people dying, because they couldn't take the pain.**" Deamunas blurted out. I glared at him as if he was at fault. Káo (No), Lucy wouldn't die! End of conversation. She just wouldn't. Deamunas brought his head down close to Lucy. Which annoyed me a great deal. "**When was it opened, Lucy?**" He asked straightforward. And he didn't even know the girl.

Lucy looked nervously at the new Dragon. "Uh… I-It would b-be just about thr-three hours ago n-now." She stammered and stared at the Deamunas.

I sighed and put my tail on what could be classified as Deamunas' chest and pushed him back. "**You're too close, moron. You're scaring her.**" I shook my head lightly, although I wanted to do the very same thing. Lucy had been suffering, and I hadn't been there for her. It crushed something deep inside me.

Deamunas held his head high again and had a look of relief on his face. "**Then you're going to be fine. The worst is over and the pain won't be as bad.**" Deamunas told her.

Pain? What the hell? Was I the only one who didn't know? I decided now was the time to change that. "**What is the Second Origin? Why is it painful?**" I asked and looked down at Lucy. "**And most of all, why did you get it opened?**" I asked her.

Lucy looked at me apologetically. "Sorry Acnologia, I should have told you." She apologized. "The Second Origin is a container of untapped magic we all have inside us. It is painful when opened because your old magic and the one from the Second Origin doesn't work well together, and fight for dominance. That's what it felt like to me anyway. And I got it opened because it is an important part of my training." She told me.

I looked at her. "**How can pain be an important part of your training?**" I asked. I never knew her training would lead to this. I could only imagine how much it must have hurt. I've only tried once to have my magic in an uproar; it was the day my father had been caught by the Magic Council in Earthland. I had run away and found the cave near that little cave by chance. The emotional pain I felt was pushing my magic over the edge and it hurt so bad. It had allowed me to find my Dragon form too though. But what was in it for Lucy?

She looked up at me with determined eyes. "It almost doubled my strength." She told me. "Maybe I can open Plues' Gate now…" She muttered to herself. "If I can't, how will I ever be able to use my Spirits' full strength?" She asked me, although I had no idea what she was talking about.

I just shrugged. We would take this discussion later; I didn't want to do it right in front of my friend or her Spirit. "**Alright, we'll talk about this later, Lucy. For now, meet my SIC, Deamunas Tehepo. Deamunas, meet Lucy Mau'Te Rongo.**" I introduced the two of them.

Lucy, having dropped the topic for now, smiled up at my friend. "Hi Deamunas, nice to meet you." She said.

Deamunas nodded. "**Likewise. Acnologia has been talking a lot about you.**" He smirked. Lucys' cheeks seemed to turn pink. Mine would have too, had I not been a Dragon. Deamunas snickered. "**It's always so hilarious to watch you peoples' reaction!**" He laughed. Oh he was going to pay for that. I swore I would pay him back for that someday. Deamunas looked down at Loke. "**And who are you by the way?**" He asked.

Loke stood straight and stared into my friends' eyes. "I'm Loke, otherwise known as Leo, Leader of the Zodiac Spirits of Earthland and Lucys' strongest Spirit." He told Deamunas. So Loke was her strongest Spirit, eh?

Lucy shook her head at him with a little smile on her lips. "Loke, don't flatter yourself. Aquarius is stronger than you; she just doesn't have the same control you do." She said.

Loke pouted. "If only you knew." He muttered under his breath, only Dragon hearing able to catch it. I looked suspiciously at Loke. What kind of secrets did he have? He put his hand behind his head and looked relaxed. "Ah well, I'm fine with being the second strongest then." He told her with a wide smile.

Lucy looked up at Deamunas, ignoring Loke. "So how long have you and Acnologia been friends?" She asked.

Deamunas smiled down at her and moved into the moss, where he made himself comfortable. "**In just about seven years now.**" He told her. I moved to the other side of the cave and sat in the moss, close to Lucy, anticipating this conversation to be long. "**Oh, I see you've gotten the same silver hair as your mother.**" Deamunas said with a wide smile. "**It suits you.**" He complimented her.

What? Silver hair? Lucy had golden hair as far as I was aware. I looked down at her to make sure she still had that golden hair, but she didn't. She actually had that silver hair Deamunas was talking about. It was shining in the light of the little sun that reached inside the cave. And it was much more beautiful than her golden hair. It was more natural in a way. Which may have seemed odd, but considering my life had been filled with Dragons and other odd things, this wasn't really odd at all. And look at my own hair, if anything, _that_ was weird.

I nodded in agreement. "**Yeah, it really does.**" I said to her. She blushed at both of our comments and looked at the ground, probably too embarrassed to look at either of us. She smiled widely though.

Loke chuckled. "I think she means to say 'thank you'." He smiled. I nodded, yeah, she probably did.

**A while later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"**Well, I better head home now, it's getting late.**" Deamunas said and got to his feet slowly.

We had been talking in I don't know how long. Probably a few hours, the sun had set a little while ago. Deamunas was a funny guy, and he seemed to love teasing people. I could understand why he was Acnologias' best friend. I'd been told a lot about their friendship and what Deamunas did for Acnologia while he was in Earthland. So the joker was responsible too. It was a bit of a weird combination, but worked out perfectly in this case.

Acnologia looked out and adopted a surprised look. "**It's really been that long?**" He asked rhetorically.

Deamunas nodded. "**Exactly, so I'll be seeing you tomorrow Acnologia.**" He looked down at me. "**Nice meeting you Lucy.**" He smiled and walked towards the entrance of the cave.

I waved at him. "Yeah, same to you Deamunas. Sleep well!" I yelled after him as he flew away.

Acnologia and I stayed silent for a while as Deamunas flew longer and longer away. "I'll go back too, then." Loke said and looked at me with a smile. "See you tomorrow Princess." He looked at Acnologia with a serious expression. "Dragon-boy." Acnologia nodded back and I waved with a smile as Loke returned to the Spirit World.

Acnologia looked down at me wearing solemn expression. "**Lucy, the Second Origin…**" He trailed off and started somewhere else. "**You haven't moved from your spot there on the floor this entire time. It's the Second Origin, right?**" He asked. So he had figured it out. Although the pain was much better than it was before, it still hurt to move around.

I nodded, looking at the ground. "Yeah." I sighed and looked back up at him again. "You know, it would be easier if I just told you my whole training, today and yesterday." I told him. He nodded for me to go on.

I explained everything to him, not even letting out the parts where I passed out. I had reached the part with the opening of the Second Origin. "It just… It just hurt so much, Acnologia." I mumbled with tears falling freely down my cheeks, as I remembered everything and almost felt the pain all over again. Acnologia looked at me with a worried expression and turned to his Human form. "It-it felt like m-my magic wa-was trying to t-tear out of my body." I said, trying to keep the sobs at bay, every ragged inhale I took hurt my chest.

Acnologia pulled me up on his lap and pressed my head gently to his chest, resting his chin on top of my head and holding me close, slowly rocking back and forth. Much like the day he told me about my father, Mama and myself. "Shh, it's okay, I understand." I tried not to show that it hurt when he pulled me on his lap, because it just felt so nice and safe there. Like nothing would ever hurt me if I just stayed there.

A warm feeling spread through me at his touch, everywhere he stroke me to cheer me up, seemed to burn comfortably and the sound of his steady heartbeat and occasional mumble calmed me down. Soon enough, my tears stopped, but even then we didn't move. I stayed in Acnologias' lap with his strong arms around me.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence between us, with only his heartbeat breaking the silence. It seemed to be going a little faster than normally, but I didn't mind, mine was beating at a rhythm matching his perfectly. I couldn't remember ever feeling like this. So at peace, comfortable. So safe and… Important, somehow.

Except once. When Natsu saved me from Jose and my arranged marriage.

Pushing that thought away, not wanting it to spoil the moment, I kept enjoying my friends' warm and strong embrace. Something stirred deep down in me and a small smile appeared at my lips. If only it could be like this forever, so peaceful and warm. Perfect.

Everything, Second Origin, training, Fairy Tail, everything was forgotten as I was in such close proximity with Acnologia and let his touches comfort me and take all my attention. Nothing but the two of us existed in this world.

Weird and somewhat familiar feelings tumbled around in me; I just couldn't name any of them. They were something I should have known, but had forgotten, probably due to the intoxicating scent of Acnologia, which was so strong since I was so close. The feelings, although swirling around at random, left a trail of warmth through me and I let myself be lulled to sleep with his heartbeat as my own, private lullaby.

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I felt so lucky right at that moment. I had Lucy in my arms and it was without protests or resistance from her, not that I would have anything planned along those lines. She just sat calmly and let me hold her and caress her, even leaning in closer to my chest, if ever possible.

I was probably the most fortunate man alive at that moment. I had the girl I loved more than anything in my arms and it felt so natural. My love for her only increased and I couldn't get enough. I had to touch her. Caress her some more. Have her closer.

I tightened my arms around her and closed my eyes. I never felt so good in my entire life. It was like everything fell into place and fit together. I was the happiest man walking in this world and those beyond.

And I wouldn't let it go for anything in the world. I would overcome anything, just so I could experience this fantastic sensation again.

I felt her chest heave a little more than what she usually would and heard her deep breathing. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. The beautiful skin around her eyes and her cheeks were red and swollen because of her earlier tears and her eyes were closed. She was seemingly sleeping peacefully. I moved a hand to her soft cheek and stroke it gently, feeling the remnant wetness of her salty tears. I gently brushed her tears away, making sure she wouldn't wake up.

Her silver hair almost lit up in the darkness of the cave, making her look like a fallen angel. It was remarkable how much that simple color of hair made her look so much more mature compared to the golden hair she had had before. She looked more like a woman than a teenager now, and it made her so much more beautiful.

I moved my arms carefully to the back of her knees and behind her shoulder and slowly put her down on the moss. She whimpered a little in her sleep when she touched the moss and I removed my arms.

I furrowed my eyebrows. It was that Second Origin again. I still couldn't understand what had driven her to open that container, but I knew it was because of her love for her Spirits. She wanted them to be able to use their full power, without being held back in reins. Not because she wanted to get stronger – well maybe a little bit because of that too – but it wasn't her main concern, no, it was because she wanted her Spirits to feel free. She wanted to help them in any way she could.

I admired her for that, no doubt about that, but I still thought opening the Second Origin had been a little much. The pain she was going through and had gone through, I wanted to take it all away, but knew I couldn't do anything of the sort. It was her choice, and I respected it.

I smiled gently down at her and moved a stray strand behind her ear; her hair was just as silky to touch as the other day.

I moved a little back and transformed myself into my Dragon form. I lay with my back to the entrance to shield Lucy from the cold wind coming from the outside. I couldn't really feel it through my scales, so it didn't matter much to me. I had placed myself a little closer to Lucy, hoping to have her catch some of my body heat, although I knew I wasn't like a blazing sun as Igneel was. It was at the end of the summer here in the Dragon Realm, and autumn was soon coming. Then the nights would be colder.

I scowled. I had to figure out how to keep her warm even in those cold nights. I closed my eyes and shook my head lightly. That had to wait for another time; I needed to sleep so I was ready for the day to come.

_You know, you did pretty well with Lucy today, Mini-Me. Quite bold of you, actually. I'm impressed. Almost anyway._ A voice I did _not_ need to hear right now told me. Although I appreciated the praise, even if it was coming from him.

I chose to ignore the Dragon and focused on getting some sleep instead, I didn't want to deal with the moron at the moment.

Soon enough I fell asleep, with the Dragon grumbling in my head about how rude I was. I basically didn't care, I was too happy.

**So, a major AcLu/LuGia moment right there, I'd say. Seems Lucy is a little dense, while Acnologia is quite sure what he feels. Let's see how that progresses! ^_^ Taken in perspective that I have never had any romantic feeling for others nor have anyone had for me, how did I do? #ForeverAlone - I hate hashtag….**

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the other I've been writing, and I apologize, I just couldn't fit anymore into it, before it turned awkward. Can't have that.**

**Oh and one of my reviewers asked me if there was any place to see Lucy with silver hair, and I'm afraid I haven't gotten any of the sort. You'll just have to use your imagination and hopefully land somewhere close to what I'm imagining.**

**Arigatou Orion Heartling, silverflame1234, mjb379, TheBigBadWolfxTheOncomingStrom, Pachira90, mene77, 2014, Guest, guest (Guest), devilhuntermistress, darkrith, tigersrule8, Guest, Guest, clumzybeans, aristofthemind, Hailchild, gadurel198, Risaxoxoxo, Guest, reina-angelique, Darkverger1, kawaiikitty111, FairyTailNaluFan, Lunethia, iwantacullentoo, , Diamons Angel Wings, 100animelover1210, steffy1405, kyralouiserivera, nikoneko123, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, Fortune's Choice, ariados26, .52012, blackcat98, beaglebagle, Crazzygril101, DoobyDoobyDooBopAgentP, Angela Lara, queenyuri, Maverickdm and all you other readers for everything! As always; you're amazing! But just take a look at this though. It's crazy. And it takes so long to write down all of your names perfectly .-. Honestly, couldn't you choose more simple names guys? ;) Nah, I'm kidding! They're all wonderful names, without equals!**

**~Line464d**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**I've seen Master Bob in real life… I'm traumatized.. O.o**

**Sorry for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Master Bob… No, Slowpoke hasn't told me he would give Fairy Tail to me yet. There's still time though.**

**At the field – Dragon Realm **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"**Okay, let's see if they've appeared today.**" Alodiculis said, referring to my still dormant Dragon magic. It hadn't showed itself as of yet, and I kind of wanted to have it soon, so I could practice them faster.

Although today would be a bad day for it to show up. The pains of the Second Origin still tortured me and it hurt with every movement I made. I almost just wanted to skip Lokes' part of the training, but knew I had to do it. It would strengthen my willpower if nothing else.

I went into my meditative state and opened my eyes, standing in the usual blackness. Shortly after, the golden star popped up, shining even brighter than before. It was literally blinding.

I mulled a little over why it was so bright compared to the other day. At last I guessed it was because I had opened my Second Origin and that it would shine stronger according to my rising magical strength. Yeah, that seemed just about right.

I almost desperately wanted to enter the star to show the many small stars what I was made of and have gained Plue's 'full power', still trying to figure out what it could be, but I knew it had to wait until I got to the training with Moustache-Man later.

I watched the star as the light continuously shone in the darkness, it was so bright against the black surroundings it mesmerized me for a while. That was until a faint silverish glow caught my eye left to the star.

I widened my eyes and slowly turned my head in the direction of the silver glow. My eyes widened even more as I stared at it. The light from the golden star had completely concealed it from view, but there it was. My Dragon magic.

The symbol was the Fairy Tail insignia and it pulsed in a faint, faint silver color. This… This was what I had been looking for, it had finally showed up. Although it was only the third day of training. I stepped closer to the way too familiar fairy with a tail, which I now realized also could be mistaken for a Dragon.

I didn't feel the pull from it that I felt from the golden star, and when I tried stepping into it, I just stepped through it, ending out on the other side of it.

I pouted, I probably wasn't strong enough to enter it yet, I needed to practice my Dragon magic some more before I could enter. Which brought a smile to my face. Maybe now I was able to use Dragon magic, it really would be cool if I could.

I would have to ask Alodiculis about it, he probably knew more about that than I did, Káo (No), he _did _know more about it, for certain. So I closed my eyes and brought myself out of the abyss darkness and back to the Dragon Realm I had grown so used to in such short time.

Keeping my eyes closed, I began smiling. Feeling weird, I opened my eyes and looked at Alodiculis who was looking at the river, seemingly deep in thought. I cleared my throat to get his attention, which succeeded. He looked at me in confusion. "**That was quick, why…**" He saw the smile on my face and quickly grew one himself. "**Don't tell me you've found them already.**"

I nodded and grinned wider, now showing a little bit of teeth. "Yeah, that's exactly what I have." I said with forced calmness. I was so overjoyed I had finally found it, I couldn't even express myself.

Alodiculis just smiled wider and looked attentively at me. "**Please do tell.**" He urged me on and I told him how it had been hidden behind the bright light of the star, but also the part where I just passed through it. He just smiled gently at that part and told me it was because I hadn't used the Dragon magic enough and that it was still weak.

I looked up at the silver Dragon in front of me. "Alright, so I just have to practice with it and I'll be able to enter it?" I asked, hoping that that was the only thing I needed to do.

He nodded. "**Yeah, but even so, I think it would be a good idea to wait with entering till you've gotten used to the Dragon magic and have it come naturally to you.**" Alodiculis said. "**When you go in there you'll be set on a difficult task by your Dragon, so you can use your full powers for a certain element. There are such tasks for every element, and you need to get used to the magic before even considering entering.**" He explained with a serious expression on his face.

I nodded at him. I already knew my Dragon and I were two different beings sharing same body, Acnologia had told me. We had both woke up quite early in the morning and neither of us could fall asleep again and at some point I had asked him what had happened during his training. He told me about that jerk of a Dragon he was having, and I couldn't help laughing at him. He didn't take it so heavily though, I knew he wouldn't, and just chuckled a little with me.

I looked up at Alodiculis again. There was one question which had been bothering me since I saw my Dragon magic in the blackness of my mind. "Is it possible that my Dragon magic appeared because it had been the magic which was kept in my Second Origin?" I asked. Could it be possible? It seemed to fit, since they appeared after I had gotten it opened.

Alodiculis tilted his head a little and looked at me, considering my words. "**Well, it could be possible. It would explain why you haven't been able to use it too; it's just weird it's been hidden in your Second Origin.**" He said and furrowed his eyebrows.

I nodded. Yeah, it really was strange. I considered if I never had opened my Second Origin, would I have been unable to gain access to it then? Or would it slip out somehow? It didn't matter now though, I had opened my Second Origin and I had my Dragon magic.

Feeling like trying it out, I looked for my Dragon magic. Soon enough I found it, it felt like the familiar yet foreign magic which had seeped out of the Second Origin container. So I was right again, it was the magic of the Second Origin. No wonder it hurt so much, Dragon magic versus human or mage magic.

I sent the magic out to my right hand and opened my eyes to look at it. It was glowing in a faint silver glow, but strong enough to be seen. Alodiculis looked at my hand in wonder. Then back to me. "**How did you know how to do that?**" He asked in confusion.

I looked up at him with a little smile. "I've done it a lot when I trained my Celestial magic; the only difference this time was that the feel of the magic feels different." I told him. It really was simple as that.

I remembered when I was young and had found my Celestial magic.

**Lucy's Memory**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_As usual, I was bored and lay in my room, staring at the ceiling. Now Mama wasn't here anymore, I didn't know what to do. She would usually come and play with me, or we would take a walk in our garden or even go out to the mountains way back. But she wasn't here anymore, and right at that moment, I missed Acnologia and his weird hair._

_It had been a year since I had been with him, but I just couldn't forget him. He was the only other child I had spoken to ever and the maids kept whispering about his tries to break in, thinking I didn't hear them, and looking away when I looked at them. To me, it was like they were talking out loud instead of whispering, it was so obvious what they were talking about and their glances didn't make anything any better._

_I turned on the Lacrima TV in lack of better things to do. I ended up on a channel where they talked about meditating. They said it would bring peace and calmness to the soul and make one feel much better._

_It was a guide of how to meditate. I wondered what kinds of people were even watching that kind of stuff, when the instructor continued talking. "Today we will not focus on meditating however; we will focus on bringing out potential magic you keep inside." She smiled._

_I widened my eyes and smiled widely. Maybe I could get my own magic now! I could become a Fairy Tail mage and be as strong as Erza! I would be stronger! I would have a super-awesome magic, and my friends would all help me fight dangerous monsters._

_The instructor sat down on the floor with her legs crossed, and I did the same in my bed. "Close your eyes and feel your inner magic." She told me. I did as she told me to and closed my eyes. "Just seek deep down in yourself for the thing that seems most familiar and as if it has a life at its own." She explained. I nodded, not so much for her, but for myself._

_Okay, I'd do this. The music in the background of the Lacrima TV faded out and I focused solely on finding the magic in me. Not knowing what I was doing, I kept looking for something that felt familiar and with life. A strong pulse in my chest made me focus my attention there._

_Just like the lady said, I felt something which was familiar and lively. I reached out to it and felt it react to me. It popped like a balloon and flowed out through my veins as if it had been waiting forever to be allowed to do that. It felt like a flood of warm water being dropped on me, and soon it covered me entirely._

_I opened my eyes and looked at my hands. They were glowing a golden color. I smiled widely. I would practice my magic and find out what I could do with it, and when I was strong enough, I would run away to Fairy Tail and be the strongest mage there._

_I smiled as a plan took form in my head and I began playing with my newly found magic. Time here in the estate wouldn't be so boring anymore._

**Back to reality~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Yeah, it was a good day, but I quickly found it to be hard to control my magic. I had enough time to practice with it and try it out though, nothing ever happened in the Heartfilia Mansion and it was driving me mad.

"**I see, but it's still remarkable that you are able to do that so easily now.**" Alodiculis commented, pulling me out of my thoughts and smiling at me.

I smiled back at him as I thought back on that day. "I played a lot with my magic when I was little." I told him, not knowing why I did it. "I discovered my Celestial magic after Mama…" The words caught in my throat and tears stung the back of my eyes. I fought them back and skipped that one word, knowing Alodiculis would know what I had meant to say. "I didn't want Jude to know, so I kept it from him and practiced in the dark." I smiled at the Dragon in front of me. I didn't want to call that man my father, I had nothing good to remember him by, at all. "So it isn't very hard now, I know exactly what to do."

Alodiculis nodded and smiled, not pursuing the topic anymore, knowing it was a rather sore subject with my father. "**Well Lucy, that means we can skip a lot of explaining.**" He looked up at the sun and tried to estimate the time of the day. "**Hmm, well it seems we'll continue this later, it's time for your training with Leo.**" He told me and looked at me with serious eyes. "**Now don't go overboard with you training with Leo today, just take it easy.**" He almost ordered me.

I began laughing a little. "I don't think he will let me do much today. He's overprotective that way." I laughed and tried to imagine how Loke would 'train' me today. He would tell me to sit on the ground and play with the grass.

Alodiculis laughed. "**He is a Lion after all, what did you expect?**" He asked me while laughing.

I smiled. "Exactly that." I told him.

He nodded. "**Well, I'll see you later, and then we'll work with that newfound Dragon magic.**" He said and flew off.

**In the clearing in Socubedo Forest – Dragon Realm**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Contradictory to the other day, today I wasn't completely hypnotized by the close proximity Lucy and I had shared. Káo (No), it urged me to work harder on my own magic.

But that was also mainly due to the thought of her getting hurt again, like she did with the Second Origin. Even though I knew that was one thing I wouldn't be able to protect her from, I would get stronger so I could protect her from any other harm coming her way. That was what I promised myself.

I had to get stronger, so she wouldn't need to be put in a situation like that again. Besides, as her mate, which I swore I would become one day, I had to be strong. To knock out that Summer-guy if nothing else.

My training so far had went pretty good, I had completed the part with creating a ball of Chaos magic, and now I had to play with it as if it was a real ball. It was _so _hard, I had to throw the ball in the air and catch it again, without having it dissipate into thin air as I did so.

If you asked me, I was getting the hang of it, but if you asked my Dragon, I sucked. Nothing extremely surprising there.

At the moment I was taking a break to replenish my magic, believe it or not, it was taking a lot of magic to create such a big ball repeatedly and keeping it that way while playing around with it like that.

Deamunas looked at me with curious eyes. "**So what did you and Lucy do when I left?**" He asked, breaking the silence.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "**Why are you so interested in that?**" I asked him. I had changed back to my Dragon form, so I could recover my magic faster.

Why was my SIC so nosey? It had nothing to do with him and even _if_ what he inquired he thought had happened, happened, I wouldn't tell him right away. I wasn't like a girl, who shared all the details with her girlfriends.

Basuril looked at Deamunas with a frown on his face. "**What? You got to see Lucy yesterday? That's so unfair, I wanna see her too~**" Basuril whined. Apparently, as I discovered right now, my cousin had taken quite the liking to my silver haired friend. Which I hoped would be more than a friend.

I smiled at my cousin. "**Ae (Yes), but you can come visit her tonight.**" I suggested, knowing he'd love the opportunity to be with Lucy. He almost loved Lucy just as much as he loved me, it was quite amazing really. But Lucy just did that, made people around her like her.

Basuril looked at me, grinning from horn to horn. "**Ae, ae, ae! (Yes, yes yes!) Yaaaaay~! I'll see Ac-nii-chan's girlfriend again!**" He cheered innocently, while making me extremely flushed unconsciously. I looked anywhere but at the two Chaos Dragons in my presence. That kid, he didn't even know what he was saying.

Deamunas snickered. "**Oh so it's official now?**" He asked trying to get some kind of reaction from me, which he succeeded quite well with.

I looked at him with a determined expression. "**Not yet, but I will make her mine some day.**" I swore to him. Deamunas just rolled his eyes and smirked. Sparkles appeared in Basuril's eyes and he muttered a 'so cool~', losing himself in a daze.

Deamunas, still wearing the smirk, looked at me again. "**Now I think it's time for you to continue you training, Acnologia.**" He ordered, probably getting a kick from being able to order me around like that.

I rolled my eyes in the same manner he had done before and continued my training, creating a ball and playing around with it. My record was holding for one minute so far and hoped it would evolve to five minutes at the end of the day.

**Back with Lucy**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke's training had gone calmly and smoothly. He had been soft on me and told me to stop if it hurt too much, but I didn't take a break the whole time. We just practiced some of the moves he had shown me the other day, making sure I would perfect them. To some extent anyway, I was still far from being a pro like him.

So having talked a little to the Spirit King and all, I quickly went off into my mind. I was standing in front of the usual bright star, and with the pulsing silver Fairy Tail logo right next to me. I was gathering up my courage to enter the star and get it all over with for now.

I stepped through the star and ended up in the room similar to the night sky. I looked around, it all seemed just like the other day I had entered, nothing had changed.

I remembered what direction Plue's key flew in and looked there. "Stars! I'm ready to try again!" I yelled at them, hoping it would make Plue's key appear.

_Are you prepared to use your true power?_ They asked. I nodded, somehow knowing they would see it, and the star, which was where Plue's key disappeared in a flash, in a matter of seconds, Plue's key appeared in front of me with a little 'poof'.

I took it and held it in my usual stance. I called all my power, including the Second Origin magic into the key. However not all of it, I had to still have something left after this. I tried adding my Dragon magic to the key, but it wouldn't cooperate. I sighed inwardly, making sure I wouldn't lose focus on the magic I held in the key, of course my Dragon magic wouldn't go over well with my Celestial magic.

Just like the other time, my hair stood on end, floating above and around my face. This time though, a golden glow appeared all around me and I hovered in the air just a few centimeters above the ground. I guessed the reason for the two latter things were because I had gotten my Second Origin opened.

I closed my eyes and sent it all into the key, just like I had done before, and said the incantation I'd grown so used to. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said with the powerful voice I had. The whole room lit up in a bright, blinding light. I didn't close my eyes though; I wanted to see my little snowman-Spirit when he appeared.

I waited for the lights to die down, and smiled as I knew Plue would be there standing shakily and looking up at me with his adorable face. The smile grew wider and wider as the light gradually faded.

But it dropped as soon as I saw the spot in front of me, where Plue was supposed to appear, was empty. I looked all around me, looking for my little Spirit. He was nowhere to be seen.

I moaned loudly at the starry sky. "Why? What did I do wrong?" I asked the stars. Unexpectedly, I didn't feel too drained even though I had used all the Celestial magic in me, the only remaining was the Dragon magic, which was what kept me standing.

_You are not using your true power, Lucy! Use your TRUE power! _The stars told me, emphasizing 'true' in the end.

I frowned at the sky. What did I do wrong? I used my full power, what else could I have done? I couldn't use my Dragon magic; I could only use my Celestial magic with the keys. What could I be missing?

Did I have a whole third reserve of magic that could be opened, was that what they were talking about? Would it hurt to get opened just as much as the Second Origin? Would it be worse?

I hadn't even realized I had said my thoughts out loud before the stars answered my questions. _No, we are not talking about power as in magic; we are talking about the power in your heart. Your toughest strength, but also your greatest weakness._ They told me.

They had said that before as well, with it being my strength and weakness at the same time. And they weren't talking about my magic. They were talking about the power in my heart. The power in my heart. Power. Heart. In my…

I furrowed my eyebrows, it couldn't be, there was just no way. I looked at the stars again. "Do you – maybe – mean 'the power in my heart' as in my love for my Spirits?" I asked them carefully, everything but certain that it was true.

It fit though. It would be my toughest strength, because I would grow stronger the more I loved my Spirits and the people around me. And my greatest weakness, because I would easily be hurt and betrayed by people. Which had become quite obvious just a few days ago, back in…

I pushed the thoughts out of my head; I didn't want to think about it. Fairy Tail was out of the picture now, I didn't want to think about it all.

The stars twinkled brightly just as I finished talking. _Yes, yes! That is what we mean! Your true power, your strength and weakness, is the power you hold in your heart, your love! _They almost cheered.

I smiled and nodded. Now I knew what to do. I pulled up Plue's key and closed my eyes. I remembered when I first got Plue, the _way_ I got him, I remembered all the adventures I'd gone on with him – although he didn't take much part in the action – and how he was always there when I needed someone to hug with and squeal over. He was my beloved Canis Minor Spirit, and even if he wasn't the strongest of my Spirits, I loved him just as much as I loved the others. I wouldn't change him for anything in the world.

The key warmed up in my hand and when I opened my eyes, it glowed a warm red color, just as if it was being exposed to intense heat. I smiled as a golden light appeared in front of me, not from the key.

"Puuuuuuuun~!" Plue said happily and ran wobbling over to my leg and hugged it. I grinned widely and kneeled down to the little guy. I had done it! I had Plue's full strength now! – Whatever _that_ was.

_Good work, Lucy. You are now able to use Nikora's full power outside our world._ The stars praised me monotonously.

I smiled up at them. "Yes, thank you for your help, stars." I paused for a moment. "Uhm… Exactly what _is_ Plue's 'full strength'?" I asked them, not exactly sure if they would be telling me.

_Ahh, there are more aspects of it, we are sure you will figure it out._ They told me.

I sweat dropped. So much for help. At least I now know Plue has some kind of strength, except wobbly cuteness. I nodded at the stars and patted Plue's head unconsciously. "Alright, thanks again." I smiled and called Plue back into his key, which I placed at his spot in the little, empty pouch.

One down, fourteen to go.

I closed my eyes and reappeared in the real world, still cross legged and watched the Spirit King and Loke talk about something. "Hi guys!" I smiled at them.

They turned to look at me and Loke broke into a wide grin. The Spirit King looked surprised at seeing me. "**Lucy? Have you...?**" He let the question hang in the air, knowing I'd understand. I nodded eagerly and with a wide smile on my face. Moustache-Man smiled widely and began playing with his beard. "**Hrm… Try calling him out.**" He said with a hinting voice.

I nodded and pulled out Plue's key. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said a little loudly, and watched as the golden light appeared and my little Spirit came out and landed in my lap. I looked at him in shock; I hadn't even felt the tiniest little nibble in my magic when I called him out. I looked up at the Spirit King for an explanation.

He chuckled at me. "**Yes, it's not so hard now, is it?**" He asked rhetorically. I slowly shook my head, but kept silent, waiting for an explanation of some kind. "**You see child, since you now open their gates with you love for your Spirits, it won't cost you any magic, however when they use their magic, they will draw on yours, just like they usually do.**" He explained.

I looked at him incredulously. I called Plue out with my… Love? That seemed so cheesy; seriously, I called him out with my love for him. I liked cheesy though, it was pretty cool actually, to be honest I _loved_ it. I smiled down at Plue who sat in my lap. So I was calling him out with my love.

I looked up at the Spirit King again, another question having popped up in my head again. "If I call Plue out with my love for him, then what did Angel call her Spirits out with? It surely wasn't love." I muttered the last part, remembering how Angel treated her Spirits. Like tools to be used whenever she saw it fit. I already felt my anger flare up at the mere thought of it.

The Spirit King seemed lost in thought. "**Hrm… ****That's a good question actually. I think she was using her hatred, not necessarily pointed towards her Spirits, but maybe the hatred she held for the world.**" He grumbled for himself.

I nodded. It seemed like that could be a possibility. When I fought her, she didn't particularly seem to hate her Spirits, but she didn't like them either, and she wanted to change the world with Nirvana with Brain and the rest of Oración Seis.

Moustache-Man clasped his hands together. "**Ah well, that doesn't matter now.**" He said with a bright smile. "**I'm sure you want to know what Plue can do now.**" He said matter-of-factly. And he was correct.

I looked down at the Spirit I held and patted him again on the head. I turned my full attention to the Spirit King again. "Yeah, I would really like to know." I confirmed. I couldn't wait to know what Plue could do now. Maybe he could be strong?

Loke smiled widely and drew attention to himself when he moved his hands behind his head. "It's actually quite funny, I've seen it a few times." He said. "Plue can change into a human form, a little like the rest of us; you just have to push some of your magic into him. Then you can also ask him what kind of magic he uses." He explained with a wide cat-smile on his face.

I did as Loke had explained me to do and sent my magic into the little Spirit. He began glowing white, so white I wasn't able to see his features anymore. Then his whole form changed and he grew in size, still sitting in my lap. He grew and grew till he was done, and the light faded again.

Instead of the cute snowman-Spirit, there sad a guy with stark-white hair, strutting out in the back and with two bangs hanging over his left eye, almost covering it. He wore a simple white robe, with an orange band around his hip to keep it up. His eyes were completely black, just like in his snowman form. What I didn't realize in the start, was that his nose wasn't at its usual place, no, it was poking out of his big lump of hair along with another one, like two mini demon-horns in orange. What I _did_ see from the start was that my little, adorable Spirit was not so cute anymore, or little, he was a man, about the same size as Loke.

"P-Plue?" I muttered in shock, seeing as he had transformed drastically.

He nodded and smiled widely. "Yes, Lucy, I'm 'Plue'." He confirmed.

I just stared at him for a second, completely speechless. What was I supposed to say? My tiny, cute Spirit just turned into a man before my very eyes. Which reminded me… I was beginning to feel the difference in weight as well. "Uh… Would you, uhm… move?" I managed to say.

He looked down, finding himself still seated in my lap. His head jolted up and he almost jumped off. "Oh of course, I'm sorry, Lucy!" He apologized quickly.

I just smiled at him and waved it off, hearing the two sets of laughs in the background, but decided to ignore them. "So P… Is it still okay if I call you 'Plue'?" I stopped myself. Somehow, it was like he wasn't the same, cute, little Canine-Spirit he had been before.

He nodded and grinned. "Why, of course! I love that name!" He reassured me. Well, his behavior was a little childish at some points, but I did expect that since he _was_ the little snowman just a second ago, but at the same time, he was also kind of mature. I didn't exactly know how to explain it.

"Alright. What kind of magic do you use, Plue?" I asked him politely, being quite curious as to what his magic was.

He had a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I use Illusion magic." He told me.

I widened my eyes. Illusion magic, that was a somewhat rare magic, and definitely handy. There were so many things you could do with that kind of magic!

Plue looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I practically go over well with almost all of your Spirits actually." He said slowly. I smiled at him; that was true. Ohh, I couldn't wait to know more about it all!

**Later that day~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Finally the day was coming to an end. I was quite proud of myself, to put it lightly. I had managed to keep a ball of Chaos magic going for a half an hour, playing around with it and all, and then letting it go when I didn't feel like keeping it up anymore.

Deamunas nodded. "**Alright, I'd say we're almost there. Now you have control of your magic, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can hit a target.**" He said with a smirk. I glared back at him. Surely I would be better at aiming now. "**We'll take that tomorrow though; I don't feel like doing that today.**" Deamunas sighed.

I just shook my head at him with a smile on my lips. Of course he didn't, he just wanted to go home and sleep till the sun was high in the sky again.

Basuril jumped up and down in excitement, probably because he was going to see Lucy again, sooner than he had expected.

I nodded at my SIC. "Okay, Basuril and I will be leaving towards my cave now then." I told him, knowing he most likely didn't feel like following us. And right as I was, Deamunas just gave us a single smirk in my direction and a nod and took off. I changed into my Dragon form and looked at Basuril. "**Are you ready?**" I asked him.

"**Ae (Yes)! Ae (Yes)! Ae (Yes)! Let's go already!**" He said eagerly and was already on his wings, flying towards my cave. Wondering how he knew the way, I just followed him. He seemed do happy all of a sudden. Did he really like Lucy so much? It made me happy he did.

I flew up next to him and looked down at him, deciding I wanted to tease him a little. "**Say, Basuril, how do you know the way?**" I asked him.

I saw him pale a little and he looked up at me nervously with his yellow eyes. "**Uh… Well you see, Ac-nii-chan. After the first day of training I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay and…**" He trailed off and sent me puppy-eyes. "**Can you forgive me?**" He asked me innocently.

Quickly looking away from his eyes I nodded, with a drop of sweat trailing down the side of my head. Phew, that was close. "**Of course, you just shouldn't tell Lucy.**" I said as I remembered what had been going on that night. I also knew that Lucy would hate having people spying on her like Basuril probably had, so for the little Dragons' own best, it was better to keep it a secret. I hoped I hadn't dirtied the little boys' mind too much though, the situation, seen from the outside, was easily misunderstood.

Basuril nodded quickly and we flew in silence till we reached the cave. I stepped inside and looked around. It was empty. I furrowed my eyebrows. Where could Lucy have gone? Why wasn't she here? Had she been… attacked?

I heard a noise in the background and quickly turned my head in the direction. It was a large silver Dragon coming our way. I glared at it. Had it taken Lucy and was delivering the message?

When the Dragon came closer, I could recognize who it was and I almost face palmed at my stupidity. Basuril smiled toothily at the Dragon. "**Alodiculis-san! Down here!**" Basuril said with spread wings, trying to catch attention.

Alodiculis looked down on us and dove down, landing carefully. He looked back over his shoulder. "**There you go Lucy.**" He told her. She was probably sitting on his back.

A tiny figure slid down the side of the Dragon. She landed on the ground and smiled up at the Dragon. "Thank you Alodiculis." He smiled in return and flew off after that.

"**Lucy~!**" Basuril cheered and charged the silver haired girl. He rammed right into her and knocked her off her feet. He lay down with his face on her stomach staring right into her brown eyes.

"Basuril." She laughed. "What a surprise to see you." She smiled. I just stood and watched in horror as my cousin had knocked her down. I had forgotten to mention the Second Origin to him, so he didn't know she was in pain. Although she did a good job hiding it, she didn't seem to mind at all when she was knocked down.

I nodded, regaining my composure. "**Yeah, I brought him with me. He was so jealous of Deamunas being with the two of us yesterday, he wanted to come with me today.**" I explained and sweat dropped at the same time.

"**Ae (Yes)! Why didn't you take me with you Ac-nii-chan?**" Basuril whined and looked back at me, having lifted his head off Lucys' stomach. He had an accusing look in his eyes.

I back a little away from the two. "**Ah, well we first figured out Lucy was awake and all when we arrived so…**" I trailed off.

Lucy got up on her feet brushed dirt off her clothes. She looked at Basuril and me alternately with that warm smile of hers. "Well, you're here now Basuril." She said calmly. He nodded eagerly. "Let's go inside the cave, it's warmer there." She said and went into the cave, two Dragons following her.

Basuril trotted in after her, walking up next to her and when she sat, he curled up around her like a tame dog and let her use him as a pillow. I smiled at the scene, it was rather cute. Lucy closed her eyes and relaxed into Basuril as I lay across from them, lying with my back to the entrance of pure habit.

We all lay in silence and after a little while a low snoring sound was heard from Basuril. Lucy giggled the most tingling and sweet giggle I'd ever heard at him, which made me grin widely, both because I would be blushing madly had I been in Human form and because of my now sleeping cousin.

Lucy and I shared a glance and both lay down again and relaxed, both trying to fall asleep. Lucy was apparently being kept warm by Basuril tonight and while it was cute enough and all, I had wished it had been me and not Basuril who was cuddled up around Lucy like that.

Well, there was simply nothing I could do about it. I could see through my still closed eyes that something was lighting the cave up. Not much but just a gentle glow. I opened my eyes and saw Lucy looking at a ball of magic hovering over her hand. It gave off a comfortable silver glow, which reflected in her eyes and made them even more beautiful than they already were.

I raised my head and looked closer at the ball. Lucy hadn't noticed me; she was too hypnotized by the ball of magic in her hands. "**What are you doing Lucy?**" I whispered loud enough for her to hear and my head close to her.

"Kya-" She let the ball go and screamed, before stopping herself, so she wouldn't wake up the sleeping Dragon. She looked at me and held a hand over her heart, as if to reassure her heart that everything was fine. After a while of panting and calming down she beamed at me. "It was my Dragon magic, Acnologia!" She smiled.

My eyes widened. Her Dragon magic? "**Since when?**" I simply asked. Guessing from the color, I would say it was the Peace element, but that was just a guess.

She looked up at me, her smile growing wider if ever possible. "I discovered it today." She explained. I looked surprised at her. She had just discovered it today, and she could already have her ball working so perfectly for her? She giggled at my expression. "I know what you are thinking." She smiled and made me flustered by her words. "Yeah, I can already make a ball like that with it. You know, it takes a lot of control over your magic to be a Celestial mage." She told me. "I have to be able to redirect the magic I want and need to use, nothing more, nothing less, into the key and then make it open a gate to another world. It takes insane amounts of control." She smiled. "Although, I have a bad habit of calling on my Celestial magic instead of my Dragon magic…" She trailed off and spaced out with a thoughtful expression.

I just looked at her. I didn't know someone needed as much control as Lucy was referring to, to open a Gate to the Spirit World. I thought it was just something like when I opened the portal from Earthland to the Dragon Realm, instinctual and easy. Guess it wasn't. "**Oh.**" Was all I could say. "**I see.**" I smiled at her. "**That's wonderful.**" I told her, although my ego had taken a huge blow right there.

_Don't beat yourself up about it Mini-Me. Obviously she would be better at control than you are, you suck. Literally._ The Dragon snickered. I sighed inwardly. I had really hoped I wouldn't hear more of him tonight, guess I wasn't so lucky.

I locked him away and focused on the cave with Lucy and Basuril. She was smiling at me and nodding. Suddenly, a yawn escaped her defenses, and she covered a hand with her mouth. I chuckled at her. "**Well, good night Lucy.**" I told her and pulled my head back.

She nodded and muttered a 'good night' in return, before giving in to it. I watched her for a while, before I too fell asleep.

My wonderful girl had found her Dragon magic. Maybe there wasn't long to go before she would get her Dragon form too.

**Okay, so it wasn't my best chapter ever. I admit that. **

**Well, next chapter will have a little time skip, so the story can progress a little faster and we can get to the Tenrou Island incident and the S-Class Exam, the discovery of the letter and Lucy returning. So yeah. Thank you for all of your patience. **

**Before you people ask, the training with Alodiculis was just like Acnologia's, where Lucy trained the control of the magic and got used to the feeling of it. She will take a little longer with that than Acnologia, since it wasn't the magic Lucy first discovered. **

**As usual; thanks to Crow-DarkHeart, nikoneko123, Poison Bat, Blackwing45LL, blackprincess12, Fairy tail otaku (Guest), FT LOVER (Guest), clumzybeans, PantherLily1, .96, Rex the wolf, Dakrverger1, mjb379, WinterStormArt, ButterflyDream100, clairedamoon, Midnightwolf21100, spolivka, 00halfblood, MavisVermillion5401, lucy heartfilia, Tempest190, Early Owl, Kenzie605, MidnightDragonflies, lovesfanfriction, innocence-creator and all you other readers for everything. Honestly; what would I be doing without you people?**

_**Okay: This is quite important, because it just is. I want to know how many of the words from the Dragon Language/Maori you guys have already memorized. And what they mean of course. Personally; I have memorized a lot of them, but that's probably also because I repeat them so often. I'm not judging you guys by the way, just thought it would be fun to know. Anyway, how many Dragon Language-words have you memorized?**_

**~Line464d**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**We've reached 200 favs guys! You are absolutely b-e-a-UTIFUL! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is still reluctant to give Fairy Tail to me. **

**On the field, Dragon Realm – a month later (Dragon Realm time)**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It had already been a month since my and Acnologia's training began, it was weird to think about, time sure went fast. It only felt like a week ago I came to the Dragon Realm.

My training had progressed well. With Alodiculis, I had practiced my control of my Dragon powers, not that I needed control in any way, and got used to the feel of the magic. I had gotten more used to it now, it was, literally, a second nature to me now. Almost anyway. During those training hours, I would usually try to keep a ball of what Alodiculis recognized as Peace magic in the air and playing a little around with it. For some reason, I always mixed up my Celestial magic in it, that was basically what I was trying to learn _not _to. Apart from that, I had also had a little target practice and – if I had to say it – I felt like I was doing pretty good, I could hit 7 out of 10 of my targets. At the end of the day, I would usually meditate, both to calm down… Well… Everything, and to check the progress in the black darkness. The silver Fairy Tail logo had been shining brighter and brighter, and now it wasn't as much glowing as it was shining.

With Loke, it had gone through some changes, to be more specific, the whole training schedule had been changed entirely. Instead of him beating me up, it was now changed to some training in the basic moves, as a start – Ae (Yes) I was that bad at it all – and some strengthening exercises. Those mainly being push-ups, sit-ups and running several miles every day. Metallicana had been by a few times, giving 'moral support' as he called it himself. I still remembered it all, and it sent shudders down my back. Basically, he was a lot rougher than Loke, he drove me much harder. On the other hand, after I got the Second Origin opened, Loke had been such a softie, so it was nice with Metallicana's roughness. Sometimes. Not really…

The training with Moustache-Man had simply been, to one to get used to Plue's new form, and practicing his illusionary magic. Now he could make and illusion of a wolf in human size. The Spirit King told me that if I got strong enough, I would be able to touch those illusions, meaning they wouldn't just be illusions, they would actually _be_ there. Kinda. I had also trained a little with getting used to call on Plue with my love instead of my magic, and I was getting used to it now. I hadn't been able to enter the bright star in my mind since I had gotten Plue's key back there, Moustache-Man told me it was because I wasn't strong enough yet to do that.

Acnologia's training wasn't as varying as mine. Since he was already in a good physical form, there wasn't put much weight on that part, except keeping him there. He had also progressed far with his control of his magic, all he had been training the last two weeks was the target practice, he still hadn't mastered that yet, but he was good on his way.

Now though, we were taking a breather, which would be taking the whole day. The Head Dragons, minus Acnologia, had decided that it would do Acnologia and me good to have a day off. 'Incidentally', that was also the day the Head Dragons decided they would all go to Earthland for the monthly inspection. So Acnologia and I were simply doing our duties as Head Dragons. Okay well, I wasn't, but I was in training, I guess. I had surprisingly not paid much mind to Fairy Tail during this whole training, except a little in the beginning of it all.

It still hurt to think about _that_ day, very much at that too. But at the same time, I just couldn't help but be kind of… Happy wasn't the right word, but something like that, that it happened, because if it hadn't happened, I would probably never have met Acnologia again, and I wouldn't have met the other part of my family.

I focused on the reality where I was about to head to Earthland again. I was for some strange reason sitting on Metallicana's back; I had placed myself carefully so I wouldn't get my butt pierced by one of Metallicana's many spikes. I really had no idea why I was sitting on Metallicana's back and not Acnologia's or Grandine's maybe, he had simply insisted that he should carry me.

Igneel pouted. "**Metallicaanaa~ I wanna carry her!**" he whined. I raised a brow at him and his childish attitude. Since when had I become so popular?

Metallicana looked at Igneel with a scowl. "**Káo (No).**" He simply stated, with a straight face. He wasn't making any room for reconsideration with this topic.

Igneel kept pouting and was about to say something in protest when Grandine smacked him with her tail. "**Keep your mouth shut idiot and listen to Dravola.**" Grandine scolded him. Igneel stared defiantly at her; she stared back at him with an icy glare. In the end, Igneel was the one to look away.

I grinned. Who would have thought Igneel, the almighty Fire Dragon – As he preferred to call himself – would be defeated by a lady like this.

Dravola coughed to get everyone's attention. "**You know the drill; we go to Earthland to see how the humans are faring, not to mingle with them, so stay away from them as well as you can.**" She ordered all of us.

In the start I had wondered why Dravola was the one who seemed to be the 'leader' of all the Head Dragons, now I knew it was because of the authoritative air she had about her. It was a little like with Erza, no one dared to do anything to anger the old lady. She was also by far the wisest of all of us, and experience as well.

Dravola made sure to make eye contact with all of us, to make sure we understood probably, before speaking again. "**I'll open the portal and then you all head through as fast as you can, got it?**" She asked. Everyone nodded or grumbled something in understanding and in a matter of seconds, the portal Acnologia had used a few days ago appeared next to her.

It didn't take long for the Dragons to get a move on, everyone hurried through, although not as chaotically as I had imagined, somehow there was a system to it all. Metallicana went through and just as with Acnologia; we seemed to speed through the air in an extreme speed. Even though I knew nothing would happen and I would stay on Metallicana's back, I automatically grabbed onto what was closest, one of Metallicana's spikes. I held the spike as if it was the only thing that kept me alive, which in return made Metallicana chuckle. I didn't care much and just held on, more for comfort than anything else.

As all the stars and colors swirled past us, I briefly wondered if what my Spirits experienced when they were summoned was anything like what I was going through right at that moment.

That was until we slammed into an invisible wall and slowed down instantly, Metallicana landing first on his back legs and later with his front to slow down the speed entirely. We were on a field somewhere with only a few bushes here and there. Long in the distance, the trees were seen, but from our point of view, they seemed to be hours away. The sun was scorching hot and burned down on us.

One after another, the other Head Dragons appeared in a blur of speed, in the same fashion as Metallicana, Dravola being the last one. They all scouted the area for any human, and found none. It would have been a problem if any human saw 12 Dragons appear out of nowhere, and with a girl no less.

Dravola turned to the Dragons. "**Everyone. Break out into the usual groups.**" She looked straight at me. "**Lucy, just stay at Metallicana's back for now.**" She told me, to which I just nodded.

Metallicana looked back at me over his shoulder with a grin plastered on his face. "**You're going to enjoy this group, Squirt.**" He told me adding his and his sons' trademark laugh in the end. I looked at him, wondering what he had meant by that.

Igneel ran up to Metallicana and smiled widely when he caught my eyes. "**Lucy~! We're on the same team!**" He cheered. I widened my eyes and looked at Metallicana, waiting for him to tell me it was a joke. Metallicana just smirked at me and nodded, approving of the truth in the Fire Dragon's words. Why would _anyone_ put the two of them in the same group?

Glanasile also walked up to the three of us. "**We're going to Maletame this time around, are you ready?**" He asked, looking around at each of us. Metallicana and Igneel nodded, while I was just staring dumbfounded at the three Dragons around me.

Why would Dravola put these three in the same group? She must have… OH! _That's_ why! She just didn't want them to possibly ruin any other groups with their comments - mainly Igneel and Metallicana - so she put them together. She wouldn't have to bother with them then. What a smug old lady.

Igneel smiled widely and jumped into the air, folding his wings out when he was high enough and hovered in the air above us with the occasional swing of his wings. "**Come on! Let's go to Maletame!**" He said happily. Something about that name bothered me, it seemed so familiar.

Metallicana grunted at the Fire Dragon and got into the air as well, not as lively as Igneel, more normally. Glanasile also spread his wings and flew up, much more elegantly than either Igneel or Metallicana could ever _dream _of doing it. "**Alright then, let's go.**" Glanasile said as he flew off past the other two – plus me – and towards the forest that seemed so far away.

Metallicana and Igneel soon caught up and flew a little behind the Ice Dragon. I closed my eyes, while keeping a vice grip on one of the spikes, and let air speed through my air. I really enjoyed this; I always loved when the air pulled my hair gently, or not so gently, such as now.

I shot my eyes open as Metallicana angled upwards. I looked to see Glanasile do the same. Igneel however, didn't. He was just staring at the two other Dragons which were going upwards quickly. "**Oi! Why are you going up?**" Igneel asked.

A tick mark appeared on Metallicana's forehead. "**You've got to be kidding me.**" He mumbled under his breath and looked down at Igneel. "**Fire Head, we're going above the clouds, there's no need for the humans to see us. Honestly, I thought there was a limit as to how stupid you could be. I was wrong.**" Metallicana grunted and focused on following Glanasile, while I barely kept my seat. I would have fallen off long ago, had I not held Metallicana's spike as hard as I did.

"**WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!**" Igneel yelled after Metallicana and sped up after him, quickly catching up. He was just about to ram into Metallicana as he spotted me. "**Right. Probably not the best idea.**" He muttered to himself and stopped before he could even touch us.

Metallicana snickered, having also seen Igneel stop. He looked back at me with a smirk. "**So you're of some use after all.**" He teased. "**Thanks a bunch, Squirt.**" He said as he focused on catching up to Glanasile, who, once again, had flown off and was ahead of us. He was probably used to the two Dragons bickering about close to everything.

The rest of the flying went calmly, somewhat anyway. Once we were above the clouds, I didn't really need to keep holding onto Metallicana's spike, so I had made myself comfortable, sitting between two spikes with my back against the one closest to his neck, having turned around. Igneel and Metallicana had been throwing insults back and forth the whole time, Glanasile remained silent and I just tried to figure out where I had heard about 'Maletame' before.

Glanasile was the first to break the silence, which for once also floated between Igneel and Metallicana. "**We're here. Dive down quickly and carefully. We don't want people to see us.**" He told them. I quickly turned around in my 'seat' and looked surprised at Glanasile. We were already there? That was fast.

I grabbed one of Metallicana's spikes – again – as he dove down into the forest quickly and without giving anyone time to see him. He landed with a bump, sending me in the air. I quickly saw that I would have no chance of landing on Metallicana again, so I quickly thought of another way to land without getting hurt.

The trees. I pulled myself towards the closest tree and fell down, placing both of my feet on the trunk, using the force I had gathered from falling and pushed myself off towards the ground, where I landed carefully on my feet, having evaded being hurt.

I took me a while to realize exactly what it was I had done and when I did I just stood shocked by my own performance. Well, the training certainly paid off it seemed, I wouldn't have been able to do that before. How I learned to do something like that was beyond me, but it was probably the strengthening with Loke and Metallicana that did it.

I heard clapping behind me and I turned to look at a man with steel-gray spiked hair, which was longer than average, reaching to mid-back. He wore a plain, black tank-top and simple, overused jeans. He wore a metal-plate on his right shoulder with small spikes, which basically just was an accessory more than it was armor. He wore a dark red band around his upper left arm. He had studs on his earlobes, working as earrings, kinda. Most noticeably though, were all the scars which littered his whole form. He had a deep scar going down his left eye and three just as deep on his right arm just under his metal plate and down below his elbow.

He wore a smirk and looked at me with his blood-red eyes. "Well done, Squirt." He said, not teasingly or sarcastically, which caught me off guard. "I'm actually impressed." He smirked at me, knowing I hadn't expected that kind of reply.

I just opened my mouth, trying to form words, but couldn't. I closed my mouth again and took a deep breath before speaking. "Thank you Metallicana." I smiled at him, not knowing what else I should be doing in this kind of situation.

I wasn't surprised by Metallicana's sudden change into Human form, I had seen it a lot during training, so I had grown more or less used to seeing the gruff man.

Metallicana's smirk grew wider. "Well, it wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't helped you train, now would it?" He asked rhetorically, giving himself a boost of self-confidence, which – might I add – he did _not_ need.

I just smiled and shook my head at him. That weird, old man. Although I didn't know what age he was, since he appeared to be 25.

"Yeah that was pretty cool Lucy!" Another cheery voice, which I didn't recognize immediately, chimed in. A man a little lower than Metallicana said to me with a bright smile. He had flaming red hair, which literally looked like fire. He wore a red t-shirt with a dark orange flame-like print. He wore knee-long shorts in a black color. He had a big tattoo on his left arm resembling fire, ironically enough, without any other color than pitch-black. His eyes were also a dark onyx, you couldn't even see the pupils.

"Thank you Igneel." I smiled at the man, which looked to be 25 years old. It was so weird knowing that these guys probably were 100+, but looked like 25-year olds. That was one of those times where it was allowed to have your mind blown. He smiled back at me friendly but was stopped before he could say anything.

"Let's go everyone." Glanasile ordered, with a way less echoing voice compared to what he had had before. I looked at the Ice Dragon, which was no longer a Dragon. He had long white hair which went far down his back, but not quite reaching his waist. He wore a white t-shirt with three, thin black stripes diagonally over the front and back. He wore form-fitting, black jeans, which seemed a little lighter near the thighs. He had an icy blue band going around both his arms, reaching from the wrists and nearly reaching his elbows. He looked at the three of us alternately with his icy blue eyes.

I nodded. "Right." I went after him as we walked through the forest, towards Maletame. It just sounded so goddamn familiar, I just couldn't place the name at all and it pissed me off, to be polite. I hated when there was something like this I just couldn't figure out.

I mulled over it once again, determined to figure it out as I pushed the background noise, otherwise known as Metallicana and Igneel, away and ignoring it completely. Luckily, I thought Glanasile had seen I didn't really want to be talked to, so he didn't, or maybe he just didn't want to talk.

Maletame, Maletame, Maletame… What could it be? Where had I heard of it before? Something clicked in my mind, right Loke had told me about it once. Karen, his former owner lived in Maletame. Which meant… Dear Mavis. We were heading towards Blue Pegasus' guilds city! _That _was why it felt so familiar. What if I ran into someone I know?

I pulled a strand of hair around my finger and played with it, making small curls around my finger. That was when my hair color caught my eye. I smiled, right. I wasn't blonde anymore, I was silver-haired, they wouldn't recognize me.

We walked through the forest and ended up in a big city, not unlike Magnolia actually. "Alright, just walk around and try to catch all the small-talk you can, we need to know what is happening around here." Glanasile told the other Dragons, who nodded in return.

So that was what this was all about? They all wanted to know what was going on in Earthland, what better way to do it than to listen in on other peoples' conversations in a city where a guild existed. There was no other place the news would travel fast.

Then I scowled, knowing I was of no use to the Dragons, I didn't have my enhanced hearing yet. I thought.

"Have you heard?" One woman asked. I looked up, thinking someone was talking to me, but saw the woman on the other side of the street. I furrowed my eyebrows. I swore, she sounded like she was standing next to me.

"About what?" The woman she walked with asked. This was freaking me out, why could I hear it so clearly?

"Fairy Tail! I heard they were getting ready for the S-Class Exams!" The first woman said eagerly. I widened my eyes. What? The S-Class Exam? I hadn't heard of that? Had I left just as they were about to begin? Was Fairy Tail… Just moving on as if nothing had happened?

"Really?" The second woman asked excitedly. "Who are the candidates?"

The first woman tapped her chin thoughtfully, as if she couldn't remember. "Hmm, I think it was Freed, Elfman, Cana – again -, Mest… Uh… Oh and Gray, Natsu, Levy and Lisanna, of course!" She said. My eyes widened even more. They all were candidates to become S-Class? What had I been missing?

"Oh yeah, that's right! I heard that Lisanna came back from the 'dead'! She was just lost all along! That was what Sorcerer Weekly said anyway." The second woman said again.

I tuned out of their conversation, not feeling like hearing anymore, I had a hunch I wouldn't be able to take much more. Fairy Tail seemed to do just fine without me. I closed my eyes to prevent tears from falling. Was I really so worthless to them?

I felt an abnormally warm hand on my shoulder and turned to look at Igneel, who was smiling carefully at me. Oh my Mavis! The world was going under! IGNEEL was smiling CAREFULLY! – That was what I normally would have thought, right now though, I was too depressed to think anything like that.

I quickly figured Igneel had heard the same conversation I had and that he knew I had heard it too; this was his way of giving me some comfort. I smiled back at him and nodded as if to say 'I'm fine', although I was everything _but_ that.

Igneel smiled happily back at me, having returned to his usual childish self. "It seems your hearing has enhanced Lucy! You're doing great progress already!" Igneel praised me. I smiled warmly back at him, not trusting my own voice at the moment.

We walked through Maletame, listening to conversations, and everyone was silently focusing on doing that, meaning Metallicana and Igneel weren't bickering. I was helping too, although my ears could reach as far as theirs could. I focused so hard on listening I didn't notice three familiar persons coming my way until it was too late.

My right shoulder bumped into a 'random' man at the street and pulled me out of my trance I turned to the man. "Oh, I'm so-" I was cut off mid-sentence as I recognized the man.

Hibiki rested his arm on my shoulder and leaned into me, probably trying to be flirty as the Blue Pegasus guild was known for. "It's not a problem young lady, I'm sorry I pulled you out of your thoughts in such rude manner." He said looking into my eyes. 3… 2… 1… Hibiki jumped back in surprise and stared at me. "LUCY! Is that you?" He asked, looking baffled to see me here.

I giggled at him and waved. "Hi Hibiki-" I turned to the rest of the Trimen – including Ichiya unfortunately -, knowing they wouldn't go anywhere without each other if they could help it. "Eve, Ren, Ichiya." I smiled at them. They made their usual poses with sparkles and a pink aura behind them, looking like complete idiots.

All of a sudden, a sofa along with a coffee table appeared out of nowhere and I was pulled down on the sofa with Eve on my right, Ren on my left and Hibiki behind me, leaning as close as he could without being invading. Ichiya was on one knee on the ground and looked up at me. "Such a beautiful perfume! Men!" He exclaimed, which made me sweat drop. He never changed, did he?

Eve grabbed my hand and held it with his own two. "Lucy-nee, it's been a long time, I've missed you." He smiled cutely at me. I couldn't help but think Basuril would look something like Eve in his Human form.

Ren grabbed my other hand and brought it to his lips and brushing my skin gently. I prayed to Mavis that he wouldn't see my hand was without a Fairy Tail insignia. "Lucy, you have such nice skin. Not that I'm jealous or anything." He added his usual comment in the end and a red tint on his cheeks.

Hibiki gently took a strand of my hair and played a little with it. "I like what you've done with your hair, Lucy. Is it a new dye? It fits you." He complimented with a smile.

I sighed, but couldn't be annoyed with them, they were hosts after all, and they lived to do things like this. I smiled at them and answered them one after another. "I've missed you too Eve, it's been too long." I turned to Ren. "My skin has always been like this, but thank you." I smiled at him and turned to Hibiki. "No, it's my natural hair-color, I found out a while ago." I told him with a wide smile as I told him about my natural hair color, from my Mama's side. I had to force myself to not say 'Káo' and 'No' instead, I had really gotten used the Dragon language. I turned to Metallicana and nodded to Ichiya. "This one bugs me." I told him.

A feral grin appeared on Metallicana's face and I began doubting my decision to tell him about that. I almost felt bad for Ichiya. Almost. "Oh, _does_ he? Well, let me take care of that for you Squirt." He smirked and glared at Ichiya as he stalked towards him like a predator having sighted its prey. He grabbed Ichiya's arm before the other man could react and spun around a couple times before letting go and sending the little man flying into the sky.

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" He yelled as he flew off and disappeared in a blink. I sweat dropped. Metallicana overdid it. I had expected that, actually.

Metallicana turned to me with a smirk. "We won't be seeing any of him the next long time." He smirked wildly. At least he didn't eat the man.

"MASTER!" Hibiki, Eve and Ren yelled after their Master, who had disappeared. They looked in horror at the direction he had flown off to.

Glanasile coughed a little where he stood. I turned to look at my other two Dragon-friends. Igneel's eyes were bulging out of their sockets and mouth hanging wide open; you would think he was trying to mimic the expression I had worn a little while back, when I was introduced to my group, while Glanasile simply had raised an eyebrow in question. "Are these… _Boys_ someone you know Lucy?" He asked politely, but not without showing his discomfort at the situation.

I nodded. "Yeah, they are." I said and made myself comfortable in the sofa, might as well. "This is Eve Tearm-" I gestured to Eve as I introduced him to my Dragon friends. "Ren Akatsuki-" I gestured to Ren. "And Hibiki Lates. The one who flew away was Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki." I said at last as I gestured to the guy behind me when I introduced him. "They're all from the guild Blue Pegasus." I wasn't sure the Dragons would completely understand what I meant by saying that, but I knew the three boys were proud of being members of that guild. I looked around at the three boys. "Eve, Ren, Hibiki meet my friends Haeana-" I gestured to Metallicana, deciding with using their last name as their names, since the Trimen would grow suspicious if I told them their real names. "Kapura-" I gestured to Igneel. "And Haupa." Glanasile at last.

Glanasile nodded, both acknowledging my three Pegasus friends and the names I had given him and the two others.

Hibiki turned to me with a bright smile. "Oh, are you on a mission with another guild? Where's Team Natsu?" Hibiki asked politely, probably without knowing how much those simple words had actually hurt me.

I thought about what I could say, when Glanasile cut me to it. "No, we aren't from a guild. We're just walking around with each other, since it's a long time since we've seen each other. 'Team Natsu' decided to stay back at Lucy's guild." Glanasile explained, apparently hating the idea of being in a guild.

I nodded silently and smiled at Hibiki and smoothly put my hand over the place where my Fairy Tail logo had once been, to hide the bare hand from view, they didn't need to know the story. "Hibiki, Ren, Eve, I really need to go now, I'll see you some other time, 'kay?" I asked them smiling while I got on my feet, the Dragons and I really need to get a move on.

Eve nodded with a kind smile. "Yes, certainly Lucy-nee." He looked at the three men behind me. "Take care of her, will you?" He asked them with a wave. They just nodded, not knowing what say anything.

Ren looked up at me with a little smile. Kinda. Ish. "Yeah, see you around Lucy." A faint blush appeared on his dark cheeks and he looked at the ground next to his feet. "It's not like I'll miss you or anything." He added muttering.

Hibiki jumped over the back of the sofa and strode towards me. "Of course we will!" He exclaimed and grabbed my hand, which had not once been carrying a Fairy Tail mark, and kissed it, keeping eye contact all the time. "Don't get into anything too dangerous, beautiful." He told me, which earned him a big fist down on his head.

Metallicana didn't remove his hand from the boys' head and just stared at him with his blood-red – and menacingly intimidating – eyes. "I can't stand seeing all this gay behavior anymore. Pick yourself up, boy, and turn into a man already." Metallicana told Hibiki with an underlying growl. He looked at me for a second before grabbing me and throwing me over his shoulder as if I was a sack of potatoes. "Come here, Squirt, we're busy." He told me and added a 'Gihi' in the end.

I rolled my eyes at him and didn't resist, knowing I could do nothing against his physical strength. I waved at the three boys. "I'm sorry Hibiki; he's a bit of an asshole sometimes. Say hi to your guild master from me, will you?" I yelled when Metallicana turned around a corner and they disappeared out of sight. I smacked the back of Metallicana's head. "Don't do things like that, it's rude you know!" I told him angrily. Why did he pull me away anyway?

He snorted. "I didn't like their attitude, that's why." He told me. He glanced back at me, and I got startled by his similarity to Gajeel. They really looked like a father and a son… But it was only foster, that's what I'd been told. "Also, we need to get on with this investigation." He added and looked forward to keep walking. He snickered a little under his breath. "Besides, I know a Dragon who wouldn't like that little scene, so you should be happy I won't tell him. Gihi." He told me smugly. Although I had no idea what he was talking about.

I scowled at him and ignored the three, focusing on the conversations around me again. He'd been teasing me with that for a while, as if I had a boyfriend or something. Thing was, I just didn't so I never really got the joke and it pissed me off more and more every time he said it.

**Back on the middle of the street~**

**Hibiki's P.O.V**

I rubbed the sore spot on my head, that guy really hit hard. I wondered what had given him that much strength. Although my mind quickly wandered to other things to think about.

I turned to my team… Or what was left of it. I looked alternately at Ren and Eve. "Did you notice?" I asked, they both looked at me and nodded with serious expressions. We had all noticed.

Something was seriously wrong, one: Whenever Lucy went somewhere – and I mean always – she would bring Team Natsu or at least just Natsu, yet today she had three other men, who claimed to be her friends. They were suspicious though and much too close than just 'friends', I'd say it looked more like they were family, especially that Haeana guy looked comfortable around the now silver-haired girl. Which was also weird, although it _was _beautiful to her.

Two: She seemed to be much stronger, both physically and magically. She also had another magic in her now it seemed, it wasn't so strong now, but if it was trained it could be _extremely _powerful. That was what I could sense anyway.

Three: Her Fairy Tail insignia was gone. I noticed that immediately when I figured it was Lucy and pulled her to our sofa. It was bare, completely bare, not even a trace of the usual bright and pink mark was there.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Something is seriously wrong." I muttered. I would have to investigate this sometime when I had the time.

**In Magnolia, Earthland – Around the same time~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I along with Grandine and Silvia were sent to Magnolia, where Lucy's guild lay. Dravola thought it would be a good idea to check up on Fairy Tail and the city, besides the city was a great source of information. And it really was.

"You know, Fairy Tail will be holding the S-Class Exam in two weeks on Tenroujima the resting place of their First Master, it's so cool! I wonder who will become S-Class this time…" Some random citizen said to another random citizen.

"Natsu will of course! There's no way he won't!" The other said loudly and eagerly. I growled a little under my breath, I really hated that guy. I had learned all of the adventures Lucy had been through with Fairy Tail, she would always begin to cry whenever she talked about them, and that was nothing compared to when she told me of the day she was kicked off Team Natsu. That bastard! I hated him so much, but on the other hand I was also happy that he had done it. If he hadn't, Lucy wouldn't have come to me and things wouldn't be as good as they were today.

"Hmph. I doubt that, I think it'll be Gray." The first citizen said, butting me out of my hateful thoughts towards a certain Fire Dragon Slayer, who I now preferred to call 'Summer'. Gray, that was the other male idiot in Team Natsu, although I didn't hate him as much as I despised Summer, I still did _not_ like him in the least. That whole team could just go to Hell and back again for all I cared.

"Yeah, but Erza's there to prevent them from advance to S-Class. It's tough this time." The second shot back. Erza, the third member of Lucy's old team. I didn't like her, she seemed so high and mighty and with that past, she should see how Lucy was feeling and should have done something about it. She probably thought she could overcome anything, as strong as she was, but I would bet Lucy was stronger than she was at this point, with all the training she had been doing, especially with the cat and Metallicana.

"I know, they're in for it this time! That's probably why they're all out training now." The second said eagerly. I tuned out of their conversation, I had gotten enough information on that topic, I didn't care who they thought would win.

I walked on with Silvia and Grandine, listening in on conversation to gather all the information I could. That was what all this was about, getting information of the human world. I never really understood exactly why we were doing it, why we didn't just send 'ordinary' Dragons out instead of all the Head Dragons, but I guessed we needed to find out first hand.

A pretty white-haired girl with blue eyes and a red dress came up to me and smiled at me. "Excuse me?" She asked politely. "You three seem to be mages, have you joined a guild yet?" She asked, looking discretely around at me for one of those… Guild marks I believe Lucy called them.

I shook my head. "No, we aren't a part of a guild." I told her plainly, trying to indirectly show her I didn't care for the conversation we were having. I knew where this was going, she would ask me if I wanted to join some guild and I would say no.

She smiled widely, completely ignoring my try to show her I wasn't interested. "Alright! Why don't you join Fairy Tail then?" She asked innocently and extended a folder to me.

My eyes hardened. So she was from Fairy Tail, was she? One of the people who had hurt Lucy. I looked at the girl again. Her hair was put in a peculiar way, with her bangs put up in a ponytail and strutting out in the air and the rest falling in waves, reaching around her waist. The dress was long and with an almost white bow at her chest, with frilly straps going around her neck form it. Frills lay around her hips loosely, kind of framing the dress and in the same white color. I looked into her eyes.

Lucy had told me about this one, Mirajane Strauss. She was apparently a model for a big-shot magazine in Earthland and was an S-Class mage. Looking at her right now, she didn't seem like the type to be an S-Class, but looks could be deceiving.

Never breaking eye-contact, I took the folder. I might learn something from it, who knew? Mirajane beamed at me. "Thank you sir! I hope you will join!" She said all cheery, much like Igneel constantly was.

I nodded and went up to Silvia and Grandine, who looked at me questioningly. Grandine was the first to ask. "What was that all about?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

I stuck the folder in the air. "It's a folder about Fairy Tail, Lucy's guild, you know? Maybe we could learn something from it or something." I told her. Lucy had told me most of what she had been doing in the guild, and how rowdy it always was, so I had a good idea about what it was like, but even then, it wouldn't hurt to read a single folder.

Silvia looked at me with a confused expression. "What is there to learn, Acnologia? It's just like any other guild." Silvia asked.

I smiled softly at her. Of course she wouldn't understand, she hadn't heard what Lucy had been telling me. "Not quite, Silvia." I told her. Suddenly I felt like something was looking at me and I turned around to look into the brown eyes of a little white cat with a dress. It could only be an Exceed, since it was standing on its hind legs like that, and seemed to know what was going on. I kneeled down in front of the cat. "Do you want something?" I asked it as kindly as I could. Something told me that Neko was from Fairy Tail.

It widened its eyes and stared at me. "N-no, it's nothing." It stammered as it turned around and ran away.

I looked after it as it ran and shrugged when it was out of sight. I wondered what the deal was with the little Exceed. Maybe it got frightened or something?

**Carla's P.O.V**

T-that was the Dragon boy Lucy met in my vision. It was painfully obvious, that hair couldn't be mistaken and neither could the clothing going along with it. Where was Lucy? Why wasn't she with him? And why did he hold a folder about Fairy Tail?

The questions swirled around in my head, about Lucy and that Dragon boy. Could it be Lucy was in Magnolia too? No, then we would know. I didn't realize I had already reached Cana, until she pulled me out of my thoughts. "Are you ready to begin again, Carla?" She asked with a wide smile and red cheeks. Had she been drinking again?

Cana and I had taken a little break from the training, it was important to have breaks too, or else we would just run down our bodies, which we were not supposed to do. I just nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, let's go." I told her.

I would probably find out sooner or later what was going on, Lucy had promised she would come back to Fairy Tail when she was done with her training, and I trusted her to do exactly that.

**Back in the Dragon Realm, on the field - At the end of the day~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I came out of the portal with Lucy on my back. The day had gone uneventfully for the both of us, she told me Igneel and Metallicana had been bickering all the time at the end of the day though. No surprise there. We had collected a little information, mainly about Fairy Tail and their S-Class exam. Apparently Lucy's hearing had enhanced, maybe her Dragon side was slowly waking up now she could use the magic?

We parted ways with the other Head Dragons after sharing information, basically everyone in Earthland were talking about Fairy Tail, so there really wasn't much to talk about. I flew with Lucy back to our cave, and we quickly fell asleep.

**So, a little show time for the Trimen and a little bit of Fairy Tail too. They've been training like crazy as well, the Fairy Tail S-Class participants, that is. I don't know if maybe the Trimen were a little OOC, I haven't been seeing them enough in the show to be quite sure. Yes, yes I know they were there during the Oración Seis Arc and the whole GMG too, but I haven't read the manga. Can't bother with that kinda stuff, I'm only watching the anime. I know, I know, no offense to those of you who follow the manga, I bet it's just as wonderful as the animated version of it, I just haven't found the desire to read it when I can watch it.**

**I'd written a paper for my English-teacher a while ago, where I was supposed to tell him who I wanted to speak with, be it fictional or not, and had to say why, what I would speak with the person about and so forth. I had chosen Ulquiorra Cifer from Bleach, dunno if you know him. Anyway that's beside the point, thing is, when I got it back with the corrections and stuff - although few - he guessed that it was Ulquiorra from Bleach I was writing about! I had forgot to mention his last name and from what series I had met the guy, but my friggin' English teacher above the age of 30 GUESSED who I was writing about CORRECTLY! I don't know if that's creepy or just plain cool? ^_^ ****YOU ROCK HENRY**** (His name)!**

**A big thanks to BrawlerOfBeasts, fyumi, 00halfblood, clumzybeans, Amethystfairy1, FantasyFreakLover, mjb379, AkenoG, the road to the stars, MissTigerLover99, KillerCupcakes, aristofthemind, SweetMelody2232, Darkverger1, Castle-Mover, kezenoseiren, xxxdramon, Draph91, NoSrsBsnss, coffetjms, Trantium, Ace the Dark Purple Dragon, Animegeek030, StargazerlumiareFR, Aitherial, kittykat5811, babymunkhcin, RaspberryNeko, Turtles399 and all you other readers/followers/favoriters/reviewers for EVERYTHING! ARIGATOU!**

**~Line464d**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Basuril's chapter. Yep, Basuril is a main character in this chapter! ^_^ Our little irresistible lovable Dragon. I'm sorry for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Do I have to keep doing this? Slowpoke owns Fairy Tail entirely**

**On the field – Dragon Realm**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"Metallicana!" I yelled as I ran as fast as I could. "Loke help me!" I shrieked at my Lion Spirit, who was laughing his ass off. "So much for loyal Spirit." I wheezed out between pants. Metallicana let out a deep chuckle behind me.

At the moment, Metallicana was hunting me down like the crazed Dragon he was, literally. I was running for my life here, and he just kept pushing and pushing. Well, it wasn't new in any way, since Metallicana showed up when I was running, it'd been like this: Me running for my life and Metallicana running after me, having the time of his life. Likewise with Loke, who had refused to help me, because _apparently_ it was a good way to train running and endurance. I disagree with him, it's horrid.

"Come on Squirt!" Metallicana yelled after me in his Human form, he didn't want it to be _impossible_ for me. Hmph, show off. "You can run faster!" He laughed maniacally. It sounded like he was just behind me now.

I pushed myself and ran a little faster. My lungs began hurting with every breath and my legs couldn't keep this up much longer. But, I had to; I didn't want to be eaten alive. The grass and flowers flew past me, it was impossible to tell them apart. I made the decision to run into the forest in hopes of escaping the Iron Dragon. I quickened my pace a little, so I would have a chance to hide from him.

The forest soon enough came in view, and I quickly ran into it, resisting looking back at my pursuer. It would only slow me down and get me caught in the end. I swiftly weaved through the many trees, and when the footsteps behind me faded out, I took a sharp turn to the left and quickly jumped up in a tress, landing on one of the branches and continued crawling upwards.

I'd gotten really strong physically – if you asked me anyway – and now I could do things I thought impossible before. It wasn't surprising though, not after finding out I was a Dragon; that took the cake.

I tried controlling my ragged breathing when I found a branch I liked. I breathed heavily, but quieted it down when I heard a 'Gihi' from under me. Had he found me already?

"Oi, Squirt! I thought we agreed with staying on that field. It was like a secret rule." Metallicana called out to me. I dared look down and – just my luck – he was standing right underneath me. "I know you're here, Squirt! You may as well just show yourself." He told me. I stayed silent, hoping all he was trying to do was taunt me to make some noise giving away my whereabouts. I wouldn't do that. Metallicana grunted. "A game of hide n' seek, huh? Well, two can play that game." He said before disappearing out of sight.

I breathed out heavily, he thought I wasn't there. I was saved.

Or that was what I thought until I felt something poke my shoulder. I slowly turned around and faced Metallicana, who wore a wide grin. "You thought you could hide from me, did you?" He asked. He pointed to his own nose. "I think you forgot something. Gihi."

I sighed, of course. He would be able to smell me, I forgot completely. Great. I nodded defeated. "Alright, alright, you win." I told him with a small smile. I had wanted to win this time.

Metallicana winked at me and before I could do anything to stop him, he'd thrown me over his shoulder, like when I met the Trimen in Earthland. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" I screeched. I hated when he did this. Did he get some kind of kick out of it or something?

"Gihi! Káo (No)." He told me with a snicker. I made a frustrated outburst, but gave up fighting him; he was just as stubborn as I was, maybe even more. I simply lay over his shoulder like that, waiting for him to get us out of this forest and onto the field again.

I doubted I would survive my own training at this point. If my training was to be hunted down by a crazed Dragon, I wasn't sure to survive it.

**In the clearing in Socubedo Forest **

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

The tree wooden logs stood in front of me, daring me to hit them. So I did as they urged me to. I gathered my Chaos magic in my hands and shot three thin lasers at the targets. I hit one of them in the middle on top, the other in the midsection and the last somewhere in between. I hadn't put much magic into it, that wasn't what this exercise was about, so the wood just sizzled a little, before the Chaos magic disappeared entirely.

I had been doing this for weeks, and I was getting better, if you asked me. I could hit my targets now at least. Somewhat precisely anyway.

"**Try again, Acnologia. We won't stop until you can hit those targets in the 'heads' with perfection.**" Deamunas told me. I sighed, he'd been telling me that as well. If I couldn't get this done fast, Lucy would overtake me. She was doing pretty much the same thing with her Peace magic, the only reason she hadn't already progressed further than me was because she also had many other things to train, that and she was still getting used to it. Basically she was just playing around with it. Which meant I also had a great advantage over her with the Dragon magic training.

My only training was to get used to the Dragon magic, and then keeping myself fit, which I did by taking a run every morning and at the end at the day, followed by some push-ups and other things like that. The rest of the day, I practiced my Dragon magic. It was really simple, really.

I gathered a little Chaos magic to my hands again. This time I would hit it for sure. I closed my eyes to calm myself down, I was getting riled up just thinking Lucy would be better at something she'd known for a half a month and I basically my whole life.

Ae (Yes), it was about my pride as a man, I couldn't have my girl be stronger than me, it wasn't right. _I_ was supposed to protect _her_, not the other way around.

I opened my eyes, focusing on the wood once more and got ready to fire. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" A familiar voice yelled from somewhere in the forest. I lost focus at what I was doing, my Chaos magic dissipating into nothingness. I raised a brow and looked in the direction the noise had come from. So they were at it again. Poor Lucy, being hunted down by that old fart and… Well I don't know what Metallicana was thinking, really. He was just a crazy guy, maybe we should get him checked.

Deamunas and Basuril obviously also heard the outburst. Deamunas cleared his throat. "**Okay~, now you can concentrate on your training again, Acnologia.**" He told me with a small smirk.

I glared at him. "As you wish, Master Deamunas." I said sarcastically. Ohh, that guy thought he was all high and mighty since he controlled my training.

Basuril got on his feet and beamed at Deamunas and me. "**I'll go check on Lucy!**" He said happily. I looked in confusion as he flew away. Well that one was new, he'd made it quite clear in the start he would follow my whole training. Maybe it was too boring for an eight year old. I didn't mind though, I wouldn't want to watch my training if I was eight years old either. Lucy's training was probably a little more rowdy than mine.

I smiled a little, scratch that, it was much more rowdy than mine. Judging by that scream anyway.

"**You look really creepy with that smile, you know.**" Deamunas told me with a smirk accompanying it. "**I wouldn't show that to Lucy~**" He teased.

I growled under my breath and focused on my magic again; shooting three lasers quickly at the wooden targets it hit them all around the 'chest' region, even though I was aiming for the 'head'. Which just made me growl a little louder. I _had_ to get this done!

I drew my magic to my hands again and shot again, with a little more magic than usual this time. It left three small craters in the wooden figures.

Deamunas looked at it with his brow raised. He didn't ask what I thought he would though. "**So how are things with Lucy? Have you told her yet?**" He asked casually, as if it was something we talked about frequently. It wasn't, might I add.

I dropped my magic in shock at his random question and just stared at him for a while, before continuing my training and focusing on the wooden targets once again. I shook my head. "Káo (No), I haven't told her yet." I answered him, knowing that was what both his questions meant. He was so damn curious about the two of us, it was annoying.

Deamunas sighed exasperatedly. "**You should tell her, Acnologia.**" He looked down at me. "**Maybe she feels the same for you and you can be together, you know, for real.**" He told me with a small, but genuine, smile.

I shook my head again. "I doubt it." I simply said and fired at the targets again.

I had figured it out, she had been in extremely close to Summer. Maybe even in love with him. Maybe she still was? At any case she had loved him like a close friend or brother. They had gone through all those adventures together after all, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if she did.

I girt my teeth. I wouldn't lose to that moron, I wouldn't let Lucy be hurt anymore by him! The wooden figures turned into three replicas of Summer, making my anger flare. How _dare_ he? What made him think he was allowed to do things like that?!

I gathered way too much magic in my hands and blew off Summer's head, which had turned into the usual wood as soon as my magic touched him. I had hit spot-on at every target.

Deamunas looked silently at the three figures and nodded. "**Not bad. You can tone down the magic though, it was a little much.**" He looked down at me, and was met by an intense hatred.

That idiot, I would _never_ forgive him! He had done the unforgivable, he had made Lucy suffer. He didn't deserve the love Lucy maybe still felt for him, and he never would. No matter what he did to make up for it, it wouldn't make any difference.

My magic flared up around me, making my hair stand on end - more than usual - and wave in the air. I could feel my teeth lengthen and my muscles working under my skin.

Deamunas quickly reacted. He put one of his big feet down on me and kept me down with it. He was so damn heavy. "**Calm down Acnologia. I don't know what got you so riled up, but you need to calm down now.**" He told me calmly.

I glared at him with my wild eyes. If he didn't let me go now, I would tear off his foot. _His_ head popped up in my head again and I grinded my teeth. "Summer…" I snarled at a person who wasn't even there.

He pressed his foot down and sighed. "**Alright, listen. I know you hate the guy, but you'll have to wait with killing him until you join Fairy Tail with Lucy, or whatever it is the two of you have planned.**" He told me, staring right into my eyes.

I stared right back, I wasn't about to lose to my SIC, no way in _Hell_. I was supposed to be his superior; I was supposed to be stronger than him. End of conversation.

We had that staring contest for a while until Deamunas moaned exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. I smiled victoriously; he had moved his eyes first.

My magic wasn't flaring around me anymore, I had calmed down during this little contest. He was right, I had to wait, but even then I probably couldn't kill him, or I would have the whole guild after me. Besides, even if Lucy said she didn't care for Summer anymore, I knew she still did. Although maybe not as much as before, she still did.

Deamunas removed his foot, having realized I was back to myself again. He looked down at me with an amused glint in his eyes. "**Oh how I would love to be a fly on the wall when you and Igneel's son have that confrontation.**" He smirked. Yeah, I bet he did. And I betted he wasn't the only one.

I just let it stay at that and went out into the forest again to find some new targets I could use.

**In the Socubedo Forest **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

"**I'm on my way Lucy~!**" I reassured her, even though she probably didn't hear. I wondered what the old geezer, Metallicana, was doing to her to make her scream so loudly. Was he hurting her? Or worse, was he trying to take her away from Ac-nii-chan?!

I sped up at the thought of it. I wouldn't let _anyone_ take Lucy away from Ac-nii-chan! He loved her and he _would _have her. I would make sure of that! Besides, I didn't want any other lady for my Ac-nii-chan, she was nice, pretty and had a warm smile, which I loved! That ugly old man didn't stand a chance against Ac-nii-chan though. He was just too old.

I flew on, looking down at the ground below me in hope of finding Lucy and Metallicana. "Metallicana, I can walk myself." I heard a soft voice say somewhere close. I looked up and in the direction of the voice. It could really only be Lucy.

A 'Gihi' was heard somewhere in front of me. That laugh was seriously so weird. "I know you can Squirt, you're a big girl." A gruff voice answered sarcastically. "But we can't have you running all out of spunk, now can we?" He asked, followed up by a snicker.

Yeah, it definitely only could be Lucy and the old fart. I flew in their direction and quickly spotted them. Lucy was slung over the shoulder of a big, ugly man – if you asked me anyway – who I recognized as Metallicana. She didn't seem to be very comfortable there; I could see the plate on Metallicana's shoulder bore into Lucy's stomach. She tried moving around on his shoulder, so it wouldn't irritate her so much, but it was obviously an impossible task.

"Metallicana~ your shoulder plate hurts." She whined when she figured she couldn't do anything about it. I just hovered behind them, watching their interaction for a while, it was quite entertaining to watch.

Metallicana snickered. "We're enhancing your resistance to pain, Squirt. Deal with it." He laughed with a wide smirk in his voice. I sweat dropped. He was just too lazy to get her over on the other shoulder; it was a simple excuse so he wouldn't be forced to move her around. Typical old fart.

Lucy's head dropped and she just hang like a rag doll over his shoulder. "You're not nice…" She mumbled, which only made him laugh louder.

I shook my head, he was such a meanie. Lucy was just a girl after all, she wasn't a boy. As Ac-nii-chan always told me, you don't treat girls as roughly as boys, you're more careful, because they're more fragile than boys.

I flew down in front of Lucy silently; making sure Metallicana wouldn't notice me. He was too dense to notice me though; he wouldn't be able to detect me with my ninja-skills. I made eye-contact with Lucy and when I knew she was ready, I grabbed her shirt with my teeth and swiftly pulled her up, so Metallicana wouldn't have time to react. It worked, and Lucy hung in my mouth.

Metallicana whirled around, thinking that maybe there was an attacker or something, until he spotted me, with Lucy hanging from my mouth. Both Lucy and I were smirking. It only seemed to piss Metallicana off. "Kid, put the Squirt down." He commanded. I did as he told me. On a branch high above the ground.

I hovered in the air next to her and watched Metallicana getting more and more pissed. "Get her down, kid!" He yelled at me. I shook my head and looked at Lucy. I signaled with a nod that she should get on my back. I wanted to try it too; Acnologia, Glanasile, Alodiculis and even the old fart had carried her around, now it was my turn.

Lucy nodded with that warm smile I really liked and got on my back carefully. When she had seated herself on my back I flew a little higher. I looked down at Metallicana who was fuming. I stuck my tongue out at him. "**Catch me if you can, old fart!**" I yelled after him and flew off in the direction I had come from.

I felt Lucy lean a little down towards my head. "Am I not even heavy?" She asked with surprise in her voice.

I couldn't look back at her; I knew Metallicana would be after us soon, I had to focus on where I was flying. I shook my head. What a weird question, of course she wasn't heavy. I could barely even feel her on my back. "**Káo (No), you're quite light, actually!**" I told her happily.

She sighed in relief. "That's good." She told me. I heard her growl a little under her breath. "Natsu…" She snarled lowly.

I raised my eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it. So it was something about Summer? Maybe he had told her she was heavy? I almost laughed at the thought. Then he was weak, Lucy didn't weigh much. I knew I shouldn't talk about Summer with Lucy, Ac-nii-chan told me.

I heard a roar behind me and a wide smile spread across my face. Metallicana had changed to his Dragon form; I couldn't believe how slow he was. Like, he probably just stood looking into the air for five seconds before acting.

I glanced back at Lucy, getting eye-contact with her. "**Are you ready to speed up?**" I asked with a wide smile, hoping she would say 'Ae' (Yes), because I really wanted to speed up before Metallicana bit my tail off.

Lucy nodded with a just as wide smile. "Ae (yes) give it your all!" She cheered me on. I nodded and sped up.

"**COME BACK HERE KID! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!**" Metallicana yelled behind me. Lucy's and my laugh mingled as we flew off. The wind brushed past us quickly and I enjoyed it more than anything. I looked back at Lucy to see how she was doing; she seemed to be enjoying it, with a big smile and small giggles as she turned around to look for the old fart, who was quickly getting farther and farther away.

I knew there was no way that old guy could keep up with me. I was still young and he was getting antique, really, there was just no way he would be able to keep up.

I heard Lucy's soft laugh and decided that although we had already escaped Metallicana, I would show her truly how fun it could be to fly. So far, all the tours she'd gotten on Dragon's back had been slow and boring, she needed to see how fun it could be.

I sped up a little more and looked back at her again. "**Hold on tight!**" I beamed at her. She nodded and seemingly understood what I was about to do, so she locked her arms around my neck and held on tight.

I nodded, feeling she was holding on tight enough for the fun I was going to show her. I quickly accelerated to my full speed and stretched my whole body out as far as I could and began pointing upwards.

I one swift movement, I made a loop and kept flying downwards until we almost hit the forest and quickly straightened out, flying just above the tree-tops. I heard Lucy trying to breathe and laugh at the same time. Alright, so she wasn't scared or anything, meaning we could have more fun!

I smiled widely and sped up a little again, while using the force I had gotten from flying downwards. I flew a little up so we weren't so close to the trees. I sped up again, so I could get enough force in my wings. I tilted my body a little and made a corkscrew, quickly followed up with flying directly upwards, until I'd lost basically all of the speed I'd collected.

I tilted a little again, pointing downwards and flew down in big circles, slowly gaining momentum. We began flying around in smaller and smaller circles faster and faster. At some point I felt I was about to get dizzy, so I straightened out, and made a downwards loop and flying straight again. I slowed down a little to let Lucy get her breath, which I heard she was out of just as I straightened out from the loop.

I flew, not slowly but not fast either, in a big rainbow-like half-circle with my right side to the ground, flying around more calmly, to give Lucy a whole other experience I knew she hadn't gotten either.

Soon enough, she had caught her breath again and I began speeding up and showing her my tricks once again, I twirled around in the air and made it my goal to have her laugh louder with each trick.

When I straightened out after having made a big loop, which went on a little slower than normally, I looked up to face a big, ugly chest of a big, ugly Dragon. I quickly spread my wings out wide to stop flying and stopped just before I crashed into the Dragon in front of me. "**You having fun, kid?**" I looked up into the blood-red eyes of the Dragon we had tried to escape a little while ago. He was smirking down at the two of us.

So he had caught up, had he? I nodded and beamed at him, might as well play an innocent kid. "**Ae (Yes)! I had lots of fun! What about you, Lucy?**" I asked, looking back at Lucy over my shoulder. When my eyes met hers, I winked, which made her giggle softly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I had fun Basuril. Thank you." She smiled at me.

Metallicana sighed and shook his head. "**Alright, kid, go back to the Brat and Squirt your training with Alodiculis is starting soon.**" He ordered plainly. I sweat dropped at all the nicknames he had given people; I almost didn't understand what he had said. AND WHO WAS HE CALLING A BRAT?! Ac-nii-chan WASN'T a brat!

I nodded with a wide smile, trying to piss the Dragon off. "**'Kay, I'll go now. See ya' old fart!**" I told him as I flew off in the direction of where Ac-nii-chan and Deamunas was.

Metallicana coughed behind me, trying to get my attention. I ignored him, knowing what he was going to say. "**Hey, Kid. Don't you think you **_**forgot**_** something?**" He asked me loudly. I looked back at him with a fake confused expression and shook my head. I turned my head, making sure he would see the smirk that spread on my face. Lucy giggled on my back. I sped up, trying my best to get away from the now pissed Dragon. "**YOU GET BACK HERE KID!**" He yelled loudly after me and followed me.

I just laughed at him and sped up even more. He still couldn't follow, he was too old. I felt Lucy lock her arms around my neck once again, and with that I dove down in the forest, knowing that big Dragon wouldn't be able to weave past the trees the same way I could. I flew as fast as I dared with Lucy on my back and down amidst the trees.

Not long after, I saw the light of the clearing and slowed down a little, I didn't want to crash into Deamunas as soon as I entered the clearing. I couldn't hear Metallicana behind us, so I leisurely landed on the ground and walked the rest of the way into the clearing.

Ac-nii-chan was still doing the same he was when I left to find Lucy and Metallicana. Hitting targets. Although he had gotten much better now. He hit the heads of the wooden poles every time, although not in the middle, like Deamunas wanted him to. I wondered what had changed.

Deamunas was snoring loudly at the other side of the clearing; apparently he'd been so bored he fell asleep.

Lucy got up in a more normal sitting position and her hands moved to the side of my neck, petting me lightly, probably not realizing what she was doing. "Thank you Basuril, it was fun. I think I have to go with Metallicana next time he comes for me though." She said with a small laugh.

I laughed with her, it was fun to piss the old fart off, I should do that more often. "**Yeah, it was fun.**" I agreed.

"Lucy?" I heard Ac-nii-chan call from across the field, looking incredulously at Lucy and me. I did expect that expression, Lucy had never been on my back and she hadn't been visiting Ac-nii-chan while he was training; she would be too busy with her own.

She looked up and caught sight of Ac-nii-chan. "Acnologia! Hi!" She smiled and waved. Then she decided it was time to get off my back, so she slid down and stretched her muscles.

Ac-nii-chan raised an eyebrow and looked alternately at her and me. "Why are you here? And what have you been up to?" He asked suspiciously.

I just shrugged and Lucy beamed at him, which just made him more suspicious. He would understand soon enough though.

"**KID!**" Metallicana's voice thundered from somewhere in the forest close by.

I quickly moved to hide behind Deamunas who had groggily woken up from Metallicana's yell. Lucy had also quickly hid behind Ac-nii-chan, who looked slightly flustered at the way she held his arms and pressed her body into him. I snickered; they just looked so cute over there. They should really soon just tell each other, it was obvious.

The old fart pulled me out of my thoughts. "**GET BACK HERE, NOW!**" He yelled loudly and he crushed several trees as he entered the clearing with a vein about to pop and his right eye twitching in anger. I was just about to break into a fit of laughter but kept it in, not wanting to reveal my hiding spot just yet.

Metallicana looked like a bomb just about to explode as he scanned the area. His eyes landed on Lucy and Ac-nii-chan before Deamunas and me. His anger seemed to dissipate and he sweat dropped. "**Squirt…**" He called out to her, she didn't budge from behind Ac-nii-chan. "**I can see you.**" He told her slowly and looked at Lucy.

Lucy let go of Ac-nii-chan – which he didn't seem to appreciate – and walked out next to him, having everyone's eyes on her. "Ae (Yes), what is it, Metallicana?" She asked sweetly, trying to charm her way with the old Dragon.

He raised an eyebrow, understanding what she was trying to do. "**That won't work on me, Squirt.**" He smirked and stalked towards her. And, faster than anyone would be able to react, he had grabbed Lucy's shirt with his teeth, in the same fashion I had earlier. Probably just to show off. Every Chaos Dragon looked at the old fart in astonishment. How had he done that so fast? "**If you'll excuse me, I have to get Squirt to her training.**" He said, his words muffled by the girl he held, faking a nice smile.

It took Lucy a second to realize what situation she was in. When she did though, she squirmed around in his grip. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" She screamed at him, making all of our ears hurt. She even cringed herself at the loud tone of her voice.

The old fart shook his head. "**Káo (No), I'm not taking any more chances with you, Squirt.**" He said with an amused grin as he turned around and began walking into the forest again. He waved to the three of us, who were still too stunned to make a move, with his tail. Metallicana, that big mountain of a Dragon, could move faster than our eyes could follow. "**I'll see you boys some other time.**" He said, spread his wings and flew away with a protesting silver-haired girl hanging from his teeth.

The three of us stared at the direction they had disappeared into for a while, just staring at - mainly Metallicana's - disappearing form. Deamunas was the first to react. "**What just happened?**" He slowly asked, still staring at the sky. At the rapidly disappearing two people, you could still faintly hear all Lucy's protests, saying she wanted to come down or at least sit on his back, to which he refused every time.

Ac-nii-chan also looked after the two. "I really don't know." He muttered, looking like he desperately wanted to follow the two wherever they were going. I snickered at his expression. It was so funny watching Ac-nii-chan act that way.

They both turned their attention to me as I snickered. I looked from one to another, suddenly feeling their gazes on me. "**What?**" I asked confusedly. Why were they looking at me that way?

Ac-nii-chan walked towards Deamunas - who I was still hiding behind - and me, looking straight at me. "What have you been up to, Basuril?" He repeated the same question he had asked Lucy and me a little while ago.

I looked nervously at him. Uh-uh, Ac-nii-chan might be mad now. "**I, uhh…**" I trailed off. He urged me on with his eyes. I gave up trying to hide it and began explaining. "**I might have-**"

**Okay, so this was more of a filler-chapter than anything else. And it was short too. I know, you're all waiting for the guild to find out, and now you don't have to wait much longer, it'll be up next chapter. Juuust a simple week. Think you can survive?**

**A shout-out to my 'regulars'; mjb379, clumzybeans and 00halfblood! Thank you for your damn good support! ^_^**

**Thank you Key Phantomhive, mjb379, clumzybeans, madreader19, aristofthemind, guest (Guest), Eeveexme, 00halfblood, Night-Shadow Child, HopeHeartfillia, artisicdaydreamer, Amethystfairy1, Kelaeria, violet tsubaki, Jennosaur, FT LOVER (Guest), Spotify, MoonStar1312, ariados26, nikoneko123, ShiroHollow96, Beckweet, Selinae2014, ExDragon, RasberryNekoalmada20005, blackmagic0203, WendyMarvell123, googlygummybears232, fairychime-diamond47 and all you other readers for EVERYTHING! ^_^ Wonderful people.**

**~ Line464d**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**The chapter we've all been waiting for, huh? Well, good reading guys. You're in for a surprise, I'm just saying. And I think you might like it. I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: It's getting hard to make excuses up for Slowpoke still owning Fairy Tail. But I'll get it one day… I swear.**

**At the Train Station in Magnolia - A pair of weeks after Lucy's encounter with the Trimen**

**Hibiki's P.O.V**

I stepped out of the train, having reached Magnolia. The other Trimen, excluding Ichiya, and I had finally gotten some time off. Since the suspicious encounter with Lucy in Maletame, we'd wanted to pay a visit to Fairy Tail and find out why she didn't have the Fairy Tail insignia on her hand.

That little encounter with her and her friends had been etched into the back of my mind, I just couldn't forget it. The scene kept replaying in my head over and over again, it was so suspicious. There was something critical I missed, and it nagged me. I never missed anything. I was Hibiki Lates, after all.

"Are you coming, Hibiki?" Eve asked and pulled me out of my thoughts. I nodded and caught up to him and Ren. The streets of Magnolia were buzzing with people as always, if anything, they were even more busy that usual, with the S-Class Exam coming up soon.

Which also raised some questions, if Lucy wasn't in the guild, which her lack of insignia suggested, what was going on in Fairy Tail?

We walked across the streets, trying to come through all the people. It proved to be hard, for some reason everyone chose today to go shopping. Just my luck.

After trying to get through the crazy hordes of people, we finally reached the guild. There was a lot of noise coming from in there, but not the kind of noise that usually came from there, this was more like many people gathered at one place, waiting for someone or something.

I walked up to the guild with my two friends silently following me. The noise only grew the closer we came, but it was the wrong kind of noise. For Fairy tail anyway. They were supposed to be battling it out and drinking like no tomorrow, not… This. There was something up.

"Get out of my way! Coming through! Move your fat ass mister!" A female voice with a sharp edge cut through every other voice, and growing louder and at last a little, round lady in a dress sitting too tight and weird hair stood at the gate up to the Fairy Tail guild. She spotted the three of us and walked up to us, handing us a letter. "You, mages of Fairy Tail, give this to your master or something." She said as she turned around and walked towards the crowds again.

I tried running after her, but she got lost in the crowd. "Wait! But we're not Fairy Tail mages!" I yelled after her, she didn't hear anything, although we could easily hear her sharp voice through all the noise. I sweat dropped. Well, nothing to do about it, I just had to deliver it to Master Makarov myself then. I turned the letter and inspected it. Well, it was a letter and a package with it. I looked at the letter, there was something written on it with a beautiful handwriting. '_To the guild_' it simply said. I didn't recognize the handwriting on it, but somehow knew it was important. I looked at the package, it was assigned to Levy. I turned to my two friends. "Ren, Eve, we have a package to deliver to Master Makarov." I declared.

They nodded simultaneously and we kicked open the door, in real Fairy Tail-fashion. All eyes turned to us, just as I had expected them to. "Where's Master Makarov? I have something for him." I asked the now somewhat silent guild members. They all seemed to be here.

Erza stepped forward with firm steps and a smile playing at her lips. "Hibiki. It's nice to see you." She told me.

Oh so it is, is it? I hurried over to her, took her hand and brought it to my lips. "The pleasure is all mine." I told her with a smile of my own. I waved the letter and package in the air. "Master Makarov?" I repeated.

She nodded and pointed up at the second floor. "He's up there in his office, we're all waiting for him right now." She told me.

I looked from the second floor and back at Erza. Maybe I should ask her. Who would know more about the situation than Erza? "Yeah, I see you're all here." I said and looked around at the people, to emphasize my words. "What is this all about, Erza?" I asked her, knowing she would understand what I meant.

She looked at me for a little while before shrugging her armored shoulders. "None of us knows, Hibiki. Master has some revelation for us before we leave for Tenrou." Erza explained.

I nodded. Would Master Makarov really tell them Lucy had left just before the S-Class Exam? Wasn't that a little cruel? "Thank you Erza, I'll find your Master." I looked down at the package and remembered one of them was for Levy. I looked up at the beautiful warrior in front of me. "Say, Erza. Do you know where Levy is?" I asked.

Erza's smiled again and she nodded. She pointed to a table at the corner of the guild, near the bar. "Yes, she's over there at the bar, reading." She told me.

I thanked her and went over to Levy. When I stood just behind her, she still hadn't noticed me, so I poked her shoulder, making her jump in her seat and face me. "Hibiki! You surprised me! What are you doing here?" She asked me.

I gave her my usual charming smile. "I have a package for you, beautiful." I told her, making her blush in the meantime. I handed her the package, which seemed spark some confusion in her. I was sure she would figure out soon though. "I will go find your master, see you another time." I spoke to deaf ears; Levy was all caught up in her new package, trying to figure out who it was from.

I went up the stairs to the second floor and found Makarov's office. I knocked a pair of times at the door and heard a muffled 'come in' from in there. I opened the door slowly, feeling the gloomy aura hanging around the office. Master Makarov seemed to have something serious on his mind, most likely whatever he was going to tell the guild soon.

I smiled at the old man, trying to lighten the mood. "Hi Master Makarov." I greeted him and walked up to his desk.

He looked up at me with a small smile, that didn't seem quite genuine. "Hello Hibiki. What brings you to my guild?" He asked with a deflated voice. Something was so wrong and it was so obvious.

I smiled at him again. "Oh, I got this letter at the entrance of the guild, some lady thought I was a member and asked for me to bring it to you." I told him and put the letter on the desk.

When he saw the letter he turned even gloomier, which was highly unusual for that almost always cheery and happy guild master he usually was. He reached out for the letter and touched the handwriting. "Lucy…" He whispered lowly, barely even audible to me.

I nodded, so it was for Lucy. Was I right then? "Yes, there was something I wanted to ask you regarding Lucy, Master Makarov." I told him. He slowly looked up at me and nodded for me to continue. "Well, you see. I met her two weeks ago and-" I was cut off by the man himself.

Makarov brightened up and looked attentively at me. "You met Lucy? How was she? She wasn't hurt right?" He asked rapidly.

I shook my head. "No she wasn't hurt. She seemed to be fine, with some friends I believe. But Master, why would you feel the need to ask those questions? Has Lucy…" I looked back at the door which stood wide-open. I quickly went over and shut the door, before returning to him. "Has she left the guild?" I asked, placing myself in one of the chairs across him, demanding answers and refusing to leave until I got them.

He sighed in relief and nodded. "That's good." He looked up at me, with unshed tears in his eyes. "Yes, my boy, she has left the guild, and since you met her, I'm sure you know already, and really just wanted clarification." He stated.

I smiled at him and nodded. It was always good to be praised like that from one of the Ten Great Wizards Saints. "Yes, that's right. I had concluded that since she didn't have the Fairy Tail mark. Could you tell me what happened?" I asked genuinely curious.

He nodded, his smile disappearing completely. "Yeah. Since we returned from Edolas, Lisanna slowly took Lucy's place on Team Natsu and in everyone's hearts. At least those of us who were here when she disappeared. There was a few who still noticed Lucy, greeted her and talked to her, those were; Wendy, Carla, Juvia, Gajeel and Pantherlily." He muttered.

I gaped at him. How horrible, and then Lucy of all people, she was so sensitive to that kind of things. Her best friend too. I would have left too if the Trimen began ignoring me too.

Master Makarov continued though. He wasn't done? Wasn't it bad enough already? "Lucy stayed though, even though she only had a few to talk to. She got close to those five though, but that's beside the point. One day, that fateful one day a month ago, Team Natsu kicked her off, telling her she was too weak and always had been a replacement for Lisanna." I moved a hand to my mouth and rested my elbow on my knee. This was awful. Poor girl. "Lucy couldn't take more then. The next day, she came into the guild early in the morning and asked to get her guild mark removed. She's out training right now, getting stronger so she feels she can come back to the guild and not be a burden to all of us." He told me.

I inhaled sharply. That was a bad one. How could Natsu? I thought Nakama was so precious to him, how could he throw one off his team and hurt her so much? What was going on around here. I had vain this feeling that it wasn't even the whole story. I nodded to the Fairy Tail master. "I see. That's awful, I feel so bad for Lucy." I thought back to the day two weeks ago. "It was weird though, she seemed so happy around those friends she was with." I said, mostly to myself.

Makarov looked at me expectantly. "Hibiki, these friends you speak of, do you remember their names?" He asked a little eager. I smiled at the old man, he was probably glad Lucy had found new friends and was happy, while it probably also hurt him.

I nodded. "Yeah one of them was called Haeana, another Haupa and the last… Kapura." I said at last. Yes, those were the names. Suddenly Master Makarov burst out laughing, literally rolling around on the floor. I looked down at him with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. What about this situation was so funny? "Sorry for asking, but what is it that is so funny?" I asked. This situation seemed so grave and serious to me, not something you burst out laughing at.

He looked at me from his spot on the floor with a wide smile. "Oh, it's nothing Hibiki, just an old man remembering weird things." He reassured me.

I looked skeptically at him before getting up from my seat. "Well, I'll fetch my team and then we'll head back to our guild." I told him, to which he just nodded and smiled a little by himself.

Just as I went through the door I heard a low mutter behind me. "Iron and fire, huh?" Master Makarov asked no one in particular. I shook my head, not understanding what he was referring to. I closed the door and went down the stairs, finding the other Trimen preoccupied with tending to ladies.

I went to the two of them. "Ren, Eve, were going back home now." I told them. I got their attention and they walked up to me, following me out of the guild. "I'll tell you when we're out of here." I reassured them and went out of the guild, with the two of them following me closely behind.

**At the bar~**

**Levy's P.O.V**

I wondered what was in this package I got from Hibiki. Who would be sending such a package for me? I looked at the neat handwriting at the front of it. It was familiar to me, somehow, but I just didn't recognize it.

I ragged my brain for any clue as to who it could be from and who had that familiar handwriting. I was cut off when Master walked out of his office and stood on the railing of the staircase. "BRATS!" He yelled loudly, getting everyone's attention. When he was sure everyone was looking at him, he continued. "I have a letter from one of our previous guild members to all of you." He told us.

One of our previous guild members? Could it be Mystogan? Or was it someone way back?

I looked towards the table where my S-Class partner and the other four sat at the gloomy table, as we called it. They all seemed so gloomy and sad all the time, no one really wanted to catch whatever train they were on, so we mostly stayed away. Which they seemed to prefer themselves too.

Now though, they weren't the same gloomy as they used to, it was another where they listened attentively at what Master was about to say, as if they already knew what it was all about, and that it would hurt.

I looked back up at the Master, waiting for him to continue. Which he then did. "I don't feel like I should be reading it, so… Gajeel, can you come up here and read it for all of us?" He asked Gajeel. I was surprised with the person he had chosen to call up. Everyone was. Gajeel? Why had he chosen Gajeel of all people? Mystery upon mystery.

Gajeel nodded solemnly, but with a hint of his usual smirk. "Sure, Ojii." He told everyone and got up from his seat and stalked up next to Master. He took the letter which was extended to him and opened it slowly, adding to the dramatic effect. He pulled out the paper inside and began reading. "_Hello Everyone. I'm a little disappointed in you guys, especially Erza, Gray, Happy and, more than anyone else, you Natsu._" Gajeel started off, sending a glance in Natsu's direction. The Fire Dragon slayer was standing looking extremely confused just like the rest of us. "_I had thought that I had a true Nakama in Fairy Tail, one I could count on to always back me up and help me whenever I went through hard times. One which shared my pain. However…_" Gajeel paused a little as if it was himself who had written it and knew how it was all supposed to be said. "_I was wrong. This time, it was actually the guild which pushed me out in the hard time and didn't do much to help me back. Except six people of course, better not forget them. And I can't be more grateful to Master Makarov - or just Makarov as it is to me now -, Juvia, Carla, Wendy, Pantherlily and most of all Gajeel. My best friend_." I furrowed my eyebrows. This person sounded like a girl, who was she? Who was Gajeel's _best friend_? "_Obviously, I have left the guild; I'm off training now, as you told me to. I am too weak, as you said, but I'll return stronger than ever. You won't even be able to recognize me. I hope you, Team Natsu, have found this letter on my table in the middle of my apartment, but in case you haven't visited me, the landlady promised me if you guys hadn't been by and seen the letter, she would bring it to the guild. You had a month. Well, I have to go now; I have a train to catch, although I have no idea where I'm supposed to go. Just know that I loved all of you and trusted you and that you betrayed that love and trust. I can't promise how I'll be like when I return, but I'll be back, that I _can _promise._" Gajeel looked up from the letter and around at all of us. "Do any of you have any idea who has written this letter?" He asked, his gaze lingering on the members of Team Natsu a little longer than any other Fairy Tail member. When no one answered, he crushed the letter in his hands and looked disgusted around at all of us. "None of you knows who wrote this letter? Can't you recognize it?" He asked. He met silence once again. Now he just looked plain pissed. "It's Lucy, goddammit!" I widened my eyes and everyone in the guild seemed to inhale sharply. "Lucy Heartfilia, you know?! Our friggin' _previous_ guild member! _PREVIOUS_." He repeated.

I felt tears build up in my eyes and covered my face in my head. Lu-chan? She had left the guild? She thought she was too weak? Why? What had I done? Had I pushed Lu-chan away? When? When had I last seen her? I couldn't remember…

Master Makarov cleared his throat again. "Thank you Gajeel, you may sit again." He told the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Gajeel glared at all of us. "Do you know when she was in the guild last? Do you?" He asked. "It was a month ago!" He yelled at us. I looked up at him. No… "You haven't thought about her even _once_ in a whole _month_." He stated. "What kind of guild mates _are_ you?" He asked as he went back down at his seat with Wendy, Juvia, Pantherlily and Carla, who was also glaring around at the guild.

I looked over at them, they had all known about this, but hadn't said anything, probably because Lu-chan hadn't wanted them to.

Master spoke again. "I'm very disappointed in you brats. This is not how we treat our guild members; this is not how Fairy Tail works. We don't ignore people or tell them they're weak, we help them get stronger so they won't feel weak unnecessarily. We all share the pain, the love, the despair and the happiness; we don't let people carry it around all by themselves." He told all of us, looking around at the members of his guild. "There are only five people here who have understood this, and that's why I have made a little change, which will affect all of you. The new S-Class candidates are as follows; Gajeel, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Pantherlily and Cana." He announced. Everyone, even the five new candidates almost dropped their jaws to the floor. "They are the only ones who are worthy of being S-Class members as I see it right now. You all have something to learn from them." He looked at Cana, who was drinking booze. "Well some of them. Cana's only still a candidate because she had been on many missions since our return as has been drinking herself out cold whenever she was home." He sweat dropped. He looked around at us again. "We'll go tomorrow." He declared to us all.

Not many paid any mind to the Master's last words, it was all forgotten behind the other, much bigger news. Everyone was crying, now realizing what they had done to the blonde Celestial mage. I cried into my hands, I had been such an awful friend. I knew who that package was from and what was in it too. It was from Lu-chan and it was the novel she had finished while she was being ignored - it wasn't hard to figure out.

"I KNEW IT!" Gray yelled above everyone else, drawing everyone's attention, he had tears running down his face. How did he know? He turned to Natsu and stalked towards him. "YOU ARE SO GODDAMN _STUPID_! That mission we took, remember? The one in Saraj?" Gray asked Natsu, who nodded weakly. Gray grabbed the collar of Natsu's shirt and pulled it a little, making Natsu barely stand on his toes. "Who do you think the sweet scent and the cat scent belonged to?" He asked furiously. I looked confused between the two, what was going on here?

Natsu slowly nodded, looking lost in thought. It really shouldn't be that hard, considering the main topic of the day. But this was Natsu, so of course he couldn't figure it out at first. Then his face brightened up in realization. "Ohh, right. The cat and the sweet scent? Well the sweet scent was Lucy's and the cat was…" He trailed off. He sent Gray a big, wide grin with teeth showing. "I don't remember!" He exclaimed.

A tick mark appeared on Gray's forehead and he glared at his friend/rival. "You are so goddamn STUPID Natsu! Don't you realize the cat was Loke?!" Gray yelled in his face. "Why weren't you able to recognize your best friends' scent?!" He yelled right into the other mages face.

Natsu looked stunned at him, then adopted a scowl and an entirely different aura around him. "You're wrong." He told him plainly. Gray looked confusedly at Natsu, who took the silence as a cue to continue. "You're wrong about Lucy being my best friend." Natsu said.

I looked stunned at him. What had happened to Natsu? Why was he acting like this? Everyone else were in tears, yet there he stood, almost smirking.

Gajeel got on his feet, also wearing a wide smirk. He and the other four had known beforehand of course, so they hadn't been affected much by the letter, as they had already been crying what they had needed to. "Damn right she isn't!" He smirked victoriously at the salmon haired Dragon Slayer. Natsu - and everyone else - looked at Gajeel with a confused expression. Why would he say that? And with the smirk too. "'Cause she's my best friend now!" He smirked at Natsu and laughed his trademark grin. Gajeel was Lu-chan's best friend? Seriously, what was going on? The letter had said that she considered him her best friend, but I didn't know it went the other way back too.

Natsu, still being held up by the collar by Gray, just looked blankly at the other Dragon Slayer. Slowly a smirk formed on his lips. "Heh, as if I care." I widened my eyes at him. What did he say? There was almost completely silence in the guild, if you ignored the many sobs and hiccups from the many crying people. Almost everyone was staring at Natsu now. Natsu looked at Lisanna who was sitting on one of the benches with one leg over the other, looking like she was trying to make herself as sexy as possible and sending Natsu a seductive smile. I widened my eyes even more at her. What…? Who was that? It wasn't the Lisanna I knew. "She is." He said, sending a toothy smile to Lisanna, ignoring Gray completely.

I stared alternately at the two of them. Something was seriously wrong here. None of them should be acting this way. It was all wrong. What could have happened to make them act this way?

In the meantime, Gray grabbed Natsu's collar tighter and glared right into his eyes. "YOU…! How can you _say_ something like _that_ at a time like _this_?!" He snarled right into the other boys' face. "How could you do this to Lucy?" he asked, getting angrier and angrier with every word.

He was just about to continue his rant, when someone else cut him off. "Are you really any better, Gray?" An authoritative voice asked hoarsely. I looked at Erza, who had tears running down both of her eyes, even the 'fake' one. "You ignored her too. You also forgot her. Although you had noticed she wasn't around, you didn't pay her a visit to check if everything was okay. You didn't tell Natsu, Lisanna and me it was Lucy back then in Saraj. So is what Natsu's been doing really all that different from what you've been doing yourself?" She asked him flat out.

Gray widened his eyes and shook his head, grabbing his hair in frustration. He chanted lowly for himself, reassuring himself he wasn't anything like Natsu or had done anything as bad as he had. He had though, and he knew it. Which only seemed to make him even more frustrated. "No, no, NO!" He muttered to himself. I wondered if maybe Gray had lost his sanity.

Erza looked back at Natsu, sending a quick glance at Lisanna. She frowned, a tear trailing down her cheek. "That doesn't mean I like what the two of you are doing, though. What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?" She asked the two of them. She didn't know either? Who _did_ know what was going on?

Gajeel stood up and glared at Erza. "What makes you think you are better than the two of them, _Titania_?" He asked mockingly, while still glaring at the S-Class mage.

Erza looking straight into his eyes for a second before dropping her head and shaking it. "I'm not, I'm just as bad as they are. I should have realized Lucy was in pain and I should have helped her through it, instead of pushing her away." Erza told him with a trembling voice, yet it was still firm as ever. She looked up at Natsu again. "Please answer Natsu." She asked him. She, like everyone else, wanted to know what the pink-haired idiot was thinking.

Natsu rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. "Lucy had always been a replacement for Lisanna." He said plainly. I couldn't believe my ears. Was this really Natsu? The hyperactive guy who would do anything to protect any member of the guild? Natsu looked back at Lisanna with a soft smile. "She's too weak; she's dragging the guild down, which Lisanna is not." He told Erza without even looking at her.

No one said anything as he went to the white-haired girl and sat next to her, grabbing her hand triumphantly. I wondered why Master wasn't saying anything about this whole thing, I looked up at the railing, where he had been standing and found that he had retreated into his office.

The sobs and hiccups echoed through the guild hall and occasionally people would send Natsu and Lisanna death-glares. Since they didn't seem to be sad about Lu-chan leaving, they were the ones who got all the blame.

Out of nowhere, Wendy got up from her seat in the corner with the other S-Class candidates - except Cana - and stalked towards unsuspecting Natsu and Lisanna with a beyond furious expression on her face. She stopped right in front of the two on the bench, her small hands on her hips.

**Meanwhile outside the guild~**

**Someone's P.O.V**

"Cooooool~" I muttered lowly. Fairy Tail had completely forgotten my appointment, but that didn't matter in the lights of what was happening now in there. I turned around to my men. "We know what kind of cool stuff we're writing in the next magazine." I looked around at them as they looked back at me. "It may not be an interview with the members, but these recent news are much cooler!" I said excitedly. I gestured for my crew to follow me as we crept away from the guild.

Ooh, I would get some cool news this time.

**Wendy's P.O.V**

"Natsu-san! Who do you think you are?" I asked my 'fellow' Dragon Slayer. How could he just say something like that so casually and think he would just get away with it?! He sure wouldn't. I looked straight into his onyx eyes with determination.

He looked up at me with a bored expression. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel - a fire Dragon - and a guild member of Fairy Tail, part of Team Natsu." He introduced himself.

I clenched my fists. I really hoped this was a joke, because if not, he was denser than I thought. Much denser actually. But right now wasn't the time to test my patience; my fuse was _really_ short at the moment. "You _know _that's not what I meant." I fumed in anger. He was really beginning to piss me of royally.

He raised an eyebrow in thought. Then his face brightened. Hopefully in realization. "Oh, so in _that_ way? Well, you have to agree with me, Lucy's weak, she doesn't deserve to be in the guild.  
It'll be good for her with the training; she needs it." Natsu calmly stated.

I looked at him in wonder. Who was this guy? He wasn't Natsu, that was for sure. He was someone else, someone I didn't want to know. I watched in utter disgust as he turned his head to Lisanna and whispered something in her ear, making her giggle softly.

That was the last straw for me. He just sat there, smiling and laughing, when the rest of the guild was in a deep grief, when it was just announced that his former best friend, a person he had spent a whole lot of time with, had left the guild.

That was it. I raised my hand while he wasn't looking, gathered my Sky magic around it, and shot it forward, aiming for the moron's face to give him the slap of his life. I hit him right at the cheek, forcing his head to jolt to the left, away from Lisanna. The sound of skin meeting skin reverberated through the silent guild, drawing the attention of those who wasn't already looking at the argument. He held his breath and looked at me with a wide eye at the edge of his eyeball, not daring to say anything.

I pulled back my hand. That actually hurt. That idiot just had to have such a hard face. I looked down on my palm, it was a little red, Natsu's face was red as well and he looked at me with a shocked expression. Alongside the rest of the guild.

I glared right into Natsu's eyes, determined not to show any weakness. Lisanna looked at me with an equally shocked expression, then turned to Natsu and widened her eyes even more, if possible. She glared at me angrily. "Wendy! Why did you _do_ that?!" She asked me furiously.

I didn't take my eyes from Natsu, who had gotten the message and was glaring right back at me. "Because neither he nor you or anyone else will be badmouthing Lucy when I'm around! No one!" I told her, my voice growing with each word. I narrowed my eyes at Natsu, who kept on staring back, with a drop of sweat trailing down his forehead. "No one will insult my _nee_-_san_ on my watch!" I yelled at Natsu's face, even though it was directed to the whole guild. Even shocking myself by calling Lucy-san my nee-san, but it was true nonetheless. She was always there, always caring, always smiling, just like a big sister.

The guild kept silent at my words and waited for the outcome of Natsu's and my little match. Finally, Natsu turned his head away and looked down in shame. A small victorious smile appeared on my face. I couldn't believe it, I had defeated Natsu in a stare-off.

"Gihi! Good job, Wendy!" Gajeel-kun said just behind me, appearing out of nowhere, and putting a hand on my head, ruffling my hair. I looked up and into his usually intimidating red eyes, now though, they were friendly and warm to me and I smiled widely. He grinned back and added another of his weird laughs and we walked back to where we usually sat, at the corner of the guild at a round table.

Juvia-san smiled up at me and so did Carla and Pantherlily, I smiled back at them, knowing that they were congratulating me without words. It had long been my wish to get stronger, now I beat Natsu in a stare-off, so I was getting stronger one way or another.

I sat down on the seat I had been sitting on before the episode with Natsu. Juvia-san put her elbows on the table and supporting her chin with her hands. "Juvia can't believe she's an S-Class candidate!" She said dreamily. "Juvia is so happy!" She added in the end.

I nodded. It was a surprise to suddenly be an S-Class candidate. Although I was ready in the Master's eyes, I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for something like that myself.

Carla also nodded. "Yes, I'm happy too. But I can't help but wonder how I could be an S-Class mage. I'm an Exceed, not a human, I don't have any magic like you do." She thought out loud. I looked at her, she was right, she didn't have any magic to fight with, what would she do? Maybe the Master hadn't thought this through and just decided on the spot. I sweat dropped at the thought. It might actually have been something like that.

Pantherlily looked at the crying guild with a thoughtful expression. "We'll still need partners, won't we?" He finally asked. The whole table looked at him. What if we did? There weren't anyone in the guild we would really _want_ to team up with at the moment, and they all seemed heartbroken. I looked over at the Raijinshuu, wondering if they had joined the crowd of crying people. They were sitting at their usual table.

My eyes widened, I couldn't believe my eyes. Even Bixlow-san had a tear trailing down his chin, although hidden behind his helmet. His puppets were flying around in circles over his head, all with sad expressions.

Well… That was unusual. I looked back at Pantherlily and nodded. "Yeah we probably do, but who are we going to choose?" I asked. I myself had no idea who I should be teaming up with. Although, as long as it wasn't a member of Team Natsu, I would be okay.

Carla scratched the back of her head. "I would have teamed up with Cana originally, but she's still a candidate. I need to team up with someone with great fighting skills, to match my own strengths." She thought out loud.

Pantherlily nodded. "Yes…" He trailed off and looked around at the depressed guild members.

Gajeel snorted. "Shouldn't we just team up with the ones we were originally partners with? We've trained with these people, know their strengths and weaknesses." He glanced at me. "Wendy and Mest. Lily and Gray. Juvia and Lisanna. Levy and me." He looked at Carla. "And you could team up with Freed or Bixlow or someone." He closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. "Just pick some of those who would have come to the Exam before this." He told us.

We all looked at him for a while in silence. Juvia straightened her back. "Juvia is sorry, but Juvia doesn't want to team up with Lisanna at the moment." She said with a serious expression. I nodded in understanding. Honestly, who would want to team up with Lisanna at this point? None of us really knew her, and she hadn't left the brightest impression on us.

Gajeel sighed exasperatedly. "Right, right. Juvia team up with Bixlow then, you should complement each other somewhat and Carla with Freed, same to you. Besides, they aren't so bad." He looked down at Pantherlily. "Are you fine with Gray, Lily?" He asked. I looked up at the gruff man next to me. Who knew he would have the mind to find people fitting with each other ability-wise in so little time?

Pantherlily nodded. "Yeah, he's fine." He said.

Gray. He seemed to be the one of the members of Team Natsu who was suffering the most of the loss. Apparently, by what I could understand of the argument earlier, he had also partly figured out Lucy had left the guild, or at least noticed her lack of presence. Although he didn't do anything about it. On the other hand, he hadn't had so much time to do it either, this whole month had basically been spent with training for the Exam on his part.

Gajeel got up from his seat with a grunt. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, then we'll see what happens." He said with a smirk and waved back to us as he went to the bar where a crying Levy sat.

I looked as he left and spotted Mest standing near the stairs, staring out into space with a weird expression. I nodded to myself and waved at my friends. "I'll go ask Mest if he wants to team up with me, see you later!" I said with a little smile and went to the big man with the many scars on his face.

The guild had spread out in smaller groups during our little conversation. Some crying - mainly girls and Elfman - some talking each other with sad expressions or calming down the crying ones. So it was simple to cross the guild, there weren't really any people to pass.

When I reached Mest's side, he was still spacing out and hadn't noticed me coming his way. "Mest." I said to get his attention. He didn't react to my voice. Didn't even blink. "Mest." I called again. He didn't do anything this time either to indicate he had heard me. "Mest!" I said loudly next to him. This pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked at me with a confused expression. I just continued, not waiting for him to give any response. "Would you like to team up with me in the S-Class exam like we originally would?" I asked him with a smile.

He looked plainly at me for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that would be wonderful, Wendy." He said.

I smiled wider at him. "Thank you! I'll see you tomorrow!" I waved at him and went for the guild doors, which had been repaired a while back. I was getting tired after the long day and needed some rest, I would go back to Fairy Hills and get the rest so I would be ready for the S-Class exam.

Maybe I could be an S-Class mage?

**Alright. This was the chapter you guys had hoped for. Were you surprised? Well, next chapter I will…. I don't know actually, you'll just have to wait and see ^_^ No… I might actually know. Uuhh, look forward to it. - I was just joking. I have no idea .-.**

**And what did you think of the little sneaky someone? Can you figure out who it was? I bet you can!**

**Thanks to mjb379, Guest, clumzybeans, TwiSparkle001, ScarlettSHERShadow, TSUKIKO CHILD FO THE MOON, kawaiikitty111, orangeandblackpanda, Guest, Le Magic Taco, Ki05596, LucyXHeartifiliaXFan, aristofthemind, Amethystfairy1, Chubby P4nda, Dakrverger1, KillerCupcakes, Guest, kittykat5811, FT LOVER (Guest), Shikiola, sticy17, Gale-of-Time, Neko-chan290, DystopianKitKat, MoonStar1312, Mistress of All, ForeverGirl7680, Sky (Guest), ShadowBlackRose01, ShadowFrost18, OtakuLover43, laumirot, Lindzii, Drath Lex, Shawsky, Winter Kitsu and all you other readers for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing! I love you guys! **

**~Line464d**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**200 reviews! You guys are AMAZING! I can't thank you enough. As a 'thank you', here is another chapter! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: No need to ask, I still do not own Fairy Tail or anything about it. **

**At the guild Fairy Tail, Earthland - The next day~**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

Makarov stood on the railing and looked down at the S-Class candidates and their partners with the remaining three S-Class mages by his side. Gildarts had even shown up for the occasion. I had picked Levy again, of course. It was easier that way _and_ I would probably get to fight more, since she was not the biggest fighter around. Wendy had chosen Mest again. Lily had asked Gray, who had asked the cat if he was serious, if he still wanted to be teamed up with him. Lily had answered that now they had trained together for a month, and it was too much of a hassle to figure out to work with another guy, so he had simply asked the guy he had trained with. In the end, Gray would accompany Lily for the S-Class exam. Carla had asked Freed, who had accepted the request. Apparently he was down because now he would not be able to take Laxus' place as an S-Class mage. Fanboy. Juvia had asked Bixlow who had also accepted and was now standing next to her doing weird twirls with his abnormally long tongue. Cana had surprisingly picked Lisanna, much to everyone's surprise.

The old man cleared his throat. "Brats! We're going to Tenrou Island now and will start the S-Class exam as soon as we get there." Gramps explained with a wide smile. A genuine one at that. "There'll be some obstacles you'll have to overcome there. Those mainly being the three S-Class mages you see here." He said and gestured to Mira, Erza and Gildarts.

A smirk found its way to my face. This would be fun. Hopefully I would be pitted against Gildarts, he would be sure to give one heck of a challenge. He was the ace of Fairy Tail after all and was said to be a monster, destroying things when he wasn't paying attention.

"Now let's go to the boat and go there!" He yelled to us with a raised arm.

"YOSH!" We all yelled, raising a hand similarly to Gramps. We all went in one big group out of the guild and towards the train station to go towards Hargeon port, where our boat was waiting.

I smirked as I went with the others. I hoped I would get to beat up some people. I looked at Lily's partner. Especially that one. "Gihi." I laughed by myself.

The Shrimp looked up at me with her innocent expression. "What are you laughing at, Gajeel?" She asked nervously. I looked down at her. She had been so surprised when I had asked her to be my partner in the S-Class exam, she didn't understand why I would want to team up with her, when she had been so mean to Bunny-Girl. I told her the truth; that it was because I wanted to fight and that made her sweat drop. But she'd been a little careful with what she said and what she did around me, as if she was scared I would get angry and go on a rampage if she said something wrong.

I smirked at her. "I'm looking forward to all the battles I'll fight!" I told her. She sweat dropped and muttered an 'of course' under her breath and shook her head with a little smile.

Out of nowhere, Evergreen and Elfman joined the party, near Gramps. Why did they show up? They weren't part of the exam any longer.

I wasn't the one to voice the thoughts though, it was Gray. "Oi, Gramps! Why are those two here?" He asked dumbly. And that was exactly why I hadn't asked, I didn't want to seem as clueless as Gray did right at the moment.

Master looked back at Gray with a small smile. "We need someone to heal you if you get injured, Gray. Elfman and Evergreen will take care of that." He explained.

I nodded. Yeah, Gray would probably need that. Especially if he would be pitted against me in a battle. I would have no mercy on him; he hurt Bunny-Girl.

**A few hours later in Hargeon port~**

**Carla's P.O.V**

"Brats! It's time to board the ship. It's right over there." Master informed us and pointed on a ship which lay at the end of the little bridge. It was a big, pirate-like ship with big sails and made of wood. It seemed like it could hold many more persons than those boarding it.

We all nodded and boarded the ship without uttering a word, even Gajeel, although he did wear a smile when he walked on it. I flapped once more and landed on Freed's shoulder. I would much rather have been on Wendy's, but since we weren't on the same team, I decided to land on my green-haired partners shoulder.

Freed glanced at me with a surprised expression. "Why are you sitting on my shoulder and not Wendy's?" He asked.

I sighed, I thought it was obvious. "Because we're not on the same team at the moment." I looked into his eyes. "Besides, I'm standing, not sitting." I told him.

He nodded and let me be on his shoulder. I looked towards Wendy and her partner, Mest. I really didn't like that guy, there was something creepy about him, but I couldn't explain it. I've only seen him in the guild a few times, he didn't stand out at all though, and hardly ever said anything. At the same time, he felt like he was someone else, someone I didn't know. Not a part of Fairy Tail.

It was weird and confusing, as if someone was messing with my mind. That wasn't possible though, none of the mages here had any magic related to mind control or alike.

All of a sudden, the ship began moving and I was pushed out of my thoughts. Freed sat on a bench next to Bixlow and Juvia. The two men were talking about how they could redeem Laxus and bring him back to the guild, while Juvia was just sitting silently and listening.

I took off from Freed's shoulder and landed on Juvia's lap. I sat down and let her pet my head. I looked up into her ocean blue eyes. "Do you think Lucy-sama would have been with us if she hadn't left the guild?" She suddenly asked with a sad expression in her eyes.

I looked around at the people on the ship and slowly nodded. Yes, Lucy would have been with us if she hadn't left. "Yes, she definitely would Juvia. She's a strong girl, probably even stronger now, after a month of training." I smiled at the thought. I betted that Dragon-boy had taught her a lot already and made her much stronger. Just like she wished. Maybe… They were more than friends now.

Juvia looked down at me and smiled as well. "Juvia thinks so too. Lucy-sama promised she would get stronger, and when she promises something, she'd keep it." She told me. I had a feeling she was mostly talking to herself though.

I nodded in agreement. Lucy wasn't one to break her promises, it would go against everything she stood for.

Before I could say anything, I was cut out of my thoughts as a certain person came towards us in the air. "Guys! Why were you leaving me behind? I wanna come too!" I goofy voice told us. I looked up into the person I wanted to see the least flying in the air. The person looked at the blue fur-ball which was carrying him. "Full speed, Happy! We have to catch up to our friends!" He told the cat.

Happy nodded determinedly and with a serious face. "Aye Sir!" He said and sped up, quickly catching up with the ship. He slowed down once he was above it and slowly let himself fall down, until the fire-breathing Dragon Slayer's foot touched the ship.

The pink haired idiot immediately turned green and covered his mouth with his hand. "Trans… por… ta… tion…" He muttered while trying to keep his puke indoors.

I sighed and shook my head. What a moron. He should have known that he would get motion sickness when he landed on the ship. And that none of us wanted him to come with us at the moment.

Gajeel walked to the Fire Dragon Slayer, who was lying on the floor, holding his stomach, and kicked him almost playfully. It wasn't hard enough to do any damage, at any rate. "Idiot. You won't get motion sickness on the boat, Gramps has made sure of that." Gajeel grunted.

Master did say something about that, didn't he? Well, if Gajeel wasn't feeling anything, then there must be some barrier made by the Master on the boat. Then it was a fair fight for everyone.

Natsu looked up at Gajeel with a confused expression, not understanding what the older Dragon Slayer was saying as usual, but then it seemed to seep in and Natsu got on his feet, not feeling sick in the slightest. He smiled widely and ran to the very front of the ship, looking out over the water. "I'M NOT FEELING SICK! TRANSPORTATION IS THE BEST!" He yelled loudly, making the two other Dragon Slayers cover their ears in protection.

The Master walked down the stairs with an annoyed expression. "What's all this noise about…?" Then he noticed Natsu and his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Natsu? What are you doing here?" He asked the boy. He didn't seem like he knew whether he should be friendly or not, since the Dragon Slayer still was his child, even though he had done those horrible things.

Natsu turned around and looked at Master with a toothy smile. "Gramps! I felt lonely back home at the guild, so I joined you guys!" He said with a cheery and happy expression on his face. He really shouldn't have.

Master looked incredulously at the boy. "But how…" He noticed the tomcat on his head and sighed. "Alright. Natsu, you will help Elfman and Evergreen with the potentially injured." He told the boy and went back to wherever he had come from.

He saluted to the disappearing Master. "Aye sir!" He told him, while Happy flew off his head with a fish in his hands.

He landed next to Juvia and looked nervously up at me. "Carla, would you like a fish?" He asked me with a hopeful expression in his wide eyes.

I moaned inwardly. Did he never give up? I shook my head. "No thanks, Happy." I told him politely. I watched as his features turned gloomy and he nodded and flew away again.

Juvia giggled. "Carla, Juvia thinks it's obvious that Happy likes you, why don't you just accept his fish?" She asked me with a smile.

I looked up at her as if she was crazy. "What? No. I don't like him." I informed her, to which she just giggled again and winked at me.

**A few hours later~**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

Goddammit it's hot! The sun is melting us alive. Many of the girls - no - all of the girls, even the Shrimp, are sitting without much else than their bikini's, which they had been asked to bring, and the boys were no less. Well, except the Salamander, he could naturally withstand the heat. His rival seemed to be melting on the spot.

Gramps had told us the climate around Tenrou was a little different, but I didn't know he meant _this _much! It was winter back home in Magnolia, the air was cool and nice. But here, it was like summer all over again. And it wasn't that far away.

Finally, Master stepped out and appeared in front of us in some Hawaii-shirt and shorts. "It is soon time for the Exam, brats. The island is right over there with the big tree." He told us and pointed to his right.

We all turned our heads to look in the direction of where he was pointing. And just as he had said, the island was there. If that was what it was. It seemed like a little piece of land with a ginormous tree in the middle of it. If you looked closer though, you could see it wasn't really a tree, because where the crown was supposed to be, there was even more land. It looked both amazing and creepy at the same time.

Gramps cleared his throat to get the attention again. "There's two parts to the exam, which I will be explaining when we get to it. Now, the first part is pretty simple." He pulled out a sketch he probably had made himself, judging from the horrible drawing. "There are 6 routes, one for each team; A,B,C,D,E and F. Each of these routes hold different obstacles, which can either be one of the S-Class mages of our guild or another team, or if you're lucky you can have the peaceful path, with no battles or anything, only one team can enter each route. Meaning; you will either be pitted against Erza, Mira or Gildarts or one of the other teams. If you win, you can proceed, or if you're against one of the S-Class mages, when they say you're ready to continue, you can also continue." He explained.

So it could at maximum be 5 teams, one team would have to be lost. And at least 2 teams would pass the first part. And those against Gildarts… They probably wouldn't win either. That man was a monster. Although… I would love to be against him.

Gramps continued his speech. "I and Erza, Gildarts and Mira are already at the island, and ready to begin, this is just an illusion." He said, which caused a little whispering from one team-mate to another. "When I disappear, you will begin. Is that understood?" He asked, looking around at each of us. We nodded. He adopted a wide smile on his face. "Good then! I'll see you there!" He said and disappeared.

I smirked and grabbed Levy, pulling her over my shoulder and jumped onto the railing of the boat, ready to go, when I crashed into an invisible wall. I looked in the air, where the fan-boy was flying away, carried by Wendy's cat. Damn, he made a barrier.

The green haired Rune mage looked back at us with a wide smile. "It'll disappear in 5 minutes, until then you will have to wait!" He yelled as he was being dragged away by the flying cat.

I gritted my teeth. Damn fan-boy, I would get him for this! "Uhh… Gajeel?" Shrimp said, still hanging over my shoulder. I grunted in response. "I might be able to do something about the barrier, could you put me down?" The Shrimp asked. Right! She was a genius with barriers! I nodded, put her down and let her work her magic. A small smile appeared on her face. "This is simple, I can easily rearrange the runes, if I just move that one over here and this one here. Then move this one around and there!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me off the boat, where we landed in the water.

I looked towards her with a wide smirk. Oh, she was a clever choice as a partner. "Nice going, Shrimp. Gihi." I praised her. I had the advantage now. She smiled back at me and we began swimming towards the shore.

"Hey Levy! Why didn't you lift it for us too?!" Bixlow yelled behind us on the boat. I smirked. Definitely the right choice of partner.

The Shrimp looked back at the remaining people of Fairy Tail. "It's a competition guys, sorry!" She called back. I heard the rest of the guild make different noises of exasperation at her words.

We didn't say much as we continued swimming towards the island. Soon enough, we stood on the sand and looked at the different letters, marking each route. Freed and Carla had chosen route A and the whole route had been blocked with a big 'X'. Alright, then I would just choose something else.

I grabbed the Shrimps' wrist and pulled her with me towards the closest route, which was route E. "Hey, Gajeel! Slow down!" She told me, but it fell on deaf ears.

I pulled her behind me into a dark cave and at some point; we reached a big round room. It was really dark and the air was disgustingly humid. I knew something would happen in here, it was just too obvious. "Oi! Anyone here?" I yelled loudly, my voice echoing through the cave.

A deep chuckled was heard at the opposite site of the cave and a figure with a cape and dark clothes appeared into my line of sight. "You're not so stupid, are you Gajeel?" He asked rhetorically. "I don't think we've officially met." The man said and stepped out into clear view. A smirk made its way to my face. I was lucky. "I'm Gildarts Clive, but I'm sure you've heard of me in the guild." He said with a wide grin. "I've also heard about you, you almost destroyed our guild, didn't you? Well, that's in the past now." He said.

I nodded, never did the grin fade from my face. "Yeah, that was a long time ago." I told him. I probably didn't show it, but I really regretted what I did back then, now I had gotten to know the guild. Lucy and many others had accepted me and I was happy about that, they actually made me happy.

Gildarts' smile grew. "Well, do you think you're ready to face me?" He asked me.

I snorted. "Of course, anytime." I reassured him and crouched a little. Hell, I had wanted this battle ever since I learned about this guy. I was going to beat him, then I would continue on and become an S-Class, before the Salamander, no less.

Gildarts didn't move a muscle as he kept on grinning at me. "Well, come at me then, show me what you got." He told me.

I smirked. He didn't know what he was signing up for. I looked back at my partner. "Stay back, Shrimp. I'll take care of this one." I told her and turned my attention to the ace of Fairy Tail.

"B-be careful Gajeel." She muttered behind me and I heard her light footsteps back away. Good, now I didn't have her to worry about.

I looked into the orange-haired man's eyes, trying to read him. But I couldn't see anything, he was completely blank, not giving any hint as to where he was aiming or what he was going to do.

I became more and more impatient as we just stared at each other, trying to predict the others' movements, when none of us were about to anything. So, finally dropped my arm and charged forward at the man, aiming to punch him in his stomach. I quickly reinforced the strength in my hand with my Iron and continued running. I looked him dead in the eye, not giving any hint as to where I was going to hit him.

I smirked in my mind; I had him, there was no way he would be able to block this one. When I felt I was close enough, I shot my fist forward and it was aimed perfectly for his stomach. I was only mere nanoseconds away from hitting him, when he in a blur of speed caught my fist with one arm, effectively stopping me.

I didn't quite catch exactly what was going on, it all went too fast, until he leaned a little to the side and threw me away behind him. I twisted in the air so I wouldn't land on my stomach and instead landed on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

The rumors were indeed true. This old man was strong; there was no doubt about it. A smirk found its way to my face. This would be fun. I pushed myself off the floor and stood on my feet behind him. He hadn't even turned around, just stood and looked at me. I snorted. Show-off.

I took a deep breath, puffing my cheeks out and let loose the infamous Dragon Slayer roar. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" I yelled as the beam of iron flew towards the man.

Gildarts looked at the rapidly incoming roar with a bored expression and swiped his hand, dividing my Iron roar into small squares and then fading into nothing. I stared in disbelief at the display of strength, then remembered his magic. Right, Crash, it was supposed to divide the things it hit into small squares. Quite weird actually.

The orange-haired man smiled at me. "Nice try, but you'll have to do much better than that to scratch me." He mocked me.

I grunted in response. "Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be enough." I was just testing him, trying to figure out just _how_ strong he really was. I rushed at him again, pushing off from a part of the cave-floor, which peeked up. I let my Dragon Slayer magic flow to my arm and transform it. "Iron Dragon's Club!" I yelled loudly and turned my arm into a metal-pole, which shot forward towards my opponents face.

Gildarts watched as the pole came closer and closer to his face and moved his head out of the way in the last second, letting it glide past him. I locked my gaze with his again. He was still smiling and with his back halfway to me. I pulled back the club and readied my foot for a kick, but I wasn't fast enough.

I saw Gildarts pulling up his arm and just as I came into range, he elbowed the back of my head, smacking me down on the ground in front of him. "Gajeel!" I faintly heard the Shrimp call out. I felt a little dizzy from the blow for a second, the whole place seemed to circle around me, but I quickly pushed myself on my feet and skidded away from the old man.

I placed my hand on the side of my face, to make the swirling stop, before focusing on my opponent again. I took a second to calm myself before running forward again, readying an arm for a punch. I jumped into the air, but decided to do something else. I kept going with the arm raised, as if I was going to punch him, while I tried to cover inhaling and tried not to puff out my cheeks. I quickly gathered all the magic I needed to blast the man, who hadn't even taken a single step yet. "Iron Dragon's ROAR!" I yelled, going for the classic Dragon Slayer move.

Another beam filled with small scraps swirling around in a frenzy. The old man had prepared for a punch, just like I had expected him to, and hadn't noticed I had been gathering my magic in my mouth for a breath-attack. I smirked, while still sending out the roar. I got him!

I landed on the floor again and rushed forward, this time actually aiming to punch him while he was still preoccupied with the Dragon's roar and probably hadn't seen me move away. I sped up and ran the last meter to him, giving him a hard uppercut in his stomach, reinforced with iron, trying the trick I had started out with trying, although hitting this time. The force of the two attacks, which had come rapidly after one another, was enough to make the man take a few steps back and gasping for air.

I jumped back and landed on the floor a little away, watching as the dirt which had magically appeared cleared. He wouldn't be able to handle that, it was too much for even him.

I found myself dead wrong, when I could literally see the magic spiraling around the center of the cloud and over it. The magic pressure from that single man skyrocketed incomprehensively fast, faster than I could follow. It quickly exceeded the capacity I could gather even while in Dragon Force. It kept growing and I began to feel the weight of it, my legs turning to jelly under me. I fell to my knees by the sheer weight of the magic in the air around me and watched as my opponent stepped dramatically out of the dirt and into view with the white-looking magic around him.

I felt something move at the pit of my stomach, a feeling I had never had before and never would have thought I would ever feel. It was only for weaklings and girls, people who were faced with a much too strong force, there was no way they would ever be able to overcome, to feel. The one feeling I would have never thought I should ever feel in my life. But now I did. I felt it alive and real, but didn't dare admit it out loud.

Instead, I kept on a blank face and got on my feet again with much struggle. The magic of the man in front of me was much stronger than anything I had ever felt before, and I had no idea how I would ever be able to beat that man. I wondered how the Shrimp was doing and looked back at the place where she had half hidden. She was sitting on the floor, panting heavily and steadying herself against the wall. She seemed to be doing fine, I told myself.

Gildarts looked at me with a serious face. Playtime was over. "Gajeel." He said to draw my attention unnecessarily. My attention was entirely on him already. "What are you feeling right now? I'm sure you feel something… _Special._" He told me. So he knew, did he?

I rolled my shoulders, as if I was relaxed and smirked at him. It didn't feel genuine in the least. "I'm excited!" I told him. "I'm having the time of my life." I lied, although I felt myself tremble inside. I didn't know how long I would be able to hold this façade.

Gildarts shook his head and looked disappointed. "No, that isn't what you're feeling boy." He looked at me again piercing my eyes with his own in a manner I hadn't met before in my life. "What are you truly feeling?" He asked. I refused to admit out loud that I was terrified of this man. Much less when the Shrimp was around to hear it. I remained silent and looked into the other mans' eyes. Gildarts sighed. "It isn't bad to be feeling fear, Gajeel." He told me. I widened my eyes a little, not at his words, but that he was telling _me_ that _I_ was afraid. "It's natural to feel fear when you're met with an impossible obstacle or something frightening." He explained. I slowly nodded, hoping the Shrimp was too busy catching her breath to listen to our conversation. "What are you truly feeling Gajeel?" He asked again, looking hopefully at me.

I stayed silent, glancing at Shrimp, who was focusing on the floor and in the same position as before. I looked back at the S-Class mage, before averting my eyes again in shame. "Fear." I muttered lowly, but loud enough for Gildarts to hear it. The cave was completely silent and I felt like my word was bouncing off the walls and repeated again and again. I looked into Gildarts' eyes. "I'm terrified." I told him honestly and felt a shiver run all the way up my spine.

Gildarts nodded with a little smile playing at his lips. "That's right, Gajeel." He told me. Yeah, I knew I was right, why else would I be saying it? His smile widened. "You pass." He said and let the magic around him fade away.

I widened my eyes at his words. I passed, but why? How could I pass when I hadn't even put more than a mere scratch on him? If I even did that. "Why…? How can I pass? I haven't beaten you or nothing'." I asked confusedly.

He sighed. "To pass the S-Class exam, the S-Class mages had to find a certain part of the mages that they will need as an S-Class mage." Gildarts explained. So far so good, but it didn't explain much about why I had passed without doing anything. "The part I'm looking for is for the mage to be able to face his or her fears and admit them." He told me with a little smile. "You've faced fear and you've admitted it. It takes a real man to admit he's afraid."

Maybe it did, but it wasn't very 'manly' to be afraid. No, we were supposed to always be strong and fear nothing. Yet here I was, passing the exam because I was afraid of my opponent. I didn't want to pass like this… I wanted to beat him! Not just go on, because I felt _fear_.

I shook my head and faced Gildarts again. "No way. I'm not passing until I beat you!" I reassured him. He just shook his head and gestured for me to come at him. So I did.

**A while later~**

**Levy's P.O.V**

I didn't like how Gajeel was just being pushed around by Gildarts. It all just seemed like a game of tag to the older mage and Gajeel was losing. Every time Gildarts' magical pressure spiked, I could see Gajeel flinch for a second, which gained Gildarts the opening to make a move.

I had heard their conversation and to be honest, I didn't mind it at all. If anything, it just added some character to Gajeel. I was afraid too. Even though I've seen Gildarts hundreds of times and talked to him, I never felt his magic like that, and now I had, it scared me.

Gajeel earned a kick in the stomach and he flew into the wall close to me. He slid down the wall and groaned when he landed on the ground. I looked up at the wall, where he had crashed into it, and quickly saw the big crater in the wall. It wasn't normal. They needed to stop now! Couldn't I do anything to help Gajeel?

Gildarts still stood his ground in the middle of the room. He looked down at a pained Gajeel with a scowl. "Don't you think it's enough already boy? You can't beat me, and I know you know it." He told Gajeel, who just glared up at him with a scowl of his own. Gildarts turned around and walked away, disappearing into the darkness. "I've had enough. Try again when you're stronger." He said and raised his hand in a simple wave. Just before he disappeared completely, he looked back over his shoulder at the Iron Dragon Slayer with a smirk. "Besides; you pass." He told him and vanished.

I looked at Gajeel, who was looking at the ground, with worry overflowing in me. I knew he didn't want to pass this way, it just wasn't his style. And he had suffered a major loss too. Apart from Natsu, he hadn't lost to anyone ever before. Any human anyway.

If only I had done something to help him. Maybe he wouldn't wear that frown or have those thoughts swirling around in his head. Maybe if I had helped him, we could have beaten him and we wouldn't be facing this problem right now. If only I had-

No, it wouldn't have made any difference. Gildarts is simply too strong and I wouldn't stand a chance. Besides. Gajeel still wouldn't take it as a win if I helped him. He was too proud. It would only push him even farther down.

I sighed and pulled out my magic staff. I wrote the letters in the air. "Solid Script: Bandages." I calmly said. Now we had the time, I might as well patch the Dragon Slayer up. I grabbed the bandages that popped up out of nowhere and began pulling it out. I looked at Gajeel, trying to figure out where it was worst.

Gajeel shook his head. "No need for that Shrimp, I'm fine." He reassured me and tried to get on his feet, steadying himself against the wall, only to fall down on his butt again with a groan. I raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to say he was fine again. I gestured to the bandages, knowing he'd know what I meant. He sighed and relaxed his back muscles, slumping a little where he sat. "It's worst at the stomach and chest." He told me.

I nodded, exactly what I wanted to know. Gildarts' Crash magic wasn't as visible as many other magic, so I had a hard time figuring out where I should put the bandages. Before I could reach forward, I flinched. I wouldn't be able to put the bandages on if he was wearing clothes over the part where I had to put the bandages.

I gulped and looked up at Gajeel through my bangs. "Uh, uhm, G-Gajeel? Co-could you p-please take off your sh-shi-shirt?" I stammered. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up at the thought and thanked Mavis we were in a dark cave. Gajeel slowly nodded and stared at me with his enticing red eyes, before pulling his shirt off, leaving his well-built chest bare. I inhaled sharply and forced myself to once again pull out the bandages and reach behind Gajeel and begin circling the bandages around his chest.

I didn't have very long arms, so I was practically hugging him, which only added to my already red cheeks. My heart beat faster and faster in my chest as I kept circling the bandages around the big mans' stomach and chest. I couldn't remember ever being as close to him as I was right now and it was thrilling.

We both stayed silent as I finished my job with the bandages and when I pulled back, I felt a tug in my chest, missing the close proximity we had had for a second there. Gajeel got on his feet, not giving any hint of pain, and extended his hand to me, offering help to get up. I smiled at him and accepted the hand, letting him pull me up.

We walked out of the room of the cave and walked through the small hallways until we reached a clearing, where we were met with all the other teams also getting tended to by the people who were supposed to help the injured. Elfman and Evergreen seemed to be doing a great job, but Natsu… Well, let's just say it wasn't nearly as good.

We sat down on one of the benches and I began talking with Carla, who was sitting next to me. "Hi Carla, how did you and Freed do?" I asked her kindly. It was weird that she was a candidate; she had no magic as an Exceed, except her wings. I liked the Exceed, no doubt about it, even though I hadn't spoken much with her, but she was a part of Fairy Tail, and I loved all the members of Fairy tail. Almost…

Carla smiled a little at me. "Hello Levy." She greeted, then her smile slumped a little. "We were up against Mira-Jane, we didn't stand a chance." She told me. Uhh, that was a bad one. Mira-Jane had beat Freed at the Fantasia Event, so he probably had no confidence whatsoever when faced with the wrath of Mira-Jane. And Carla had no magic useful for fighting; they wouldn't have stood a chance. She looked up at me. "How did you and Gajeel do?" She asked politely.

I glanced at the Iron mage who seemed to be lost in thought next to me. I looked back at Carla with a tiny smile. "We went up against Gildarts…" Carla nodded, looking at me with pity in her eyes. "And we passed." I continued, my smile faltering entirely. "Not the way Gajeel wanted to though." I muttered.

Carla looked confusedly at me. "What? Why?" She simply asked, getting the message sent through bright and clearly with those few words.

I sighed and leaned closer to the Neko and explained everything to her. She nodded occasionally and when I was done she looked at Gajeel with a blank face. She glanced at me. "He just needs to pick himself up and continue life." She stated. I sweat dropped, she didn't have to sound so cold when she said that.

I looked at the cat again with curiosity. "What about the other teams?" I asked, wanting to know exactly what Gajeel and I was up against.

Carla looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. "Well, Wendy and Mest got up against Gray and Pantherlily, it was a short battle, as far as I've been told, Pantherlily and Gray simply wiped them out." Carla said with a disapproving shake of her head. "That girl, can't take care of herself." She said and looked at the bench where Wendy sat with a few small bandages here and there. "Cana and Lisanna took the peaceful path. Then Bixlow and Juvia met up with Erza. Miraculously they passed too." She looked back at me. "But I guess that's to be expected. Wasn't Juvia an S-Class mage in that other guild before she joined Fairy Tail?" Carla asked.

I looked at her with widened eyes, then remembered she and Wendy weren't there when the whole thing with Phantom Lord happened, so naturally she wouldn't know for sure. I remembered how Juvia and the three other elemental mages along with Gajeel were all S-Class mages at their old guild and how strong they seemed then. Especially Gajeel. I pushed the thought away and nodded to the little cat. "Yeah, she was, so I guess she deserves to be one too." I thought about her partner, Bixlow, he was pretty strong too, although he had a warped personality. "Bixlow is strong too." I focused down at the Neko again. "Those two might very well be the strongest team around here." I admitted.

Carla nodded, but before she could say anything, I felt a weight on my head. I turned and looked into Gajeel's blood-red eyes. He was smirking and resting his arm on my head, which pissed me off to be frank. "Oh, so you don't think I'm strong, do you Shrimp?" He asked.

I shook my head quickly and flailed with my hands. "No, no, no! That was not what I meant! You are strong, there's no doubt about it!" I looked at the ground. "It's just… I'm not very strong." I muttered in the end.

Gajeel shook his head and moved his arm. "Don't push yourself down like that. If you say you're weak, then you truly are, but if you say you're strong, then you are. Do ya' understand?" He asked me with a serious expression.

I stared at him. I would have never known such clever words would ever come from Gajeel. I slowly nodded. "Yeah…" I trailed off, not quite sure what to say at Gajeel's slip of character.

Gajeel smirked and ruffled my hair with his big hand, making me pout. "That's better, Shrimp!" he praised me. His nickname for me didn't make anything any better, but I bottled up my frustration, didn't want to make a scene here.

Master jumped up out of nowhere and smiled at all of us. "Brats! It is time for the second part of the Exams now!" He announced, drawing everyone's attention quite efficiently. "The next part is a little different." He said looking around at all of us. I prayed it wouldn't be something like a 'Free-For-All' battle. "You have to find the First Master's resting place here on this island. The first one to get there will be an S-Class mage." He told us. I sweat dropped. Really? Was that all? It was too simple, come on, there had to be a backside to all of this. "Oh, and before you go, there are no rules for this part." He smiled. I looked at him in horror. No rules? Could one team just beat the crap out of another then?

I was screwed.

Gajeel, who had grabbed his shirt and pulled it on over his bandages, grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder. "Gihi. Let's go Shrimp!" He said, suddenly over the Gildarts incident.

Great, we would probably get lost on this island and would never be able to find back.

**A while later of walking effortlessly in the forest~**

**Gray's P.O.V**

I looked around at the many, many, _many_, trees around the flying cat and me. We had probably already walked in hours without any profit, in other words we hadn't even seen a hint of the grave of the First Master.

It couldn't be so damn hard to find! It was only a grave for Mavis' sake! It should stand out in a place where there was clear and… Of course! It would be at the top of that tree-like part of the island. Just how stupid could I be to not have figured it out earlier?

I face-palmed while thinking about how obvious it all was. The First Master would have a 'great view' over the island from up there and high in the sky, resembling the high status she had had for the guild. Damn, it was so obvious!

Pantherlily looked weirdly at me. "Uh, Gray? What are you doing?" He finally asked me, having inched a little away from me and looked at me with wary eyes.

I laughed at his funny expression and waved my hand to brush off his worries. "Oh, I was just thinking about how stupid I've been!" I said happily, which made him inch away even more. "The First Master's grave is on top of the Tenrou-tree, of course. Don't you see? It's the perfect spot to have a dead master rest." I laughed at my own stupidity.

Pantherlily seemed to be considering my words, then cracked a smile and chuckled. He shook his head slowly. "Yeah, you're right. It's pretty obvious now you tell me." He agreed. He looked up at the tree and then back at me, sprouting his wings. "Okay, let's go then Gray." He told me and flew behind me, grabbing my clothes I had somehow managed not to shed yet.

Pantherlily flew quickly up to the top of the tree and Pantherlily landed me safely on the top. I looked around at the little island above the bigger island under us. This part was verydifferent from the one under us. It may not have looked like it from far away, but up close, it was obvious that the wildlife was completely different. There were no birds up here, it was too high in the sky and there were no other kinds of animals like on the lower island. The trees were of a different sort and so were the flowers and everything else. I didn't know the different names of them though; I sucked at that kind of stuff.

Pantherlily flew down in front of me and looked around as well. He nodded and looked back at me. "I think the resting place will be in the middle of the forest so-" Pantherlily was cut off as we heard flaps coming from far away. I turned around and looked out into the sky. What the heck was that? Pantherlily landed on my head and scouted the sky too. It sounded like some ginormous bird or something.

I heard the flaps again, coming a little to the right. I turned my head in the direction and soon spotted a dark spot in the middle of the sky. I knew Pantherlily was looking at it too, it was hard for him not to when I turned my head. "You see that too right?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I see it. But what is it?" He asked from the top of my head.

Since I couldn't answer, I shrugged and looked at the black spot, which had gotten a little bigger. "I don't know, but it's coming closer." I told him.

We waited and watched as it came closer. When it was only a few kilometers away, it got a pair of wings and looked nothing like a bird. "_Shit._" I muttered through clenched teeth. "It's a Dragon!" I said loudly. And just to confirm my words, the Dragon let out a deafening roar. It seemed beyond furious.

Pantherlily too quick action and pulled out the red light we had been carrying out in case of emergency, and if this wasn't an emergency, I didn't know what was. The black Neko quickly fired the rocket and it exploded in a bright red color in the sky.

He grabbed the back of my clothes again and flew towards the little infirmary we had established on the lower island. There was no time to spare if a pissed Dragon was coming our way.

**Okay, I would call that a cliffhanger. I guess we all know who the Dragon is though, it should be pretty obvious I'd say.**

**Anyway, what did you think of the changes I've made? Are they okay or just horrible? - I don't hope they are… Horrible I mean. I decided to skip the Grimoire Heart-thing completely, because it won't have a big importance to my story, and it would be a pain to write, really. Along with Zeref, of course, he won't have any role in my story, really. None worth mentioning anyway.**

**I hope the fight was better than last time, I did what I could. But I promise I will get better! I just need some practice first… Sowwyy!**

**Oh, and next chapter will be about why this mystery Dragon is so mad and I'm not sure how much that will fill. Maybe a chapter, maybe two. And then I'll write about the present afterwards. So, a little information there, hope it didn't spoil anything for you guys.**

**Thank you mjb379, laumirot, TwiSparkle001, OtakuLover43, SpuSpu (Guest), DystopianKitKat, angelslaugh, aristofthemind, 00halfblood, dakrith, Darkverger1, KillerCupcakes, Frenchy1008, FT LOVER (Guest), kawaiikitty111, fairychime-diamond47, clumzybeans, lifeisafairytail, anteda122013, MoonStarFlower, kerrylove, superpiggyy and all you other people! I love you to the ends of the world! ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Welcome back - wait for it - Translations! .-. Ae, they're back again. You guys, you have to learn a few new words! So do I… **

**Besides that, Frosch' gender has finally been revealed! It's a she! ^_^**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I'm still waiting for Slowpoke to make his final decision.**

**Earlier that day, in the Dragon Realm~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

It was Lucy's and my day off, finally. This past month had been quite tough for me. A week after returning from Earthland after the scouting with the rest of the Head Dragons, Deamunas found I had gotten much better at hitting my targets. I didn't want to brag, but I could hit all targets spot-on every time now, even in my Dragon form. It had really helped imagining the targets to be Summer Dragneel…

How did I know how he looked - you might ask. Well, apparently Lucy had forgotten the bag she had stored in the Spirit World and asked Virgo to bring it back with her. That all happened before I showed up though, when I found her, she had tears dropping from her eyes and was looking at this picture in her hands.

It was the picture of all her Nakama - as she called them - from Fairy Tail. It was taken not long after her return from Edolas under the rainbow sakura-tree, so even the newest members like Wendy was on it. Just by looking at the picture, you could easily see what Lucy meant when she tried explaining just _how_ lively her guild was. The people were hanging in the tree, sitting on each other's backs and one was even holding up a sign saying 'Only manly men is in pictures!', that one, I quickly figured from Lucy's stories, would probably have been Elfman, with the weird obsession with men.

I could hardly recognize any of them, even with that damn commercial from the one week with Lucy back seven years ago, they had all changed so much and many new members had joined. Summer didn't have that Neko back then either, Happy - was it?

She had told me how much she missed those good times she had with them, reassuring me she was having lots of fun in the Dragon Realm too quickly after saying that. I knew she was, but Lucy being Lucy, she missed her friends, even if they had ignored her like they had.

Well anyway, that was how I came to learn of Summer's looks, and sent a blast straight into his head several times during training.

The past week has been completely different though, as I've been practicing _real _Dragon magic.

**Three weeks ago~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"_**Oi, Acnologia!**__" Deamunas called for me, just as I was about to destroy another Summer. _

_I turned and looked at Deamunas questioningly. "__**Yeah, what is it Deamunas?**__" I asked. Why would he stop me now?_

_He smiled at me, a genuine smile, not a smirk. "__**You have gotten a good aim now, so let's get to the next part of training. You already know how to make a Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar), right?**__" He asked as if it was the simplest thing in the world._

_I hadn't tried it ever before in my life, due to never figuring out how to. I shook my head at my friend. "__**Káo (No), I haven't. My father's training, remember?**__" I reminded him. He tended to forget how my father would work with letting me figure everything out myself. Over this month, I have realized how - dare I say it - wrong my father had been by not teaching me this kind of stuff. I was so far behind everyone else!_

_Deamunas sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "__**Right, I forgot. **_**Again**_**.**__" He muttered and looked deep into my dark blue eyes. "__**Alright, well, it's actually really simple.**__" He said and fell to his butt. "__**You just inhale either air or your own element and breathe it out again, reinforced with your own magic.**__" Deamunas explained and before I could try it out, he continued. "_**But**_**, since your father didn't even teach you Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar), you probably don't know any of the other techniques of the Dragons either.**__" He looked straight into my eyes. "__**Am I right?**__" He asked rhetorically. We both knew he was right._

_I sat down, telling him he was right, even though it was unnecessary. Basuril trotted over to me and lay next to me, pressing his back to my front leg. I smiled a little at the little Dragon, he might get something out of this too, before looking up at my SIC again. I nodded for him to begin his explanation._

_Deamunas nodded. "__**Every element of Dragon magic has its own set of moves, but they are kind of similar all the way through.**__" He started out. "__**If we'll just start with the Chaos magic for now, there's the Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar), the Tarakona's Maikuku (Dragon's Claws), the Tarakona's Parirau Huaki (Dragon's Wing Attack) and…**__" He trailed off and tapped the ground lightly with his tail, trying to remember the move. Quickly, his face lit up. "__**Oh yeah, and the Tarakona's Rítaha (Dragon's Slashes), of course.**__" He looked at me with a smirk. "__**The first three of them are moves all the elements have, but the fourth is an exclusive Chaos Dragon move. Besides that, there's also the**__**Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art) and the**__**Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength).**__" He told me. I nodded, listening closely. "__**I don't know if you know of any Dragon Slayers, but they have many of the moves we do too, although it may have different names. Dragon Force is a good example, actually, it's the same as Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength), just for Dragon Slayers.**__" He told me. I didn't know any Dragon Slayers personally, but I knew the looks of three of them - _real _Dragon Slayers, that is. I didn't consider Laxus a 'real' Dragon Slayer, since he hadn't even been raised by a Dragon. Deamunas continued, completely unaware of the sudden thoughts popping up in my mind and the slight inattentiveness. "__**Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art) is a special and strong move you'll learn eventually. It's the strongest move you will have under the Chaos element magic, and likewise with the others. And it varies with each Dragon.**__" Deamunas ended off. "__**Oh, and it can both be said in Earthland language and Dragon language, except it's much stronger in Dragon language, especially if you're in Dragon form.**__" He quickly added in the end._

_There were only five moves? Well, it didn't matter; I would make do with those for sure! And if worse came to worst, I would just make up my own move or something._

_Deamunas smirked at me and nodded. "__**Now try a Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar).**__"_ _He ordered._

**Back to reality~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I had mastered Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar) pretty quickly; it only took me a pair of days, that was in the Dragon form though. It was much harder to learn in my Human form, but I learned that too in another three days. Since then, I've learned the other two basic moves too and perfected my aim with them. Despite what one might think, it was much harder with the much more concentrated moves than with just a ball of magic.

I pulled myself out of my memories and looked down at the still sleeping girl next to me. It was still early in the morning and there was still a good hour until we left to Earthland, I should probably wake the girl now, so she could get her daily morning bath.

I transformed back to my Human from and kneeled down next to the beautiful silver-haired girl. I gently brushed a strand of silky hair behind her ear, revealing her pretty face. She was sleeping so peacefully, it really was a shame to wake her. I grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her. "Lucy, it's time to get up." I told her lowly, as if I was scared of actually waking her.

She moaned a little in her sleep and tried sloppily to swat my hand away. I smiled at the cute attempt and tried again, when _something_ caught my ear. "Stop… Natsu…" She mumbled in her sleep and moved her shoulder away.

I let my bangs cover my eyes, while having a deadly aura surround me in no time. _That _name. Of all names, it just had to be _that_ name. The name of the guy I hated more than anything. I could feel my Dragon react similarly as me, he - of course - hated that name as well. Why was she saying _his_ name in her sleep? Why wasn't it mine?

I bottled up my anger, saving it for another time and tried waking the Celestial mage again. This time, her warm eyes fluttered open and looked up at me, a smile appearing in no time, followed by a little blush - much to my satisfaction. "Acnologia." She stated, sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Good morning." She bubbled drowsily and stretched her muscles.

I smiled at her, despite the raging feelings flying around in me. "Good morning." I told her. She smiled up at me again and out of nowhere hugged me. At first, I was stunned she'd even done that, then flushed when I noticed how her busty chest pressed into me. I let my own arms circle around her as well. I guess we had come closer to each other over these past months.

She broke off the hug shortly after and got on her feet walking towards the bag of clothes she had in the corner of our cave. I immediately felt the absence of her pressed against me and had to fight myself not to jump up and wrap her in my arms again. What that girl did to me…

She looked back at me when she had picked her clothes. "I'll go take a bath in the river." She told me and narrowed her eyes playfully. "No peeking, understood?" She, not asked, ordered. Despite the playful expression she had, I knew she meant those words; basically I would die if I peeked. So I nodded and watched her walk away.

After sitting on the same spot and staring at the spot where Lucy had disappeared from, I finally returned to the present. Now Lucy was gone and I didn't have to put up any front at all, the rage against Summer showed up again. In my rage, I pulled back my arm and punched the floor as hard as I could, reinforced with the strong feelings. My fist hit the moss, which softened the punch a little and covered the cave-floor, I heard the sound of the floor cracking all around me and a spreading slowly out. I couldn't follow it with my eyes, but I could hear it.

I followed the crack which seemed to progress towards the closest wall and not long after, a little crack made its way up the cave wall. It didn't even get up a quarter of the way to the top, so it wasn't any threat, and since the moss covered the floors, I doubted neither Lucy nor I would feel it at all.

I didn't care much though, I stomped out of the cave, changed to my Dragon form and slowly began flying towards the field where Lucy was training and all the Head Dragons met when we were going to open the portal to the Dragon Realm. I had promised Lucy I wouldn't be peeking, so I flew slowly to try to use some time with that. I was restless though. I really wanted to beat the crap out of Summer. And I wanted to know _why_ Lucy called his name.

I hadn't noticed my surroundings and found myself just about the river Lucy was taking a bath in. I heard a splash, followed by three others. "So how's everything with Acnologia, Lucy?" A firm female voice asked playfully. It was undoubtedly Skyadrum. Usually Lucy would take this morning bath with Grandine, Amelane and Skyadrum, the three were very good friends already. I didn't know why Silvia wasn't with them, but apparently she wasn't.

"Why do you ask that all of a sudden?" Lucy squeaked. I snickered despite everything, happy that I could cause her to react like that.

Skyadrum's as well as Grandine's laugh and Amelane's giggles filled the little river underneath me. "Oh come on, tell us Lucy~" Grandine whined. "We _need_ some drama." She added. Why she would ever need that was beyond me. Without thinking much about it, I hovered silently in the air above the four girls and a little away, eavesdropping on their conversation. I wasn't proud of it, but I just _had _to know what Lucy would answer to that question. The wind blew away from them down there, so the three Head Dragons probably wouldn't notice me, neither by smell or sound, if they weren't already too caught up in their conversation.

"Yeah, come on Lucy, can't you tell us?" Amelane asked carefully, but still pressing on for Lucy answer.

"Alright, alright." Lucy finally moaned embarrassedly. "Well… I guess things are going good between us…" Lucy slowly said. "I don't know what to say." She told the other Dragons. I felt my mood adopt a sad edge. Didn't Lucy feel anything?

One of the other women moaned. "Oh come on, you have _got_ to have something better than _that_!" Skyadrum said. "You sleep in the same cave as him for Mavis' sake." She added.

"W-well, he's i-in his Drag-gon form, s-so nothing will h-happen." She stammered. Well, at least she has some faith in me. There was a pause where Lucy seemed to consider what she could tell the Dragons and they were waiting for her to say something. Suddenly, a squeal of embarrassment was heard, probably from Lucy. "Actually." She said, having regained a little control over her voice. "This morning, when he woke me up…" She trailed off and squealed in embarrassment once more.

This morning? Except the Summer-thing, nothing really happened… Okay, there was the hug, but.. Well. Yeah.

"Ae (Yes)?" Amelane urged her on.

"When he woke me up I - oh my Mavis, it's just _so _embarrassing - thought he was Natsu and _called _him Natsu." She finally said. Her words surprised me. She knew she had called me 'Summer'? Why hadn't she said anything? "I was too embarrassed to even say anything to him!" She added, clarifying my unspoken question.

I could hear three sharp inhales. "Damn, that was a bad one." Skyadrum agreed. "He absolutely _hates_ Natsu." She added. Yeah, it was a common fact.

"Which then leads to the next question." Grandine quickly mentioned. "_Why_ would you call Acnologia Natsu in the morning, _Lucy_?" She said almost as a mother scolding her daughter.

"Eh, yeah. Well, back in Magnolia, when I was a part of Fairy Tail and the whole thing with Edolas had yet to happen, Natsu and I were close. Like, _really_ close. Usually he would break into my house whenever he wanted and empty my fridge." Lucy began, inhaled and exhaled. "Or, when I was asleep in my bed. He would sneak through the open window with his Exceed, Happy, and… And.. And join me in the b-b-bed!" She quickly squeaked out.

He did WHAT?! Ohhh, That bastard was going to _die._ He wouldn't get away with that. It was disrespectful and it was with _my_ girl. When I found him…

"WHAT?!" Three simultaneous voices yelled. "Why did he do _that_?! Amelane asked with a shocked voice. Hell, who wouldn't be shocked by this? "Why would you even _let_ him?" She asked. I wanted to know too; maybe it could lessen the impending doom coming his way.

"As I said, we were _really_ close, and the words 'too close' doesn't exist in his vocabulary." Lucy informed them. "And maybe, just _maybe_, - Káo (no) okay, it isn't just '_maybe'_ \- I loved him…" She trailed off.

I felt I was going to explode any time and was about to turn away and explode somewhere else, I didn't want them to know I had been eavesdropping.

"Past tense, I _loved _him. I don't anymore, not after he kicked me out of his team and replaced me with someone else." She said with venom dripping off her words. I almost sighed in relief, _that_ was a relief.

But it would also mean that Natsu had hurt her even more. She hadn't just been his best friend; she had been in love with the bastard when he did it. It was completely and utterly unforgivable.

I knew I would have to fly away now, so I wouldn't be heard by the Dragons down there. I carefully pushed myself into movement and slowly floated away from them, in the direction I had come from. The rage in me was even fiercer than before. I would make him pay for _everything_.

I silently flew away lost in my own rage, until I turned around and flew back again, feeling like a complete moron. But the girls were probably done now, so I wouldn't have to worry about that.

When I reached the field, the girls really were out of the river and some of the other Head Dragons had showed up as well. From where I was, I couldn't see Lucy, but of course, she was also much smaller than any of the others. The size of a claw, really. Maybe a little smaller.

I flew towards them, not even _trying _to tone down the murderous aura around me. I didn't mind if they knew I was pissed.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

When Acnologia arrived at the field, he was in a foul mood, to put it lightly. I didn't know what could have made him like that, but desperately hoped it wasn't because I called him 'Natsu'. It probably was though.

He obviously didn't want to be talked to at the moment, so I - and the rest of the Head Dragons present - let him be with his gloomy aura.

"**Squirt, ain't you coming with us again?**" Metallicana asked me, while hunting me around, much like during training. I had the advantage here though; I could just run between the big Dragons' legs, he couldn't.

"Káooo (Nooo)~ I don't want to!" I whined. Last time, in the start, it had been okay, Igneel and Metallicana had been getting along somewhat, but at the end of the day, they had been worse than Natsu and Gray. I felt bad for Glanasile, but I really didn't want to go with them again.

Igneel was chasing me too. Apparently the two of them had enjoyed it. "**Come on Lucy~ Come with us again~!**" He pleaded as I ran away from him.

I weaved between the many Dragon legs, and suddenly, I looked back to see both Dragons coming from each side. _Shit._ I ran towards the closest Dragon, jumped as high as I could, which had become quite a lot with all the training with Metallicana and Loke, and grabbed the 'elbow' of the Dragons' leg, crawling the rest of the way up on its back.

Simakan turned his head and looked lazily at me. "**What are you doing Lucy?**" He asked me, although it sounded like he really didn't care.

I looked into his dark yellow eyes and shushed him. "Shh, I just have to hide." I whispered as I watched Metallicana and Igneel looking for me. They hadn't seen me run towards Simakan or that I was hiding on him now. Great!

Dravola appeared as the last and caught all our attention immediately. "**Let's go, move quickly and efficiently, as always.**" She said and just like last time, everyone nodded and got ready to go through the portal she would be making.

It appeared out of nowhere and every Dragon charged towards it, even though it still seemed to have some kind of system. Simakan was one of the first to get through and the first to end out on the other side in Earthland.

I looked around; it was the exact same place as we had been the other time a month ago. I couldn't believe it had already been two months, for me anyway, since I had arrived in the Dragon Realm. I had already progressed so much in my training; even found my Dragon magic.

This past month I had mainly been training my stamina with Metallicana and Loke, since it wasn't exactly the thing I was best at, and I've worked a little with Plue and his Illusion magic. Now, I can make him appear to be a Dragon, the size of a real Dragon, but I still couldn't touch it. We were working on it though. I had been getting use to my Dragon magic with Alodiculis and played around with it. It was much harder getting used to than what I remembered with my Celestial magic. It was probably because it was the second magic I discovered.

Dravola appeared as the last, just like last time, and took the word again. "**Everyone, go out into your groups.**" She told them and they did as they were told.

I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I slid off Simakan, until he caught me with his tail and put me back up on his back again. "**You're going with us this time.**" He told me.

I slowly nodded. "Oh, okay." I answered. Wasn't I a part of Metallicana's group? Apparently not, I guess I was just that kind of joker, jumping around from group to group.

I placed myself with a leg on each side of Simakan's neck as he walked towards Dravola and Sacheba. That was an… Interesting group. Sacheba was the first to notice me on Simakan's back. "**Luccy, are you with usss today?**" He asked with a grin.

I nodded. "Ae (Yes), apparently I am." I smiled at him. It would be nice with the much less bickering there would in this group.

Dravola nodded. "**We're going to Hargeon Port.**" She simply said, turned around and flew off in the direction of Hargeon Port. I tensed up in my 'seat' and just stared out into nothing. Hargeon Port of all places. The place I met Natsu for the first time, the place my life turned for the better. I had to go there of all places?

Sacheba took off after Dravola and quickly caught up to her, while Simakan flew after them in a leisurely pace. I wasn't quite sure I would be able to handle seeing the port, it would recall too many memories, but I would have to do it, there was no backing out of it.

I tried to forget our destination and just enjoy the feeling of flying through the air. I relaxed on Simakan's back while he flew calmly on after the two other Dragons.

I had almost fallen asleep when Simakan landed on a flat field with nothing in sight. Luckily, he wasn't as clumsy as Metallicana, so I could stay on his back without having to make crazy tricks to land safely on the ground.

He looked back at me over his shoulder. "**We're here Lucy.**" He stated, basically telling me to get off his back so he could turn into his Human form. So I slid down his back and landed on the ground.

Sacheba and Dravola had landed some time before Simakan had and were waiting for the two of us to show up. Sacheba was a tall man with dark purple hair, which pointed out in the back; the bangs he would have had were pulled back and pointed out with the rest of his hair, letting his yellow snake-like eyes free. The fangs he had had as a Dragon still were there, peeking out between his lips He wore a simple tank top the same color as his dark green scales as Dragon and a pair of black pants. He had a tattoo of a purple snake circling around his arm and its head ending near his wrist, looking at you with its eyes similar to Sacheba's.

Dravola was a little, old woman with her light white hair pulled up in a perfect bun. She wore a light brown long-sleeved shirt and a skirt which seemed like leaves. It flailed freely around her knees and stopped at the middle of her shins. Her brown eyes still held as much wisdom as they did in her Dragon form. I wondered how old she was getting; she must have been over 450, since she didn't look like a 25-year old. Although she could walk without a staff, which seemed amazing at the age she seemed to be.

I heard the sound of crackling lighting next to me and figured it was Simakan changing into his Human form. As I looked to my right, I found I was right. Instead of the lazy Dragon who stood high next to me, stood a muscular man. His hair was blonde and a little longer at the right and put a shade over his dark yellow eye, at the left, where it wasn't quite as long, there was a kind of crack, separating each side from each other, looking like a little lightning. He wore a little baggy, bright yellow t-shirt and a pair of loose shorts. He held his hands in his pockets, looking _really_ relaxed. He kind of looked like Laxus at some aspects, but he wasn't quite tall or muscular enough to match completely with the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Although, he was probably stronger than Laxus.

Sacheba looked exasperatedly at Simakan. "Why do you have to be ssso ssslow Sssimakan?" He said in his usual hissing way. It seemed he couldn't be free of that habit even if he was a Human.

Simakan just shrugged as a response. "I didn't feel like going any faster; so I didn't." He stated simply, looking straight into the other Head Dragons' eyes.

Great, it would seem I wouldn't be free of bickering after all. "You two cut it out now." Dravola scolded them, which made them straighten their backs and salute. I giggled, almost feeling nostalgic at the sight. "We're going." Dravola simply stated and began walking right, most likely in the direction of Hargeon Port. I followed her, leaving the two boys to themselves.

I looked at Dravola who walked steadily and determinedly forward. I was impressed with how well she could move around, being so old and all, but then I remembered Makarov, he was beyond eighty now, and he seemed to be moving around just as well.

The two guys quickly caught up and continued glaring at each other from time to time, but never saying anything, probably in fear of the Earth Dragon. Who knows?

We all walked in silence until Hargeon Port came into sight. I could already feel the tears welling up in my eyes at the memory of it. That was one of my happiest days and when I was in Fairy Tail, every time I came here it was like going back to that happy day, which cleared a whole new path in my life. Now, it had the same effect, except the memory wasn't quite as happy as it had once been. Instead of the usual happiness overflowing in me, the hard feeling of betrayal swirled around instead.

Dravola suddenly stopped and turned around looking at the two men. "We'll split up into two groups, that way we'll collect more information in less time." Dravola explained.

Sacheba's face lit up in a smirk. "Dibs for Lucy!" He quickly said and raised his hand, smirking victoriously at Simakan, who didn't seem to care in the least.

Dravola looked at Sacheba. "Sacheba, you're going with me." She told the Poison Dragon, who seemed to become sad at the old lady's words. I sweat dropped. He should have figured that out, especially since he probably knew Dravola so well. The Earth Dragon grabbed Sacheba's arm and pulled him along with her without resistance.

Simakan watched and snickered at the Poison Dragon. "He should have known." He said as he saw the two leave. He looked down at me. "Come on Lucy." He told me and walked in the same direction the two others did, although a little more to the right.

I nodded silently and followed him, still fighting my raging emotions. We didn't need to walk far before we reached the city and I instantly recognized all of it. As we walked a little further into the city, I saw that the part with the ship Natsu and I once destroyed had been rebuilt finely again, you couldn't even see that a ship once crashed into it.

It was weirdly deserted in the streets around here, that wasn't how I remembered Hargeon. Simakan and I shared a look and went on deeper into the city, until we finally found out where all the people were.

They were all standing in line on the streets, as if waiting for someone famous to walk past any moment. Simakan and I walked closer so we could listen to the conversations.

"Can you see them yet?" One asked. I focused on that conversation, hoping I could draw some information from them, still walking closer to the crowd.

"No, do you?" Another replied.

The first probably shook his head. "They'll be coming any minute now." He stated and the two stayed silent. "Oh, there they are!" He exclaimed.

Just as he said that, I heard different voices getting closer and closer. I couldn't recognize them at first, but when I pushed myself through the crowd so I could see, I recognized them all.

Long, black, spiky hair. Short, blue hair. Black fur. Black, spikey hair. Long, brown, curly hair. Short, white hair. White fur. Long, green hair with antennas. Blue, curled hair with a hat on top. A head covered in a helmet. Long, dark blue hair. Short, black hair? - I didn't recognize that one. Long, light brown, wavy hair. White, spiky hair. Gray hair, with a bald spot in the middle.

It was my friends from Fairy Tail. My eyes began to water. Now I could finally see them again, I realized how much I missed them. And just how betrayed I had come to feel.

For some reason, I couldn't see Natsu or Happy anywhere, but it didn't matter. It was already enough just with these guys. I quickly turned around and ran out of the crowd. I smashed into a big chest and when I looked up, I looked into Simakan's dark yellow eyes. The tears began to fall from my eyes and I threw my arms around him, crying into his chest. I hoped he didn't mind.

Simakan tensed up as soon as he felt my small arms around him and saw I was crying. "Lucy? What is it?" He asked, gently tipping my head up with a hand under my chin.

I could just barely see him through the tears, which kept welling up in my eyes. "F-Fairy Tail." I stammered and buried my face in the mans' hard chest once again.

Simakan made a noise of recognition and carefully put his arms around me as well, as if it was the first time he did something like that. "It's alright, just let it out." He muttered and stroked my head as if I was a child. It was just what I needed though.

**Simakan's P.O.V**

She had just suddenly burst out of the crowd of people with tears rolling down her cheeks and crashed into me, putting her arms around me. I hadn't been used to deal with crying girls ever before, so this was basically a first for me.

She told two simple words. 'Fairy Tail', then it wasn't hard to figure out. The ones who were supposed to walk past over there were Fairy Tail, her old friends, who had betrayed her. Obviously that was still a sore topic for her, seeing them now wasn't making anything better.

I tried doing what others did when they tried to calm crying girls down, put their arms around them and let them cry. So that's exactly what I did. "It's alright, just let it out." I told her lowly and began stroking her hair.

Thinking about it, wasn't Hargeon Port the place where she first met Igneel's son? I think it was Hargeon Port she mentioned back two months ago. Honestly, I hadn't really been paying much attention, I wished I had now. But if it was, it would probably only add to all of this.

I really had no idea as to what I was supposed to be doing right now, so I kept silent as I let her cry out. I couldn't concentrate on any of the other conversations going on around us; Lucy's silent sobs craved my attention.

I wasn't used to hold a girl like this, usually it would be on whole other terms, but weirdly, I found myself - I wouldn't call it enjoying in this kind of situation - but I was somehow… Kind of liking it. I could feel how her tiny form, with surprisingly big chest, press into me. I hadn't ever felt a woman feeling so tiny and frail ever before, but now I could see it was something I would have to do a little more often. There was just something different about it then what I had been doing up to now.

Hmph, Acnologia probably did this often, lucky bastard, and then with _this_ girl too. On the other hand though, he hadn't ever been closer with a girl, than on the friend zone.

But if it was up to him, it would probably change soon. I _had_ noticed how he looked at this silver-haired girl, everyone had. It was so painfully obvious how much he liked this one. Up till now, I hadn't understood what was so special about her, _that_ had changed though. Now I understood why he had picked this girl and not someone else.

Lucy was special. She had this kind of inner light, which just seemed to shine on everyone and bring out their good sides. I don't recall seeing Metallicana acting so fatherly around anyone ever before, he was like a whole new person. Glanasile had even cracked a smile, a genuine _smile_. She drew people to her naturally and made them follow her and do next to anything to protect her from harm. I didn't think she actually realized just how much she changed everyone, and it was probably for the best too. She was the kind of person who wanted others to stay the way they were and not be the main reason people changed.

I didn't know what to make of all of this, or the weird feelings I had about this girl. One thing was for sure though, I would stand right beside everyone else to help this girl with whatever she would need help with. That being a shoulder to cry on right now.

After standing in that position for a while, even after the crowds of people disappeared, Lucy had finally stopped crying. She slowly pulled away from me and wiped the last tears before looking up at me with a warm smile. "Thank you Simakan, that was just what I needed." She told me.

I nodded and patted her head a pair of times, with a grin on my face. "You just have to ask." I told her. She looked surprised up at me for a minute, before nodding with a wide smile on her face.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me after her as we walked through the streets, resuming our earlier task.

**In the air above the city where Lamia Scale lies~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

That damn Summer, I would get him today, and I knew just how to do it. The whole of Fairy Tail had gone on that damn Tenrou island or whatever for their ridiculous S-Class Exam. Natsu would be with them, he was one of the candidates. I had found a map of Fiore sometime back and had learned that there was a little unnamed island, which belonged to Fairy Tail, in the middle of the ocean outside Hargeon Port. I simply had to fly there; it could only be that island.

I looked at my two female companions. "**I'm sorry Grandine and Silvia. I have something to do.**" I told them harshly and began flying in the direction of Hargeon Port and that island of Fairy Tail's.

"**Acnologia!**" Silvia yelled after me, but I ignored her and flew on. They couldn't have missed my bad mood. They should know I wasn't going to change my mind.

So I flew towards the city where Lucy was with Simakan, Sacheba and Dravola. I wouldn't want to be noticed by any of them, so while passing over Hargeon, I would have to be above the clouds, a big flying Dragon was simply too suspicious.

Not long after, I could see the port coming into view. The city I was supposed to be patrolling this time was quite close to Hargeon, so I knew I wouldn't have to fly long before having to rise higher. I quickly flew up above the clouds; better safe than sorry. The air was so thin up here, it was annoying. I hated being above the clouds, and I always would. Simple as that.

I stayed above the tortuous clouds for 10 minutes before I finally dropped down again. All I could see around me was water, water and more water. I flew on in the same direction, I couldn't miss an island. Nothing showed up though, and suddenly I rammed into an invisible wall.

"**What's this now? I really don't have time for this!**" I grumbled to myself. I tried flying forward again, but was stopped by the invisible wall.

_Let me out Mini-Me I know how to deal with this._ My Dragon told me. I nodded, too angry to care and let my Dragon take control. He gathered magic in his mouth and roared it out in a Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar) at the wall and quickly flew through.

It was weird, I was doing all this, I could feel my muscles moving and my magic flowing, but I didn't have the control over it all as I usually did. I was just a passenger on a train, really. I also felt much more powerful when he was in charge, like he had his own reserves of magic with him, that he could also use. My magic had also changed personality, from what I was used to, where it felt gentle and calm, it now felt fierce and dangerous, probably due to my Dragon.

_I'll stay in charge, Mini-Me, I've wanted to do this for so long. You've had all those times with dear Lucy, so I can at the very least beat the crap out of Summer._ He told me and all of a sudden it felt like I was imprisoned with no means of escape.

I didn't care much though, the rush of the power my Dragon gave off was satisfying enough, and as long as I was the one who slayed the Dragon Slayer, be it me or my Dragon, I was fine. So I let my Dragon stay in the front and do the dirty work, which he loved doing.

We looked down at the little island beneath us. It was weird, it was like there were two levels of it, and the upper one was the crown on a tree. The lower level had a beach all the way around and wildlife in the middle, a ship lying calmly at the edge of one of the beached and four others surrounding it, but on deeper waters. Those four seemed suspicious, but it really wasn't my main concern. The upper level was a lot of trees with a clearing in the middle with some kind of big stone monument or something.

I could see in a little clearing on the lower level, there was a camp of some sort, and figured that would be one of the best places to look.

Before I could fly very far, a little girl with blonde, wavy hair the length of her own height and a 'cute' pink dress appeared before me in the air with her arms spread and a defiant look in her eyes. It was like there was an inner glow inside her, which shone through and lit up the air around her. "This is Fairy Tail's Island. Who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked with her little childish voice.

I snickered at her. Honestly, did she really believe she would be able to do anything to stop a Dragon like me? "**I'm here to kick some ass, so you better move that little fine body of yours, girlie, or you might get hurt.**" I mocked her, or rather, my Dragon did. It was clearly his personality which shone through at the moment.

The girl kept looking into my eyes, as if she could read something from them. "Whose ass?" She asked innocently.

I sighed and rolled my eyes exasperatedly. Why did I have to tell her everything? "**If you really want to know, it is Igneel's kid's ass. Otherwise known as **_**Natsu**_** Dragneel.**" I spat out his name. I really hated it.

The girl nodded slowly. "Oh, I see. You are allowed to kick his ass, but you cannot kill him. Understood?" She asked me firmly. "Or you'll get the one guild you don't want to anger, after you." She reassured me.

I laughed at her. It was kind of cute how she thought she was all high and mighty. "**Whatever you say girlie.**" I laughed and flew past her, towards the camp once again, letting out a roar, without magic, to announce my arrival.

Suddenly, somewhere from the upper level, a rocket was fired and a red light popped up with a loud explosion, which rung in my ears. I looked down to see two small ants standing there, the one bigger than the other. So they had seen me, had they? Well, that just made everything much more fun!

I sped down towards the camp, wanting to get started with this as fast as possible. I landed on the ground near the camp with a crash and roared loudly, causing the nearby trees to break in the middle. I smirked, a simple roar could break these sticks of trees around here. Now I stood on the ground and looked at the big tree with the land on top as crown, it seemed to be as high as the average tree in the Dragon Realm. Weird how different things are.

As I heard some noise nearby, I looked down to see a lot of people come out under the sticks beneath me. I could recognize all of them as Fairy Tail mages. They were so small, I could break them like a twig if I wanted to.

"A Dragon!" Someone yelled down there. I focused my attention on a little white-haired girl. That would be Lisanna. That girl was also high on my hit-list, but Summer was at the top. I looked around for the unique pink mob of hair he carried around and quickly spotted it. He was looking up at me with a smirk of his own.

I saw a little white cat, the cat I had seen in Magnolia a month ago, walk up to a little old man and whispered something in his ear, glancing up at me occasionally. It pissed me off, since I couldn't hear what she was saying and couldn't read it on the old man's face.

Makarov nodded and looked up at me before turning to his guild members. "Brats! Get out of here now!" He demanded and turned back to me again. "I will hold this one back while you escape." He told them.

I smirked at him. It was funny how people thought they could keep me away from Summer today. Just to make my point, I roared lowly down at them and looked at them with an untamed expression.

They were having an argument down there, the small people didn't want to leave the old man behind, but the old man insisted they escaped and in the end, the many small people began running into the forest again. I looked down at the single man who stood before me as the only thing between me and my prey.

I felt the magic pressure rise around the man, and he began to grow in size and muscles until he was my size. Titan magic, I believe it was called. Makarov glared at me, before his face fell into softer frames, confusing me a lot. "**Acnologia, how is Lucy?**" He asked all of a sudden.

I widened my eyes at him. How the hell did he know who I was?! How did he know my name and the fact that I knew dear Lucy?! That was flat out creepy. I glared at him. "**What does it matter **_**Makarov**_**, she's none of your concern now.**" I snarled at him. He couldn't just think he could come waltzing up here and demand to know how the member his guild had kicked out was.

Makarov sighed and nodded with a sad expression. "**I knew it would come to this. Well, at least I know she's still alive.**" He muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "**And who is to say I haven't eaten her?**" I asked him, although it would never even be a consideration in my mind, he couldn't know that.

He actually laughed at me. "**The other day, three boys from another guild claimed they had met her a pair of weeks back and I felt her today. In Hargeon.**" His mood dropped. "**She was so sad, something was obviously troubling her.**" He muttered.

I glared at him. I didn't care what he was thinking or how he was feeling, I just wanted to tear Summer apart. "**I didn't come here to chat with you old man, I have something that needs to be done.**" I told him harshly. I was getting extremely impatient now.

Makarov looked up at me and looked at me with hateful eyes. Just the expression I liked. "**Yes, and I can only guess what your errand here is.**" He glanced back the way his guild members had run off to. "**I'm afraid I can't let you do that. You'll have to go through me first.**" He told me.

I smirked at him. Exactly! _This _was how I wanted it! "**That most certainly **_**can**_** be arranged.**" I told him and lunged forward, aiming for his shoulder. I grabbed it between my teeth and bit down, hearing him moan loudly in pain. I looked at his painful expression and felt the glee come up in the front.

Makarov pulled his shoulder back, just tearing it up even more, since my fangs were still embedded in his flesh. I tasted the metallic taste of his blood on my tongue and watched the very same blood drip down from his big shoulders and continuing down. I made a show of licking my teeth clean of blood and grinned at the glaring face of my opponent, finding myself amused. He should have been able to deflect that attack, he couldn't be _that _weak.

I waited to see what he would do now, but he seemed to be doing the exact same thing. I turned impatient and lunged for him again. He had predicted it though and took a hold around my neck, wrestling to keep me back. I could feel he didn't put all his power into it though, probably because he knew I meant something to Lucy somehow. I smirked and pushed him back slowly, toying with him. This was too easy.

Then I stopped and acted as if I was trying to push him, but couldn't. If he bought this one; he was more naïve than I first thought. Much to my satisfaction, he _did_ buy it and thought I didn't have any more to do with, so he lessened his grip around my neck. Exactly what I had been hoping for. I pulled back my head and neck in a big swing and let him fly off my head into the air.

I smirked up at the now flying man, who looked surprised down at me. I spread my wings and got ready to take off after him, before I was stopped by a little spark hitting my snout. It tickled more than it hurt, but it was annoying and distracted me from the old man. I looked down at the one daring to interrupt my battle and saw a little blonde ant above the average size.

He was standing there in some sort of cape and glaring up at me. "What are you doing to my old man, you overgrown lizard?" He demanded to know.

Meanwhile, Makarov landed on the ground next to the newcomer and looked incredulously up at him, having returned to his original size. "Laxus…" He muttered. Oh, I recognized that name. He was that Lightning Dragon Slayer who tried to take over Fairy Tail and was kicked out of the guild because he did it in a violent way. Worthless trash.

The newcomer looked down at the old man and greeted him. "Hello Gramps." He said with a half grin. Somehow, he reminded me of Simakan, probably because they had the Lightning element. Then he looked back at me, and before he could do anything, people streamed out from the forest once again. This time they were more people than before. Even one I had seen before in Saraj.

The guy had idiotically gone through my forest and into my den. I had bit off his arm in a battle - one-sided battle - and he had been rendered completely useless against me. He looked up at me with wide eyes. "That's the Dragon I fought…" He muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone, inclusive me, the newcomer and the old man, as well as all the small ants under me, looked at the guy, who had paid me a visit, for a while. Then they all looked back at me with anger in their eyes. I smirked down at them and made eye-contact with my prey, only making my smirk grow wider.

Summer turned to Makarov and looked at him with a toothy grin. "Gramps! We're taking care of this one!" He announced and without a second thought, charged me. A second later, all the other people poured their magic out on me as well. All it felt like was as if someone was throwing leaves at me; I hardly even recognized it as hits. The old man had probably been able to do better than them by himself.

They attacked me from all sides with their weak attacks. I didn't even budge, just waited for them to finish up and get their frustration or something channeled through their attacks. "Why isn't Dragon Slayer magic working?!" Someone yelled. I looked down at the person. Wild, black hair and crimson red eyes. It really only could be the old fart's kid. I wouldn't hurt that one too much; both Lucy and Metallicana would kill me if I did.

"I don't know, it should! It's a Dragon after all!" Someone answered. That was the Lightning 'Dragon Slayer'. I inwardly shook my head and tuned out of their meaningless conversation, it just didn't interest me.

One good point to their strategy though - required they had one - was that it was confusing and I had a hard time finding my prey, he kept appearing and disappearing between people. I became more and more annoyed with the small insects bussing around me and roared from deep down in my lungs. I shockwaves erupted from me, the first one being the strongest, pulling trees up from their roots and desolating the area around me entirely, for both people, plants and what else could have been lying there. What was left back was a big crater in the ground.

I took off into the air and looked down, trying to spot my prey. All the small ants got up one after another and glared up at me. "What is it? Admiring it's work?" Someone yelled down there. I almost laughed at that, I could very well have been doing that, but I wasn't, I was looking for my prey.

"It's just toying with us; it isn't using any of its real powers yet." Someone else commented. I smirked. That was true. I didn't need to against these ants; it would be a waste of magic.

But maybe they _wanted_ to see some of my 'real' power, as they seemed to prefer to call it. So be it, I could do that, those pests were getting more annoying by the second anyway. I breathed in, trying to fill my huge lungs. That was partly the reason why it was so hard to master Tarakona's Haruru (Dragon's Roar) in my Dragon form; the lungs were much bigger. But the attack was much stronger too, so it was well worth the waiting time.

As I sucked in the air, I watched as all the members joined hands, saying something about Fairy Sphere or something. I didn't know and I didn't care, I simply kept inhaling air, until I felt it was enough, my lungs were filled. I drew out the magic from the inhaled air and sent it to my mouth, mixed up with my own magic and roared it out at the people beneath me on the ground.

I watched as the powerful attack hit spot-on on the members down there. Exploding in both a golden and a dark explosion of magic. Hmm, maybe I went a little overboard, but surely that Fairy Sphere thingy would protect them from some of it. I waited for the last magic to disappear so I could get a view of the island.

After a minute, the magic cleared and water appeared in my sight, slowly closing in on the island. This took way too long, I felt my impatience move under my skin again, but forced myself to wait for it all to clear out. It didn't take long before I could see there was nothing but water where the island had been before. Okay… So I _did_ go overboard. I furrowed my eyebrows, I wondered if those people were still alive.

The little girl from before popped up out of nowhere and looked at me with pitying eyes. I hated those eyes. "Acnologia I understand why you did this and I won't blame you." She started off. Like I care. "The Fairy Tail members aren't dead; I saved them with the Fairy Sphere in the last second along with the island." She reassured me. Well, I guess that was positive, now there was less chance of me being murdered in my sleep by dear Lucy. "They will wake up in seven years' time, but until then, they're basically dead to the world." She explained. I felt the short fuse of patience I had quickly shortening down, I really didn't care for all of this. The little girl furrowed her eyebrows at me and looked at me with a deadly glare. "You went overboard though. Had I not made sure the Fairy Sphere was made in time, they would have all died." She told me angrily. I just looked down at her with a bored and slightly impatient expression. How I would just wish she would just stop now. "I hope this helped you." She said as she disappeared.

FINALLY! Damn, that was a long speech, I didn't know how much more of that crap I could take, it was making me insane. Great, so I probably wouldn't die tonight. If I just explained how it all happened; that they didn't die and would wake up unharmed in 7 Earthland years, then she would probably not be as angry at me.

I flew back towards the city where Grandine and Silvia were now patrolling in a way better mood than the one I was in when I flew away. Yep, this was one of the better days.

**Okay, surprisingly I got all that done in one chapter, I hadn't expected that actually. Anyway, what did you think? It wasn't too horrible, was it?**

**I had completely forgotten Laxus had to come in as a good guy last chapter and it felt a little awkward the way I put him in in this chapter, I dunno. He appeared to be a good guy, since he saved Makarov from Acnologia and all, but… I just.. Kinda don't know .-. WHAT WAS I TRYING TO SAY?!**

**Have you guys (probably mainly the girls) seen Kamigami no Asobi? No? Well, I have gotten completely hooked on it, I saw all the episodes today .-. Anyway, since it just keeps playing in my mind, I had to get them in here somehow, so Sacheba has the same hairstyle as Dionysus and Simakan has the same hairstyle as Thor, the two characters which aren't as shown as the others. ^_^ I absolutely adore Dionysus' hair-style, I think it's amazing! Might just be me though…**

_**Shall we not all greet the translations welcome back? 1,2,3, WELCOME BACK! No? Okay...**_

'**Tarakona' means 'Dragon', 'Tehepo' means 'Chaos' (Ae (Yes) I know I have mentioned that earlier, but I highly doubt you checked it, so here it is again), 'Haruru' means 'Roar', 'Maikuku' means 'Claws', 'Parirau' means 'Wing', 'Huaki' means 'Attack', 'Rítaha' means 'Slashes', 'Ngaro' means 'Lost' or here 'Secret', 'Toi' means 'Art', 'Kaha' means 'Strength' and…. Yeah, that was it. Haven't you missed these guys? I haven't. Although I have memorized all of them except 'Rítaha', since I have figured out all of the attacks for the other elements as well, and translated them, and there were just those words that went again and again and again. So yeah. Isn't that just wonderful?**

**Thank you masedgirl16, 300spartan, darkrith, TwiSparkle001, OtakuLover43, SoaringRiver (Guest), Amethystfairy1, ShadeRider, GottaLoveOtakus, Claudia666, mjb379, 00halfblood (Guest) [Did you forget your password? :3], Darkverger1, Empress BloodRose, soralazuli (Guest), henning93, Choppie09, Raven Nightwalker, KillerCupcakes, aristofthemind, ShadeVarden, KlausMikelson (TVD fan?) and everyone else for everything! I'm too lazy to spell everything you've done out… ^_^Sowwyy!**

**~Line464d**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Guys, we might have avoided a potential disaster. You see, three days ago, while I was doing notes on my pc during a Science experiment in class, we were working with water, of course. As usual, when you're taking notes, you keep the pc close by, so of course I did too. Coincidentally, my friend tipped a glass of water over my pc. It was lying in a pool of water and the keyboard was drenched. 25 minutes later, I was not able to turn on the laptop. To say I was freaking out was an understatement. The first thing I was thinking about was how I wouldn't be able to update a new chapter for you guys. I got it home and let it dry in the sun, for two days. During those two days, I had no idea if the laptop would actually survive or not and I didn't know if my data would still be there. Luckily, as I turned the computer on for the first time after all that today, it turned on and everything was there. I was almost crying. **

**Anyway, I think you guys will like this chappie :3. I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail entirely.**

**Somewhere in the sky above Fiore~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I couldn't believe how fantastic it felt to have that confrontation with Summer and dear Lucy's guild out of the way and dealt with. I wouldn't have to bother with them in the entirety of seven years, and that's Earthland-years. We would probably mostly be in the Dragon Realm, alas 14 years. It already seemed to be wonderful.

"**Say, Mini-Me, I have waited to be in control for so long, do you mind if I take a little longer?**" I heard and felt my Dragon ask. He was still the one in charge since we'd blasted down that island. It was weird, it was like I was speaking those words, yet it was my Dragon who had actually said them and not me.

I, without thinking much, nodded. Then wondered afterwards how I could do that without my Dragon nodding with me. _Yeah, it's fine. Just don't do anything reckless, deal?_ I asked him, knowing entirely how well he probably would be able to do something like that.

He snickered. "**Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.**" He said mockingly. I was quite sure he had no intentions of obeying my deal. I moaned internally, what had I done?

Suddenly, images of Lucy wrapped in my arms and looking up at me with a huge blush and twinkling, brown eyes popped up in my head. What was this? Why did I see it?

_Jerk-face, what are these images?_ I asked him, he would probably know, since he had been in my position countless times and had probably also experienced what I was at the moment.

The Dragon's face lit up in a wide smirk. "**It would seem I have adopted some of your vivid imagination, Mini-Me.**" It simply said and let me figure the rest out. I wasn't _that_ bad, was I? It wasn't like I was walking around remembering that first day of training, like, every day. Pfft, no way.

I kept silent at his words, not finding any reply to his words. I watched as we passed by the town underneath us. Wait. That was _not_ supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to be seen by the humans! Damn, I was a scatter-brain sometimes! How could I forget?

Shortly after, I heard the surprised calls of the humans in Hargeon Port and I quickly gained altitude with a well-timed flap of my wings, flying over the clouds once again, feeling the thin air hit me like a brick. I gasped for breath a pair of times; readjusting to the less oxygen I was flying around in, before finally regaining a controlled breathing-pattern.

My Dragon snickered. "**Oh those humans, always so dramatic.**" He told me, making the both of us grin widely in the meantime. I rolled my eyes at him, even though I wasn't sure he would be seeing it at all. Of course he would go and do something like that; I was the one to get my ass kicked by Dravola later.

I let him be as he flew back to the two female Dragons I had left behind, wondering what would happen with him in charge, and quite curious to find out.

**In Hargeon Port, Earthland**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I looked up in the sky and saw a black Dragon with a white belly fly over the port-city, then disappearing above the clouds. I furrowed my eyebrows. That could only have been Acnologia, but why was he here? It wasn't like he and his group were particularly close by, it was quite a detour he had taken.

I shrugged it off, deciding to ask him later, and quickly caught up to Simakan, who was walking towards that big field where we landed to meet up with Dravola and Sacheba. We were basically done with this city, they talked about nothing but Fairy Tail's S-Class Exam, which was on Tenrou Island and likewise. No one spoke of anything else, at all.

Dravola and Sacheba were already waiting for us, although not seeming to have been waiting for a long time, they must have come fairly recently. I ran up to them, with a wide smile, passing Simakan in the progress and stopping in front of the two of them. "Te áheitanga katoa! (Hello) How did you do?" I asked them.

Sacheba smirked down at me, showing off his two snake-fangs. "Hmph, we didn't find anythhhing of value, exsscept about that SSS-Classss Exssam of Fairy Tailsss." He said and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "What about you two?" He asked, Dravola just standing expressionlessly next to him.

The smile I had been wearing dropped. "We actually…" I trailed off, not able to even say it. My lower lip began trembling at the thought of what had happened. Although it may have seemed like nothing to most, it seemed like they were moving on just fine without me, to me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Simakan, who looked grimly at Sacheba. "We saw Fairy Tail, or at least some of them, as they passed by. Besides that, we didn't see or hear anything else of any value." He quickly explained, squeezing my shoulder lightly. I smiled a weak smile up at him and nodded. I was grateful he had taken over the task of speaking; I didn't trust my voice right at that moment.

Sacheba frowned for a second, before putting up what could now be called his trademark fangy-grin and ruffled my hair playfully. "You don't have to worry about them, Lucccy; you have ussss now!" He reassured me.

I batted his hand away, annoyed with how he was ruffling my hair, knotting it, but then smiled up at him and nodded.

He turned to Simakan and looked seriously at him, but with a glint of humor in his eyes. "I'm getting Lucccy thisss time!" He told the Lightning Dragon, who shook his shoulder and looked away, with a slightly annoyed expression. Sacheba's face lit up and he quickly changed to his Dragon form in a poison cloud, with the sound of poison cauterizing something unknown as an added sound-effect.

I was overwhelmed by his size for a second, before climbing the wing he held down as a kind of ledge, and ending on the usual spot on his back. The two others changed into their Dragon forms as well, Simakan with a crack of lightning and Dravola with the sound of rustling leaves. The three Dragons quickly took off into the sky and flew into the air above the clouds.

Just like last, Simakan seemed to fall behind and Sacheba kept up with Dravola, who held a steady pace. I looked at the elder woman, deciding now was a good time to get answers to one of my unanswered questions. "Say, Dravola?" The old Dragon turned her head in my direction and looked at me with those wise eyes. "I've been meaning to ask for some time, but… How is it the day of my mother's death and the day the Dragon's left their children are the same day? Is there any connection between the two?" I asked her. That question had been nagging me as soon as I entered the Dragon Realm. Okay, maybe not, I had a lot of things going on in the start of all of this, so I really hadn't had time to think about it all. But lately, I had had the time, since I had gotten used to the daily training I was doing.

Dravola nodded and looked forward again. "**Ae (Yes), they are connected.**" She confirmed. "**That fateful day when Layla died, we held a funeral for her, even if she was not actually there. All the Head Dragons and their Second in Commands, as well as Layla's closest family was invited to the sad event.**" Dravola explained. Was that a hint of sadness I could detect there? The Dragon sighed deeply and closed her eyes as she continued. "**It was then decided, that because of Jude's recent actions, humans and Dragons would never be able to interact peacefully, and all Dragons were forbidden to talk to humans, except when we do the monthly visit to keep up with what was happening in Earthland.**" She opened her eyes and looked at me with one eye. I already knew what she was about to say now, but hoped it wasn't the truth. "**That included the Dragons who had children in Earthland.**" She finally said.

I nodded, but found her last words to stick to the back of my head. "When you say 'children', you mean Natsu for example, who Igneel adopted, right?" I asked for clarification.

Dravola looked confused at me and shook her head. "**Káo (No), Natsu **_**is**_** Igneel's child, by flesh and blood.**" Dravola said and looked weirdly at me.

My eyes barely stayed in their sockets. WHAT?! Natsu was _actually_ Igneel's born child? How was that even possible?!

Sacheba chuckled, making me jump in my 'seat'. "**You haven't been told?**" He asked and looked back at me, while I shook my head vigorously. Káo (No), I hadn't heard anything about that! Sacheba grinned widely. "**Igneel, Metallicana, Grandine, SSSkyadrum and Weissssslogia had children back then. Natssssu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfoxsss, Wendy Marvell, Rogue Cheney and SSSting Eucliffe.**" Sacheba told me. Where had I heard those two last names before? They seemed so familiar… The train! Oh my Mavis! I had even met Skyadrum and Weisslogia's children.

But even more importantly… They were the Dragons' _actual _children! I furrowed my eyebrows, I couldn't figure it out. "How…?" I muttered to no one in particular.

Sacheba snickered. "**Haven't you figured it out yet?**" He mocked me. When I shook my head exasperatedly, he continued his explanation. "**Remember how Dravola and Grandine exssplained all about the passst?**" He asked, having turned entirely serious. I nodded, yeah I remembered that alright. It was a big day for me. "**Okay. I'm sssure you alssso remember about the children of Dragonsss and human.**" He continued. "**The mother hassss the mossst influencsse on the child, which meansss if the mother issss a human, the child would alssso be a human, but with Dragon magic.**" He locked forward and with a smirk. I was having slight problems understanding what the Dragon was saying with all his hissing. "**Well, to be more precssisse; Dragon Ssslayer magic.**" He told me and looked at me from the edge of his eye.

I made an expression of realization. I remembered now, how the mother would always have more influence on the child than the father, since she was carrying the child around in nine months. But then… Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting and Rogue had Dragon blood running in their veins? But, if Grandine and Skyadrum were the parents of Wendy and Rogue, shouldn't they have a Dragon form too, since their mothers were Dragons? "Say Sacheba, don't Wendy and Rogue have a Dragon form then, if their mothers are Grandine and Skyadrum?" I asked the Poison Dragon.

Sacheba shook his head with a sad expression. "**Káo (No), I forgot to tell you; Ssskyadrum, asss the only one, actually **_**adopted**_** Rogue. Ssshe found the boy walking around aimlesssly in the ssstreetsss and decided ssshe would teach him Dragon Ssslayer magic. Ssshe did that in the sssame fassshion they taught Acnologia'sss grandfather it, excssept he'ss not quite assss ssstrong.**" He chuckled a little by himself. I thought back to the little, well-mannered, black-haired boy I had met in the train two months ago. Poor boy, I hoped he was feeling better now. Sacheba continued. "**And Wendy isssn't Grandine'sss actual child either. Káo (No), Wendy isss Grandine'sss brother'sss child. I don't know his name, but he had mated with a human, and when ssshe died during the birth, like every other human getting a Dragon child, he killed himsssself in hisss grief.**" Sacheba looked forward with a frown. "**Grandine felt sssome kind of resssponsssibility for Wendy, ssso ssshe took the child in and raisssed her, like ssshe thought her brother would have.**" Sacheba explained sadly.

I looked down at his purple scales. "Grandine…" I muttered sadly. How horrible for the poor Dragon. And she would feel it tenfold since everything was enhanced for her.

This little conversation, it had revealed so much about so many things, I didn't even know what I was supposed to say about all this. I had always though Natsu was just a child Igneel had found on the street and adopted, obviously that wasn't the case. He was that big Fire Dragon's child. It was so hard to comprehend now. But it all made sense, how he could always keep getting stronger and stronger, without any limit in sight. Likewise with Gajeel. And even Wendy; she was getting better and better at healing and could do it longer and longer.

I felt myself going down and shortly after a little bump followed up by a few extra smaller bumps - Also classified as a Dragon landing on the ground and Sacheba taking a few extra steps to slow down. I looked up and saw almost every Dragon was present, with the exception of Acnologia and his group. Simakan landed next to Sacheba with a bump and didn't need the little extra steps to slow down.

Some of the other Dragons - mainly Igneel, Metallicana, Amelane and Skyadrum - looked at me with a sad expression. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they had heard the very same we had in Hargeon, and that they probably knew I'd seen them. Their gazes basically told me everything they didn't say with words.

Amelane tilted her head and looked into my eyes, remaining silent as she asked me if I was okay. I smiled at her and nodded, making a motion as if brushing it off. I _was_ okay; it was just a moment of weakness. Those people always seemed to bring out my soft side, not that I had minded until recently.

I slid down Sacheba's back and landed lightly on my feet. I had done that so often, I could do it in my sleep if I had to. Although, that probably wouldn't be necessary.

I turned around when I heard the last three Head Dragons arriving at this empty field. I narrowed my eyes slightly as I saw Acnologia. Something was different about him; the way he held himself was more confident and just… Different. And that smirk too, it wasn't like anything I had seen him wear before.

He landed calmly and walked towards me, still with that weird smirk in place. It was kind of sexy though… WAIT WHAT?!

Acnologia lowered his head to my height and sniffed a pair of times, adopting a frown afterwards. His dark blue eyes met mine. "**Lucy, why is Simakan's scent all over you?**" He slowly asked, eyeing me.

I flinched. What was this all about? "Oh, I was just… You know, I saw my old friends from Fairy Tail and… Simakan was there so..." I trailed off and looked at the ground with a sad expression as the days' events replayed in my mind _once again._

Acnologia looked softly at me before pulling back and grabbing me with his tail, placing me on his back. "**Alright. Just forget I even brought it up.**" He said. I looked confused at him. He really wasn't acting like his usual self. He looked back at me with a smirk. "**Ready to go home?**" He asked, changing the topic.

I smiled and nodded at him, grateful for his attempt to lighten up the mood a little and changing the topic too. I made myself comfortable on his back and waited, along with the rest of the many Dragons in my company, for Dravola to open the portal to the Dragon Realm.

Dravola stepped up in front of all of us and cleared her throat. "**Standard procedure; quickly and efficiently.**" She simply said, to which every person present nodded.

The portal appeared in a split-second and every Dragon charged the portal. One after another, we all entered the portal, flew through it and ended on the field in the Dragon Realm again shortly after. When Dravola exited the portal as the last one, it vanished just as fast as it had appeared. We all said our goodbye and flew our own way.

I - once again - enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing through my hair and past my exposed skin. Then I remembered how I had seen him fly in the sky above Hargeon Port. I decided I would ask him what had happened when we back at our cave; it wasn't the time right now with the wind rushing in my ears and all.

The trip back home went quickly and silently. Acnologia landed carefully on the ground in front of the cave and began walking into it before I could get down from his back. He walked in the now dark cave and lay down on the moss with his back to the cave-entrance. Then I slid down him and landed safely on the moss.

I walked a few steps back so I could actually _see_ my big Dragon-friend. He was still smirking like that and looking directly down at me. I sat down on the moss, although it made me feel even smaller, when I was facing him. "Acnologia?" I started out, not quite sure how to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere we had been trapped in. He hummed a little to indicate he'd heard me. "What were you doing around Hargeon earlier today?" I asked him.

His smirk dropped a little, and then went up full-blown again. "**You see, Lucy.**" He started out. He let himself be engulfed in the dark orb briefly, before having changed into his Human form. He walked in confident strides towards me and sat down, pulling me up on his lap, with an arm around my waist. A warm blush made its way to my cheeks. Even though we'd been sitting like this a few times, somehow it was different this time. So very different. "I took a little detour to Tenrou Island today." He continued.

Tenrou Island? That would be where Fairy Tail was, doing that S-Class Exam of theirs. Wait… Acnologia went to Tenrou, where Fairy Tail was and Natsu too, since he was one of the candidates. Acnologia _hates_ Natsu more than anything. I looked up at him frowning. "What did you do Acnologia?" I asked straightforwardly.

Acnologia put up a fake pout. "Oh come on now, Lucy. Don't just go blame me for something I haven't done!" He whined mockingly. Then that smirk took over his facial features. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, just making me blush harder. How did he make me react like that? "Although, you're probably right." He whispered.

I felt a shiver run down my spine and threw myself out of the weird, but nice feelings I was getting. "What did you do Acnologia?" I repeated my earlier question; it came out more breathlessly this time around though.

He chuckled deeply, sending yet another shiver throughout my body. Even more warmth rose to my cheeks. "I might've blasted them 7 years into the future." He mumbled, while moving his head to the crook of my neck. Before I could say anything in protest, he continued. "This little girl showed up and saved them from an attack I had underestimated. You'll have to wait in 7 Earthland years before they come back though." He explained further.

I could kind of imagine what had been going on. Acnologia had wanted to kick Fairy Tail's ass, now he had the chance, like he had always said he would, and had accidentally - _hopefully_ \- underestimated one of his attacks, where this little girl saved all of them, but unfortunately kept them sleeping for 7 years.

I sighed and pulled back, as much as I could, I looked into the black and blue haired Dragon's dark blue, mesmerizing eyes. "Why, Acnologia? What made you do it?" I asked in a whisper, somehow finding it inappropriate to speak out loud.

Acnologia wasn't smirking for once; he looked deeply into my brown eyes with an unreadable expression. "This morning… When you called me _his_ name." He snarled, not at me, but at '_him_', who didn't take a genius to figure out was Natsu. My cheeks adopted a rosy color once again. "I was confused as to why you would be calling me by that name. Then, I heard your conversation with the female Head Dragons. He entered you apartment through the window and stayed the night, in your bed. But you loved him, so it didn't matter." He said in a sad voice. His eyes glinted with sorrow as well. He had heard?! I slowly began panicking. He wasn't supposed to hear that! He grabbed my wrist and placed my hand over his heart. "It hurt right here." He told me. His expression changed from sorrow to anger in a split-second, his grip on my wrist tightened. Not enough for it to hurt though. "Then I became angry. If you had loved him, what he said must have hurt even more than I first thought." He looked down at me and placed the hand, which was not holding my wrist, on my cheek, looking at me affectionately. "Besides, no one can just waltz in and sleep with _my_ girl." He told me.

I think I blushed more than I ever had in my life right at that moment. _His_ girl? W-what was he trying to say? Did… Did he love me or…? Was he confessing to me?

Maybe he could see the struggle in my mind, maybe he couldn't, but his words answered all of my questions. "Lucy. I love you." He told me with a genuine smile.

My eyes widened at his words, even though it might have been obvious he would tell me that now. Did I love him too?

The past months, every time he had cheered me up after I'd told some of my adventures with Fairy Tail, I had always felt so nice and comfortable quickly. I more often than not blushed at his touch or shivered. He always made me feel so happy, and every time we were close, I could feel this nice warmth in my stomach. Every time we were a little closer than what was 'normal', I felt butterflies flutter around in my stomach. He could always make me smile and laugh; he helped me through the hard time and introduced me to a whole new world, life and family. He gave me a home again.

So the answers was; Ae (Yes) I loved this black and blue-haired Dragon too. More than anything, I loved him. I wanted us to be more than just 'childhood friends'.

I took my free hand and placed it over the one he held on my cheek. I smiled warmly and tenderly up at him. "I love you too, Acnologia." I told him slowly and lowly.

A wide smile appeared on the Dragon's face and he leaned down, resting his forehead on mine, looking deeply into my eyes, hypnotizing me with his own. I felt butterflies begin to fly around in my stomach. "Thank you Lucy." He muttered, before he closed his eyes and captured my lips with his.

I widened my eyes in shock at his actions, but then closed my eyes and relaxed against him. I snaked my arms around his neck and tilted my head, allowing more space to work with. The hand he had had on my wrist moved to the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair, angling my head perfectly for him to move his lips against mine. His lips were so soft against mine and the warmth I felt in me swelled in size. Acnologia's and my lips moved in perfect sync with each other, I began to consider if it was meant to be.

I pulled myself closer to him, pressing my big chest against his hard one, hoping to show him I liked what he was doing and wanted more.

I believe my message went in clearly, because his tongue quickly showed up and licked my lips and teeth, asking for entrance. I quickly and eagerly obliged, opening my mouth and meeting his tongue with my own. We fought for dominance, but Acnologia quickly overwhelmed me and took charge. He tasted like something I had never tasted before, but it was _so_ good, I wished I could taste more of it, somehow.

Just like our lips, out tongues moved in perfect sync as well. It all just felt so nice. The butterflies I had had in my stomach burst into flames and left warmth deep in my stomach. It spread out like wildfire to the rest of me and made me feel hot all over.

Unfortunately, we had to break off, we both needed to get fresh air into our lungs. I rested my forehead against his, keeping my eyes closed as I panted for air. I felt Acnologia's hot breath on my face, magnifying my blush.

Acnologia had taken my first kiss. And he had done so perfectly. I couldn't imagine it to be any better than what it was now.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I had done it. I had told her I loved her and I had kissed her.

Or maybe I should say my Dragon had, he was still in charge. The thought dampened my mood a little. It had all felt so real too, the sweet taste of Lucy and the way we moved perfectly in sync, it had been my Dragon's work all along.

_Pfft, Mini-Me. Forget about that, I just set the mood for you, now you can continue. I know you want to, and so does she._ The Dragon told me as he pulled himself back and let me get out to the front. _No need to thank me, I've been waiting for this too long. Now was an as perfect time as ever._ He snickered.

I smiled. That damn jerk-face could be nice after all. I looked at Lucy; she was blushing furiously and smiling a sweet smile with closed eyes, while trying to catch her breath.

I felt a blush creep up on my cheeks as well. I was suddenly very aware of the way I was holding her and how she was holding me, but I didn't dare move. I didn't want to spoil the perfect moment we were having.

I ran my hand through her silky, silver hair. It was nice and soft and didn't have a single knot in it.

She opened her beautiful, brown orbs and looked up at me with such an emotional expression. Her smile grew wider and even sweeter. "Thank you, Acnologia, it was perfect." She thanked me while the rosy color on her cheeks grew a deeper shade of red, making her look even more beautiful.

I rubbed her soft cheek with the hand I had on it. "You look so beautiful with that blush." I whispered, changing the topic entirely. No matter what she did, she would always be beautiful.

She pouted and averted her gaze, her blush going even darker. "Don't say things like that, it's only making it worse." She muttered cutely. I chuckled at her sweetness. Why wouldn't I? She was irresistible.

I smiled at her and caught her eyes again. "Exactly." I hummed and leaned down to press my lips to hers once again. I wanted to feel and taste her again; I couldn't get enough of her. This time, we skipped the start and went right to using our tongues. The sweet taste of her flooded my taste-buds as her scent of vanilla and strawberries overwhelmed my nose. Along with my own scent, which now lingered on her instead of Simakan's.

The second was much more heated than the first was. I moved my hands to the back of her head and the middle of her back and flipped us around so she was lying with her back on the moss and I was above her, our lips never parted throughout it all. I used one arm to steady myself on the ground and my free hand rested on her shoulder. One of her hands found its way to my hair and her fingers tangled themselves into it, the other was on my back, she dug her nails into my jacket lightly.

I moved my lips to the skin on her neck, right underneath her jaw, looking up at my beautiful girl, who kept her warm, inviting eyes closed. Her cheeks were rosy "Lucy~" I muttered, wanting to ask a quite important question now, while I was still able to think clearly. She mumbled a 'Mmm' as an answer, not opening her eyes, much to my dismay. But on the other hand, it just shwówed how much she enjoyed this. A smile crept up on my face. "Would you like to be mine _forever_?" I asked her tenderly. I'd been hoping I would get the chance to ask her that question for some time, now I finally did, so I asked her.

Lucy opened her warm orbs and looked at me with slight confusion. "Are you asking me to become your mate?" She asked me, while trying to catch her breath. Doesn't she want to? Is she asking this question because she doesn't want to be my mate? My girl?

I nodded slowly and looked hopefully into her lovely eyes. The hand I had on her shoulder moved to her cheek. "Ae (Yes), that's exactly what I'm asking." I told her, still looking deeply into her eyes, desperately hoping she wouldn't refuse. "Lucy, I love you more than anything. I've waited in 7 years to see you again, I finally got you back; I don't want to lose you to some other guy. I would do any-mmph!" my sentence was cut short when Lucy silenced me with a kiss of her own.

She pulled back again; unfortunately, I had wanted more of her, and looked up at me with affectionate eyes. She moved her own hand - the one tangled into my hair - to my cheek, much like the way I was with her. "Sweetie, of course I will." She smiled at me.

Normally, I would probably have protested against that nickname of hers, but right at that moment, I was too happy to even notice it. A bubble of pure joy burst inside me. She had accepted! Out of pure happiness, I pushed myself down a little and kissed her deeply. It only took her about a second to come over the initial shock, then she moaned and moved with me.

I almost lost control of myself at the sound she had made, but pulled back from her, making her whimper at the loss of contact. I moved to her collarbone, brushed her shirt and bra away, leaving it exposed, and gently put a single kiss there. "It may hurt a little, but please bear with it." I mumbled to her and sank my teeth into the soft skin. Two of my upper teeth grew longer and pierced her skin. She moaned - again - at the broken skin making it hard for me to - once again - keep focused on what I was doing.

I sent a very little amount of magic through my fangs and into Lucy. I pulled back, my elongated teeth instantly shrunk back to their original length. I licked the little blood around the two punctures in her delicious skin. It tasted metallic and of her, somehow it tasted… Well not exactly 'good', but not 'bad' either.

I pulled away from it and looked down. A smile appeared on my face. Between the two punctures, there was a tiny version of the blue marks I had all over me when I was in my Dragon form. It was just about 2 inches wide and 5 inches long and bright blue. I felt a short, but sharp, pain on my chest. I decided against checking it out now, it could wait till tomorrow.

I looked down at my mate at found her blushing like mad. She looked up at me with tender eyes. I smiled at her and hand ghosted over the mark that showed everyone that she was mine. And _only_ mine. "How is it? Does it hurt?" I asked her.

She gently shook her head. "Káo, only in the start." She smiled then winked at me. "Then it turned into pleasure instead." She purred lowly, leading me to lose control. Oh she was asking for it. I smirked at her and readied my hands. She realized what I was about to do and began shaking her head quickly. "Káo Acnologia! Don't do it!" She screamed at me. It fell on deaf ears though - literally, I almost turned deaf at the high octave her voice was in - I had already decided that I would do it.

My hands jabbed down and I began tickling her all over. Her sweet giggles and laughs filled the cave, mixed up with my chuckles. She could wiggle out of it either; I kept her escape-routes locked. She laughed and squirmed around under me, trying to escape my fingers, but to no avail.

I couldn't find a more perfect way to end a perfect day.

**I was cracking up when in the middle of the love scene there, where I wrote "Would you like to be mine **_**forever**_**?" it wanted to autocorrect 'mine' to 'mining'. I was damn near dying, my lil' bro even came in to check if I was alright. And then in that situation no less, just imagine if I hadn't seen it, and it had just changed it to 'mining'. 'Would you like to be mining forever?'. Would give the story a complete plot-twist.**

**The chapter we've all been waiting for, eh? Finally Lucy and Acnologia makes out and confess their love for each other, **_**as well as **_**becoming mates. I found out as I wrote this, that I have quite the dirty mind, at times anyway. I desperately hope this isn't supposed to be in the M rating, to me it seemed pretty innocent, like… The clothes weren't even taken off and they didn't **_**really**_** consider taking it further - if you know what I mean - so I believe it still belongs to the T rating. Please inform me if I am wrong, I don't want all my hard work to be deleted! .-.**

**Thank you mjb379, Ihte, Waternixie, clumzybeans, 00halfblood, Guest, .96, mia1837, Amethystfairy1, Darkverger1, KillerCupcakes, Misty-Silver-Kitsune-Hanyo1230, .3, Dana frost hall (Guest), darkrith, RealJesus, MyFairytail00, TwiSparkle001, 3131182, Tenmaru, MoonStar1312, Ichigo666strawberry, aristofthemind, MizukiCelestial StarZ, shiningkitty, DAngelHime, Maiannaise, DarkInuPrincess8893, Neko2002, Tyufvfv, FairyTailLuvr29, Stranger Of The Lost Time, Hay-Its-Nana and all you other readers for everything. Mainly following the story and reading it! ^_^**

**Anyway, if you just took a second to consider I have never, EVER, had a love-life on my own - meaning I haven't kissed anyone like that either - how did I do? I know it can't be 100% perfect before I try it myself, but I picked some things up from romance Fic's and novels here and there so… Yeah. How did I do?**

**~Line464d**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Yaaaay~ We've reached 300 followers! ^_^ I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Fairy Tail. Sloweypokey does.**

**In the morning, Dragon Realm ~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I didn't know why the heck I woke up before Lucy, I simply just did. _Normally_, I would be sleeping for hours yet, but somehow, being with Lucy had changed that completely. Now, I woke up before her, which said something.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the sleeping silver-haired beauty. A smile found its way to my face. She was mine now, she was my mate. No one was of any threat when it went in that direction.

I changed to my Human form and kneeled down in front of her. I brushed her beautiful, silky hair out of her even more beautiful face, and pushed it behind her ear. I looked down at the place where I had marked her the night before. I carefully pushed the clothing away, revealing the bright-blue mark on her collar-bone.

It reminded me of the weird sensation I had felt right after I had marked her. I dropped my jacket and pulled off my shirt to see if there was anything visible. There was. A mark, like Lucy's and the ones I had as a Dragon, although bigger than Lucy's, but nowhere near as big as those in my Dragon from, in pitch-black decorated my chest.

I looked down at her again. So it wasn't only the females who got a mark, the males did too. I ran a hand through my unruly hair and picked up my shirt again. "Aww, and here I was; enjoying the good view." A soft voice mumbled behind me.

I smirked down at my mate, who was looking up at me with those irresistible brown eyes of hers. "So you like the view, do you?" I asked, spreading my arms out, as if it would give her a better view.

She got up and stood in front of me. She stood on the tips of her toes and gave me a quick peck on my lips. "Of course I do Sweetie." She teased me.

I groaned under my breath, both at the name she had given me and the _way_ too short kiss. "Don't call me that." I smirked again. "Miss Lucy." I added, watching as she pouted cutely in anger. I pulled her into a hug, pushing her head against my bare chest, where the new mark rested, and buried my nose in her silky hair, inhaling her sweet scent, mixed with my own, making my Dragon cheer inside me. I didn't know how I had become so lucky to have a girl as wonderful as her. I felt her arms locking behind me above my waist. "I love you, Lucy." I mumbled down in her hair. I felt the need to tell her over and over so there was no doubt she understood.

She tightened her arms around me. "I love you too Acnologia." She said, making warmth flow throughout my whole body. I would never get tired of hearing those words. _Ever. _We just stood like that for a while, none of us really wanting to let go, but knowing we would have to. At some point. After too little time, Lucy's grip loosened around my waist. She looked up at me with those too-beautiful-for-her-own-good eyes. "I have to go meet the girls at the river." She whispered slowly, as if she was trying to stall just a little longer.

I nodded and reluctantly released her. She stepped back and looked up at me with a little smile. I immediately felt the absence of her warmth and had to restrain myself from reaching out and just keeping her in my arms.

She blew me a kiss and walked to the bag near the entrance, grabbed some new clothes and a towel and went out of the cave. I stared off into space; I could feel my chest burning where she'd touched me, like when you took a lump of ice in your bare hands and let it melt, as well as my back. It was a comfortable burning, one I wanted to experience again. Her sweet, sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries still lingered in our cave, it was the only thing I could smell.

**Near the river**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I shivered. It was quite cold out here, compared with our comfortable cave in Acnologia's arms. I wasn't wearing thick clothes either, a pair of short shorts and a tank-top, maybe that could explain it. I held my arms close to my stomach in hopes of regaining, or just keeping some of the warmth I'd gathered in Acnologia's embrace.

Finally the trees thinned out and the river came into view. As usual, no one was there yet. The other Head Dragons would usually first show up after I'd entered the water, I had no idea how they found out when they were 'supposed' to show up, a sixth sense maybe?

I quickly dropped my clothes and submerged myself in the crystal river-water. Just as I expected, the other three showed up and plopped down in the water next to me.

I heard a gasp from my right and saw Amelane staring at my collar-bone. "L-Lucy! Have you and Acnologia finally… AAH!" Amelane squealed like some fan-girl. I moved a little closer to Skyadrum, who sat on the other side of me, with Grandine. An image of Mira popped up in my mind and I shivered.

I unconsciously moved a hand to the mark which adorned my collar-bone, hiding it from view. I could feel my cheeks flaring in a deep blush. I looked down in the water, not looking at any of them in embarrassment. That wasn't to be understood that I regretted it, káo (no) not at all, I was still ecstatic it had happened. It just felt kind of personal.

Skyadrum stuck her head closer to me and sniffed a pair of times, then nodding and pulling back. "Now you mention it, his scent's all over you Lucy." She smirked at me with a glint of amusement in her eyes. "What have you two been doing?" She asked teasingly. My cheeks adopted an even deeper color of red and I didn't dare looking at either of them. Someone grabbed the wrist of the hand I covered my mark with and yanked it away. "Don't hide it! I want to see the proof!" She told me and released my wrist. I gave up trying to hide my mark, it would have been fruitless anyway, I didn't have much choice on the matter.

Grandine and Amelane also moved closer to get a look on the newly-made mark. Skyadrum and Amelane squealed while Grandine giggled girlishly. She looked down at me and my eyes met her sky-blue ones. "It was about time too. What happened?" She asked smiling widely at me.

Skyadrum and Amelane broke out of their trances and looked expectantly at me. "Yeah Lucy! Spill it!" Skyadrum chirped in, moving closer to me to get a better chance of hearing it all.

Now it was my turn to squeal as I remembered _exactly_ what had happened the night before. I hid my burning face in my hands and muffled the sounds I made. I couldn't say that! Not out loud!

Grandiinesighed next to me. I glanced at her though my fingers. She was looking at me with a firm expression and a face that said she wanted no disagreement. "Lucy, tell us already!" She ordered me.

I nodded, pulled my hands away, straightened my back and rolled my shoulders. I looked at the three of them and felt my cheeks heat up again. I told them everything that had happened the night before with Acnologia. Right from when we'd returned to the cave and he told me about his little detour to Tenrou, his confession and at last out first kiss and him claiming me as his.

Throughout my explanation, various squeals, 'aww's' and likewise came from my three girlfriends, mainly Amelane. She held her cheeks in her hands in real Mira-fashion. "Ohhh~ Young love~!" Amelane sighed dreamily.

Skyadrum looked at me with a grin. "So, Lucy." She said to get my attention. She leaned in closer. "Was it good?" She asked, the grin turning into a smirk.

I think the color of my face could rival Igneel's scales at that point. And was that steam coming out of my ears and nose? "S-S-Sk-Sk-Skyad-drum! D-don't ask th-things l-like that!" I stammered in a high-pitched voice.

The Shadow Dragon broke out laughing at that. Grandine smiled at me with that usual kind smile of hers, which then took a swing to the amused side. "Well, was it?" She asked, urging me to answer Skyadrum's question. Amelane nodded eagerly, also ecstatic to know what I thought about it all.

I looked around at the three ladies surrounding me. I sighed, dropped the tension I had apparently had in my shoulders and relaxed in their company. Weren't I supposed to share all the details with my girl-friends? Wasn't that how it was supposed to be? I groaned as I remembered the fantastic night. "Yeah! Of course it was good!" I said looking up at them around me. "He just tasted _so_ good, it was _perfect_!" I told them, having finally released the tension and relaxed around them, I could tell them just about anything.

Amelane squealed again and pulled me into a tight hug, almost suffocating me. "AAHHHHH!" She fan-girled, again I was almost frightened by the similarities to Mira. "You're so sweet!" She nuzzled her cheek in my silver hair. "You two are _perfect_ together!" She reassured me. "You're like the little, innocent, cute Princess who was taken away by the big, bad, dangerous Dragon, and then you fell in love!" She squealed again. I sweat dropped at her picture of Acnologia and I. Thing was, I could see what the Water Dragon was talking about, it fit quite well.

Essentially, Acnologia _had_ taken me away to the Dragon Realm. I _was_ called 'Princess' by many of my Spirits. I was little, cute and innocent and he was - kinda - big, bad and dangerous. Well, and a Dragon too. _And_, we _did_ fall in love.

I laughed along with the other two at the Water Dragon's antics. Amelane began giggling with us and released me from her tight grip, allowing the normal amount of air to get to my lungs again.

I didn't know how I hadn't noticed before, but now I saw that all of the Head Dragons with me had a mark as well. Skyadrum had a little white tribal-sun, Amelane a deep blue water-drop and Grandine a little red fire. The same figure as the tattoo Igneel had and the color of his scales. I squealed internally. Oh dear Mavis! They're perfect together!

After a while, I heard Alodiculis' wing-beat in the distance, but when I looked in the direction, I couldn't see him. I smiled, my senses had really progressed a lot, and I was almost at the same level as the other Dragons. Alodiculis had said that my Dragon form probably wasn't so far away now my senses were so developed. Which of course had made me overly happy.

I stepped out of the water and changed into the clothes I had brought with me. I waved at the Dragons as they flew away in their Dragon form. I reached the middle of the field just as Alodiculis landed there. His eyes traveled to my collar-bone where he quickly spotted the new mark. He smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything else on the topic.

**In the clearing in Socubedo - Dragon Realm**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Deamunas circled around me with a smirk adorning his face. "**Tell me, Acnologia, why do you smell so much of our little, silver-haired friend?**" He asked mockingly. I knew he already knew, so I just glared at him. Which in return made the big Dragon snicker. He stopped in front of me and looked into my eyes. "**It was about time too, honestly, you should have just told her.**" He said and rolled his eyes with a grin.

_I have to agree with him, Mini-Me; you really just should. As you can see, she loves you too._ My Dragon snorted. _But then again, it's you. I never expected you to act so _boldly_. You simply don't have the courage for things like that._ It told me. If I could, I would have kicked him in the face long ago.

I chose to ignore my Dragon and just nodded exasperatedly at my SIC. I knew they were right. If maybe I had asked her earlier, Lucy and I would have had this relationship for longer. I really didn't care though, because now she was mine, she was my mate, just like I had wished for so long.

I looked at my friend. "**Yeah, yeah I know. Am I just doing the usual today?**" I asked the Chaos Dragon, who sighed and nodded. He went over to his stone and lay down with his head on it as if it was a soft pillow. I gathered my magic in my claws and aimed for the three human-sized targets in front of me. "**Tehepo Tarakona's Rítaha! (Chaos Dragon's Slash!)**"I said loudly and slashed the three targets separately with ease using my magic-enhanced claws. This move was quite simple in my Dragon form, but I wondered how I would do it in my Human form. Would I just let the magic materialize into claws coming from the ends of my fingers? Yeah, I think that was how I was supposed to do it. But then it would be much like the Maikuku (Claw) then...

I got ready to do it again, I hadn't hit them all _precisely_ in the middle. Deamunas usually was such a perfectionist, so I had to do it _completely_ right. Just as I was about to channel my magic again, Deamunas broke in. "**Was it good then?**" He asked.

I didn't take long for me to figure out he was continuing our earlier conversation. I turned to him and looked at him with a lopsided smirk. "**Wouldn't you like to know?**" I mocked him. He looked at me with an are-you-kidding-me look. I nodded and looked at the targets. "**Of course it was. It was more than 'good', it was more like… 'Perfect'.**" I told him. Well, maybe more than perfect would fit better.

Deamunas grunted. "**Of course it was.**" He mumbled. "**It always is.**" He added.

I turned around and looked at him. He seemed lost in thought. I smiled, knowing what - or rather _who_ \- he was thinking about. "**How's everything with Chylirobi?**" I asked him.

Deamunas' eyes turned away from the forest and onto me again. A smile crept its way to the big Dragon's face. "**Good, actually. We had some… 'Fun' yesterday.**" He smirked at me and wiggled his non-existent eyebrows.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him, turning to look at my targets, using the same move once again and slashed them over at the middle. "_**Thank**_** you Deamunas.**" I said sarcastically. I looked at him again, but with a grin. "**But it's good it's going well between you.**" I said.

Not long ago, Chylirobi suddenly came by during my training. That was when I learned she and Deamunas had mated, and had been mates for over a year. Why he hadn't told me was beyond me. But when he told me, I was afraid her father would still have a spark of his old self in him. Fortunately, he had approved of the two. On the other hand though, there wasn't much he could have done about it all, even if he wanted to.

I hadn't noticed Basuril had finally shown up before he spoke. "**Ac-nii-chan! Why do you smell like Lucy?**" He asked, tilting his head cutely. I looked down at him. For some reason, he hadn't shown up early like he usually did, apparently, he had first arrived now.

I smiled at the little Dragon. "**That's because-**" I wasn't allowed to say more when Deamunas cut me off and took over.

He got on his feet and smirked at my cousin. "**Because Acnologia here finally made her his girlfriend.**" He said, looking down at the little Dragon, waiting for his reaction.

And a reaction he would get. Basuril first seemed confused, then his face lit up in a wide smile with teeth and everything. He looked at me with sparkles flying around him. "**Ac-nii-chan! You and Lucy are **_**finally**_** together! Now Lucy is my onee-san!**" He said happily and skipped around in a daze. I raised a non-existent eyebrow at the little Dragon. I hadn't known he was so eager for Lucy and I to get into a relationship.

I nodded at the little Dragon. "**Yeah. You could say she is.**" I confirmed. Well, if I was his big brother, then Lucy _kind of_ was his big sister. _Kind of_.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I waved at Alodiculis as he flew off to whatever place he went to. I pulled out Loke's key. "Open Gate of the Lion! Leo!" I said and cut through the air. The usual golden light shone in front of me and revealed my Lion Spirit in his suit.

He placed an arm around my shoulder and looked at me through his glasses with a grin. "Ready for training, beautiful?" He asked flirtatiously.

A tick-mark appeared on my forehead. Today, and probably from now on, that flirting of my Lions' would have to stop. I wasn't a 'free' woman now, nope, I was taken. I whipped my arm up and punched him in the face, momentarily forgetting the strength I had built up over the two months, putting everything into it.

It hit the Spirit spot on and he flew off me, landing on the ground some away. I realized I had put a little too much force into it and whipped around looking anxiously at my Lion for any injuries.

He sat up with an arm steadying him on the ground and looked at me with a wide smile. "I'm proud of the strength you've built up, Princess, but did you have to show it off so strongly~?" He whined. I shook my head at him. Oh Loke… He got up and walked towards me, finally noticing the little mark between my neck and shoulder. He smirked at me and pushed his glasses up. "Oh, I see now." He said calmly. He stood in front of me. "He finally said it, did he?" He snickered.

I didn't understand why he was laughing, honestly. If he was 'in love' with me, like he constantly said he was, then this wouldn't be a good thing for him. Besides, if he went around flirting with me and everything now, he would have to face Acnologia.

He smiled at me and winked. "It's going to be so much fun driving your Dragon mad." He said happily. I sweat dropped. Of course. Oh dear me.

I didn't have time to answer as a heavy thump was heard, announcing the arrival of the Iron Dragon. He grunted and went over to the two of us. Judging by his facial expression, he hadn't heard our conversation.

As he got closer, he scrunched his nose up and looked down at me. "**You reek of the Brat. What have you two been doing?**" He asked accusingly. I just sighed and tapped my finger under the mark, drawing his attention there. His face lit up in realization, and then a smirk. "**Oh, I see how it is.**" He said slowly. He shared a glance with Loke and both their smirks grew. They both turned to look at me again. "**I'm going to have so much fun~**" He said happily.

I sighed. Why me? They were both going to tease Acnologia through me now. I was going to be so often sexually harassed that it was a daily occurrence. I cried mentally. I hoped they would be over this quickly.

Metallicana let himself be caught in a swivel of metal and changed into his Human form, where he stood right next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder, making sure he left some of his scent on me. He looked at me with a smirk and a glint of amusement in his eyes. "You ready to run?" He asked in a mockingly menacing way.

Without giving the Dragon any answer, i ducked under his arm an ran off to the forest, soon enough I heard him following me. I wondered how long I would be doing this, my endurance had already progressed a lot, and so had my physical strength.

I dodged all the trees with ease and a smile slowly made its way to my face. I had begun to enjoy this now I could outrun the Dragon. I was faster than him, but I didn't have the same stamina as that old geezer did.

"LUUUUUCYYYYY!" Metallicana yelled somewhere behind me. "WE'LL DO THIS FOR AN HOUR, THEN RETURN TO THE LION AND PRACTISE YOUR CLOSE COMBAT!" He yelled. I rubbed my ears. He really didn't have to yell so loudly, I could hear him perfectly fine.

Well, payback time it is then. "OKAY! SEE IF YOU CAN CATCH ME THEN!" I yelled even louder than he did and giggled when I heard a loud 'OW' following my words. Served him right for yelling so loudly.

**At the end of the day~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I was getting pretty grumpy. This training was too monotone, nothing new ever happened. Besides that, my Dragon continuously tortured me with making his presence known through rude remarks and insults. That and Deamunas kept teasing me with Lucy and Basuril was just jumping around like some kind of rabbit.

All that, plus I wanted to see Lucy _so_ bad. It had been too long since this morning, and I wanted to see her again, feel her again, kiss her again. I just wanted to get away from here and to my mate. All I'd been doing was slashing annoying targets with Summer's face in both my Dragon and Human form.

Deamunas snickered at me as I grumpily made claws of my Chaos magic and slashed the targets in perfectly straight lines down the middle, from the 'head' and down. "**Someone's a little grumpy, huh?**" He teased. I whipped my head towards him and glared at him, which only made him laugh louder. "**I remember those days, they were so horrible! Now you're going through it!**" He laughed, trying to get his breathing in order again. I really couldn't see what was so fun about my situation. He shook his head with a wide grin. "**I think we'll end the day here, before you tear this forest apart to find Lucy.**" He grinned.

Was it just me or was he hinting he knew something? I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you talking about?" I asked him suspiciously. If he knew something, I would make sure he would tell me. One way or another.

He looked up at me. "**Right now all you want is to find Lucy and-**" He glanced at Basuril, who was mindlessly watching gigantic butterflies. "**Well, **_**taste**_** her, if you know what I mean.**" I growled in acknowledgment, my Dragon was for once in perfect sync with me. Ae (Yes), all I wanted was to _taste_ her. Or just simply to be with her, I could also manage with that. He snorted at me. "**There's no need to be so rude.**" He rolls his eyes before looking at me with a grin again. "**Every new pair of mates will experience what you are here in the start.**" His smirk grew wider. "**Right now Lucy wants to do the very same thing you do.**" He smirked.

I groaned. Did he really have to say that? Now I just wanted to get away from here faster. He motioned for me to get going, and I didn't need more than that to fly back to our cave. "**Bye Ac-nii-chan~!**" Basuril yelled after me. I swished my tail as the only kind of reply he was getting.

It didn't take long to reach the cave, surprisingly short actually. I landed hard onthe ground and walked into the cave. Lucy's wonderful, delicious, sweet scent still lingered in the big cave and my nose was filled with her scent. While it was a more than wonderful sensation, it wasn't as fresh as the scent I had wanted to smell. She wasn't here, she was still training. I growled in frustration. I couldn't just go up there and take her away.

I walked to the middle of the cave and lay down on my stomach curling up around myself, just as I would have done if Lucy was here. Actually, if Lucy was here, I would have changed into my Human form and-

"Acnologia!" The female voice I had hoped to hear called out to me. I looked up and found my beautiful silver-haired mate standing in the entrance, looking at me with a wide smile and a happy glint in her mesmerizing brown eyes.

I - faster than I ever had before - changed to my Human form and rushed to her, clashing my lips to hers in a passionate kiss, our tongues danced with each other, constantly touching each other. _This_ was what I had been wanting the last half day. Her sweet taste of strawberries and vanilla, just like her scent. Both were delicious beyond belief.

I would have done that all day, but we also needed to breathe, so I pulled back and pulled her into my chest in a tight hug, both of us breathless.

I nuzzled my nose in her hair, inhaling her fresh scent. It was so much better than the hours-old one hanging around in the cave. I hummed a little in satisfaction. I relished in the feeling of my girl pressed up against me. My Dragon perked up and made satisfied noises as well. I smiled, he enjoyed this too. Of course he would, his feelings are linked to mine after all.

Lucy tilted her head back and our lips met once again. This time, the kiss wasn't as passionate as before, it was more controlled and calm, we enjoyed the taste of each other. We drew it out as long as our lungs allowed and when we pulled away from each other, I placed a light kiss on her nose.

Nope, I wouldn't get enough of her. Although I _would_ beat that old man up for leaving that horrid smell of his on my mate. I was quite sure this wasn't the last time I would catch that smell on my wonderful girl, I had already gotten enough of it.

**I apologize for the short chapter! D': **

**I had a major writer's block! This chapter was **_**so**_** forced, I don't know if you could see that. In the end here, I wanted to write more, I just couldn't get any more in it. .-.**

**I feel it was so bad…! Please don't hammer me too much! ****.**

**And Guest, don't worry, I'm not on HIATUS, so you can go calmly to sleep. Nope, I will tell you guys if I ever do that. **

**Thank you mjb379, SkylaStarLucy, .Star, aristofthemind, OtakuLover43, RaspberryNeko, Maiannaise, kiki neko-chan NYA, Guest, Nicole (Guest), Pastel Witch, katiecookie431, Guest, ExDragon, LuvMe4eva, Darkverger1, EmmyHippo, Guest, sora lazuli (Guest), Rainbow Bullet, googly gummy worms, FairyTailLuvr29, Ryu-chan the koorime, animebooknerd, clumzybeans, Yuki Uzumaki Uchiha Namikaze, blackat98, Black Fox Kenzie, MoonStar1312, LaurenSmithxox, BuioLupo, KorokoChi, amerdism, Jasmine-angela, maskedgirl16, PaganPetrify, Pika'Girl'In'The'Poke'World, Daddys little crazy bitch, Guest and everyone else for everything. Surprisingly many Guests this time… 6… o.O**

**Is it just me or is this ^ part getting bigger or bigger? Not that I mind ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**You're getting an arly chapter today, guys, isn't it wonderful? ^_^**

**From now on and until Fairy Tail is back from Tenrou, the days won't come after one another, so it constantly time skips, if not I will tell you. 'Kay? ^_^**

**On a much darker note (I know it's supposed to be the other way 'round) you remember a pair of weeks back about my computer getting water, but surviving? Yeah well, showed up that it just needed a pair of weeks to shut down :( Basically, I can't turn it on... **

**Luckily though, I've saved the chapters and ideas for new stories I've written on Google Docs, and we have more than one computer in the house, so I'll be able to upload and everything. I've also downloaded the app on my phone, so I can write whenever I want, basically, ^_^**

**That doesn't really affect you guys at all, I just realized... Well, now you know! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail, the most wonderful anime ever, made by Slowpoke. (I don't know why I keep calling him that .-.')**

**In the cave, Dragon Realm - Early morning hours~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I woke up before Acnologia. The other night it had been pretty cold, so I had pretty much been lying flush up against Acnologia while he was in his Dragon form. He was against it in the start, but when he found out how cold I was getting, he finally relented and let me sleep close to him.

He told me it was soon autumn, so it would be colder outside. I had been such a genius, I hadn't packed the winter-clothing, because I didn't expect I would be sleeping in a cave during the autumn or winter. As a Dragon, he didn't feel the cold like I did, but that was only in his Dragon form. I couldn't wait to get my own Dragon form, one; it would be _so_ cool to be able to fly around in the sky on my own, and just generally transform into a Dragon, two; I wouldn't be freezing at night.

Oh, and I could be close to Acnologia at night, without him fearing to squash me in his sleep. I doubted he would ever do that though, he didn't move an inch tonight.

The last few days it had been a nightmare training at the end of the day, because of this mate-thing, where we just get more and more frustrated and temperamental the longer we stayed apart. We'd always more or less meet up and say 'hi' the way we did the first day after becoming mates, which was a wonderful way to say hi. It had gotten better, but it was still irritating when you also wanted to focus on training. Alodiculis had said that it would disappear completely in time.

Acnologia had really progressed in his training, he had mastered all the attacks, except Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art). It was the last one, then he could look for his next element. Apparently it wasn't just piece of cake to find out how your Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art) was. Deamunas had explained that it was affiliated with a god, so what he had to figure out first was what god that was.

I had also progressed a lot in my training. I didn't run so much with Metallicana anymore, since I now focused more on the close combat I lacked. He insisted that would help me with that too. I really don't know what's making him want to help me so much, but I had come to like the old guy. Even if he kept rubbing himself against me every chance he got, along with my Lion Spirit I might add, just to piss Acnologia off. Besides that, they both bothered me about our 'love-life' and everything they could come up with.

I didn't know what to make of the Iron Head Dragon, he was like a crazy big brother. All the Head Dragons - plus Basuril, Deamunas and Alodiculis - were like my new family by now. Big brothers and sisters. Dravola was like the mother of all of us, a little like how Makarov was like the father of Fairy Tail.

Getting off that sidetrack, I had also opened Horologium's, Crux' and Pyxis' keys in the Celestial star in my subconscious. Now Horologium could stay out longer, Crux could enter new and bigger archives and Pyxis could find anything anywhere no matter what.

I could also keep a ball with my Celestial magic in one hand and one with my Peace Dragon magic in the other and then juggle with them. Which Alodiculis had been impressed with. Much like Acnologia, I was also practicing the attacks. The three basics were the same throughout every element, and there were also Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength), which was basically like Dragon Force, and Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art), which was also the original to "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art". The unique move for the Peace Dragon magic was "Mau'Te Rongo Tarakona's Kurupae" (Peace Dragon's Beam). I wasn't that far yet though, I was only just starting with the Roar.

With Loke and Metallicana, I had improved too. But it was so much harder than magic-control and general magic-based things, because I could easily control my magic, be it Dragon or Celestial. But I hadn't _ever_ practiced hand-to-hand combat. Except the few times where Erza had tried. It still gave me nightmares. Then the whole Edolas-thing came around, and she didn't have time for me. I was still learning the basics, perfecting them came afterwards.

I carefully went to my clothes and belt with keys and whip like usual and sneaked out of the cave, so I wouldn't wake Acnologia, towards the river in the daily routine.

**With Alodiculis~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I focused my Peace Dragon magic in my mouth, inhaled the air sharply and spouted it out again infused with magic. "Mau'Te Rongo Tarakona's Haruru! (Peace Dragon's Roar)" I yelled and fired at a log of wood Alodiculis had put up. A bright beam of silver magic that seemed to glitter flew fast straight at the wooden target and hit spot on, making a fine hole through the wood. The bright light of the beam surrounded and blinded me. For some reason it was so much brighter than it usually was, actually it shouldn't even be close to blinding me.

I shrugged it off and looked at Alodiculis for praise, I had probably just used too much magic. He was smiling at me and nodding. Then I realized, Alodiculis wasn't as big as he used to be. Káo (no), not at all, he was only a little taller than me. I widened my eyes, which were - almost - at the same height as the other Dragons'. I took a step back, but stepped on myself. I turned my head and saw a long, slender body of a silver Dragon, with a pair of elegant wings and a long, slender tail, which seemed to fit together perfectly.

The scales glittered in the sunlight, much like the Roar I had just fired off. There weren't anything at the tail or down the back, it was completely bare, it only seemed to add to the elegance. The two wings on the back were long and wide, compared to the rest, and only those silver scales.

A smile found its way to my face. I had found my Dragon form! Finally, I wouldn't have to freeze at night. Acnologia wouldn't have to worry about squashing me in his sleep. I could fly myself, I wouldn't have to constantly sit on the backs of everyone. And I could be a Dragon. That was probably the most cool of it all.

I tried lifting my tail, it felt weird, but also natural in a way. I swished it from side to side and felt my muscles move with it. I spread my wings, still looking behind me at myself as I did it. They were a little harder to move around than the tail, but still natural, in a way. I flapped them, but it wasn't done right, it was kind of lopsided. I furrowed my eyebrows. I guess I need some training on the flying-department, but that would be expected. Birds can't fly right from their birth either.

I turned my head and long neck to Alodiculis and noticed his melancholic smile. "**You look so much like your mother.**" He told me and smiled.

I smiled brightly at him. "**I do? Thank you Alodiculis!**" I said happily at the compliment, but then found myself startled with the more echoing and powerful sound of my own voice. I imagined my mother had been the most beautiful Dragon around here, she couldn't be anything else, not the way I remembered her.

Alodiculis nodded towards the river and smiled at me. I nodded in return and went to the river to see how I looked. It was different moving as a Dragon. It was like I was walking on both my hands and my feet, crawling like a toddler, but I knew I was supposed to be walking like this. Besides, I doubted I could carry myself on two feet as heavy as I probably was.

I looked down into the river at the reflection of myself in the crystal-clear water. I stared at the Dragon in the water. The face had very feminine features and was nicely symmetrical. There were two big, brown eyes and instead of a pair of horns, here were these fan-like fans with sharp edges on either side of the head. They actually looked a little like a miniature version of the fins Amelane had going down her back, except they were longer, especially the two at the top, which had a resemblance to horns.

More than satisfied with my looks, I pulled my long neck up and turned to my fellow Peace Dragon with a bright smile. He had moved closer to the river with me without me noticing. "**It's time for your training with Loke and Metallicana now.**" He said with a smile of his own. "**At the end of the day we'll practice the Haruru (Roar) in you Dragon form. It should be much stronger than in your Human form.**" He said and turned around to leave.

I had one question I needed an answer. "**What about flying? I want to learn that sometime soon too.**" I reminded him. I wanted to race Metallicana and show him who was boss. As well as Acnologia, Alodiculis and… Everyone. Well except Basuril, I wouldn't _ever_ be able to match his speed.

Alodiculis chuckled. "**I figured you would ask that.**" He smiled and turned back around again, facing me. "**I suspect Metallicana will teach you that along with how to turn back to your Human form.**" He smiled and spread his wings. "**See you later Lucy.**" He called to me as he flew away.

I nodded, then realized he wouldn't be able to see it. "**Yeah, later! Thank you Alodiculis!**" I yelled after him as he flew away.

Luckily, Loke had adopted the habit of coming out on his own when his part of the training was supposed to start. So, just as always, he appeared with his back to me. "Have you missed me Prin-" He turned around and saw me. "CEESSS?!" He yelled stunned and fell to his butt looking up at me with wide, hazel eyes. I guessed he could feel I was his 'Master' but thought that maybe I had eaten… Myself? I smirked down at my Lion, letting him figure everything out. He looked up at me with wide eyes, scanned me for any signs of my Human form. He gazed at my eyes and his own widened behind the glasses. "Pr-Princess, is that _you_?" He asked carefully.

I looked down at him, my smirk turning into a smile instead. "**Yeah, te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Loke.**" I said with a nod. I watched as his face changed from shock into relief and I giggled at him.

"Well, that's a surprise. How did it happen?" He asked and looked up at me again. "You're beautiful by the way." He added at the end with a charming smile and an approving nod. As if I needed his approval, káo (no), I only needed Acnologia's. I wondered what he would think.

I tilted my head a little. "**Well, I just shot a Roar at a log and then I changed unknowingly. I first figured it out afterwards.**" I told him and smiled. "**And thank you.**" I turned my head and looked towards the forest; the faint sounds of Metallicana coming our way caught my ear. "**Seems like the old guy is on his way.**" I said and turned back to Loke, who was still looking up at me.

His eyes met mine again and his lips cracked a smile. "It's weird, thinking that this is still you. Even though I knew, I never imagined you could actually _be_ a Dragon." He said slowly. I knew what he was talking about, it was weird for me too. Also when I met Acnologia again after all those years, it had been weird every time I saw him as a Dragon, since I still remembered him as the little _human_ boy. I had gotten used to it long ago now though.

I nodded and just as I was about to say something, Metallicana landed _right_ next to me. Literally. He put his large wing over me, like you would put an arm on others' shoulders, and pulled me a little closer. I guessed he had recognized my scent or could recognize the sound of my voice. "**Oh, who's this pretty lady here?**" He asked mockingly, but also kindly. Almost as if he actually meant it. I was touched. I looked at him and gaped just a little. Now, even in my Dragon form, he looked big. He looked down at me with a smirk gracing his features. "**I see you found your Dragon, Squirt.**" Metallicana commented. I simply nodded at him, not entirely sure what I should be saying. "**Looking good.**" He complimented.

I nodded and smiled at him. I pushed off his wings with my own clumsily. I sweat dropped. Great, that look of elegance I had just vanished. I looked at Metallicana, who was - of course - smirking. I sighed. "**Thank you Metallicana. As you could just see, I'm obviously **_**not**_** used to this form.**" I looked up at him with puppy-eyes. I didn't know what effect it would have since I was a Dragon, but hoped for better than the usual. "**Can you please teach me~?**" I asked cutely.

Loke sighed and shook his head with a smile, while Metallicana looked indifferently at me. He raised an eyebrow. "**You know that has no effect on me, why do you keep trying?**" He asked, shaking his head, but then nodded. "**But it's important you learn how to change back to your Human form and learn to fly, so we are going to train that today.**" He said with a smirk. "**And continue until you're faster than I am.**" He added at the end.

I looked at him, a grin forming on my face. "**That shouldn't be so hard, old man.**" I giggled at him as he snorted. "**Thank you though.**" I smiled at him.

He nodded and spread his wings. "**Okay, the first one and a half hour you'll learn to fly, the last you'll master transforming from form to form, until you can do it in your sleep.**" He said, adding his and Gajeel's usual laugh at the end.

I nodded and spread my wings, just like him, while ignoring my Lion's remarks. Loke grunted and stepped in between Metallicana and I defiantly. "I demand to sit on Princess' back during this training as moral support." He stated firmly.

I looked down at him with a smile on my features, while Metallicana was looking down at him incredulously. "**You actually want to stay on **_**her**_** back? You won't survive.**" He said mockingly.

I glared at the Iron Dragon, but didn't say anything. I may just be a beginner to flying, but I wouldn't drop Loke just like that. I picked up Loke with my tail and placed him on my back, just like Acnologia had those times with me. And I did it quite gracefully, if you ask me.

Metallicana grunted in surrender and swung his wings two mighty times, letting him fly above the ground. I watched as he did it and tried myself. I pushed down my wings as hard as I could, but I only managed to hover over the air in a pair of seconds, before landing on the ground again.

Metallicana landed again, still with spread wings. "**Squirt, you're not supposed to beat your wings fast or hard, in the start anyway, you need to feel the wind under your wings. Adjust them so you can push off the most wind.**" He taught me, demonstrating with his own wings. They were held out wide, but not entirely straight, bowing the slightest bit.

I nodded and adjusted my wings to something similar to Metallicana's. I tried taking a flap with my wings and I could easily feel the difference in power of the two, I took off the ground when I beat them just once. I smiled to myself and beat my wings twice again, this time actually flying over the ground. Before I fell down again, I flapped my wings, flying higher up again.

Metallicana took off as well and reached my height. He nodded. "**Great, now stretch out your body a little more and angle your wings, so you push the wind behind you, but only a little.**" He explained while trying to show me at the same time.

I did as I was told and tipped my wings forward a little. When I flapped my wings again, I went forward and a little up instead of just up. I smiled, I was getting the hang of it!

Metallicana nodded. "**Exactly. Now we're going to turn.**" He said. "**Just watch me as a start.**" He flew forward in what could only be slow-motion to him. I watched from behind as he tilted his whole body a little, and then turning around in a big semi-circle. "**Okay, your turn.**"

I nodded and flew forward, just as he had, and tilted my body just a little. I slowly flew forward, but instead of going in a straight line, I turned around and soon enough faced Metallicana again. I stopped in the air in front of the much bigger Dragon. "**Like that?**" I asked.

He nodded. "**Ae (Yes), like that.**" He agreed. I smiled and nodded. It wasn't so hard to fly after all!

**One and a half hour later~**

**Metallicana's P.O.V**

"**Alright Squirt, we'll continue this tomorrow too, now we have to teach you how to transform back to your Human form.**" I told her. I hadn't expected she would progress so fast. Honestly, she could fly perfectly fine, although slowly and not as natural as the other of us, but it would come at some point. Besides, I bet Brat and his cousin would be ecstatic to help her learn it as well.

I smirked by myself at the thought of it. It was only a pair of weeks ago they had found together. I still didn't know what had made Brat do it, but it was good for him he did. Squirt also seemed happier nowadays.

I knew from the stories Lucy told now and then about my kid, that he probably had wished for her to be more than a friend. Just like how that other girl wanted Gajeel to be more than a friend. I chuckled, my son had been caught up in a love triangle with two 'besties'. Well, not that it mattered now, Squirt was already taken. I probably shouldn't be even thinking it, but I kinda wished Squirt had realized my son's feelings for her sooner, it would be good to him with someone like Squirt. That other girl didn't seem half bad either, she was more of the silent type though, I wasn't sure she could handle my boy.

"**You'll just say when you're ready, okay Metallicana?**" Squirts' voice cut through my thoughts. I looked at her, she was grinning widely. She really was a beautiful Dragon, whether she knew it or not. And she looked much like her mother; it was actually kind of scary how alike they looked.

I shook my head, as if I could shake off the thoughts that way and looked at her again with a smirk. "**Well, well, are we being a little sassy now, Squirt?**" I mocked her. She just grinned a little wider and motioned for me to go on while the cat-boy silently slid down from her back and landing on his feet. I placed my butt on the ground and sat. "**Okay, I don't think this is hard for you with that crazy control you have over your magic, so let's just get to it.**" I said as she sat down as well. "**You just have to take your Peace magic and have it leak out from you until you're surrounded by it.**" I explained. I doubted a demonstration was needed this time, I had lost count of how many times she had seen me transforming into my Human for, that and she had probably seen Acnologia do it just as often, plus all the other Dragons.

She nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. A silver glow emanated from her and soon enough she disappeared from sight in a silver ball of magic. It shrunk in size and there she stood in her Human form. I still couldn't believe how fast she had gotten the hang of it. She looked down herself to see the change and beamed at me when she was done. "You're right, that wasn't so hard!" She cheered.

I nodded. "**I know I am, Squirt. Now you do that until it's natural to you.**" I told her with a wide smirk.

She looked incredulously at me. "Are you serious? Until it's natural to me? I'm going to do this for one and a half hour?" She asked exasperatedly. I nodded again and got a moan in response, to which I just smirked wider.

**In the Clearing in Socubedo~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

My training with Chaos magic had really progressed all I needed to find now was my Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art), and that was what I dedicated basically my whole day to.

_You know Mini-Me, it's supposed to just pop up in your mind, why isn't it?_ My Dragon asked me. I tried to ignore him. _There's so much space in here, so that isn't the problem._ He added, making it very hard to ignore him.

_It's probably scared of your ugly face. _I thought back. I had found out that the Dragon could hear my thoughts like that, so that way we could have a conversation.

The Dragon snorted. _It's also your face._ It shot back. I moaned exasperatedly, why couldn't he just shut up? _Because you want me to._ He replied to my thoughts. Of course.

I shook my head at my Dragons' usual antics. He would probably never change. I decided to try a different approach to figuring the last words of my Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art) out. My Dragon's words had 'inspired' me.

I spotted a little - actually gigantic, since we're still in the Dragon Realm - rabbit on the other side sitting and eating some leaves or something. I focused on it, making it my target, since we didn't have any more logs around here. Somehow I just knew that I was supposed to extent my arms towards the rabbit and tilt my hands up, so the palms were facing the little animal.

I sent my magic to my palms slowly. "Tehepo Tarakona's Ngaro Toi:-" (Chaos Dragon's Secret Art). The last words popped up in my mind and I quickly uttered them. "Riri O Lucifer!" (Wrath Of Lucifer) I yelled and the magic I had been holding around my palms shot forward and into the little animal. It became rigid and its head shot around, as if some kind of big animal had been sneaking up behind it. Its eyes widened and it seemed to be trembling, it jolted into movement and ran around at random. It seemed like it was hurting from the inside out, its movements were shaky and every move was hurting the little guy. After a short period of time, the rabbit ran headfirst into a tree and dropped down unconscious.

I raised an eyebrow as I watched it run into the tree and lie motionlessly on the ground, one leg twitching a few times before stilling completely as well. I looked to Deamunas, who I knew had been watching, for answers. "Okay… What just happened?" I asked my SIC.

Deamunas looked down at me with a half grin. His gaze moved to where the rabbit lay. Basuril had moved to the rabbit and was curiously poking it with his claws. "**Well, it would seem your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) is the same as you grandfathers'.**" He said and looked back at me again. My grandfather? Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse and the savior of Dragons? "**Not surprising really.**" He added, not showing any signs of explaining further.

I sighed and looked into my friends eyes. "Would you like to explain in further detail?" I asked him exasperatedly.

His face changed into a smirk. "**Ae (Yes), you see, your grandfathers' Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) was a little different from others'.**" He started out. "**His wasn't a direct attack, like many of them were, his was special.**" He said thoughtfully. My patience was wearing thin. JUST GET TO THE POINT ALREADY! - I screamed at him in my mind. "**His magic went straight to the brain of the foe and messed with it, made it see things that weren't there, bringing up bad memories, confusion, disoriented, the feeling of being watched, thoughts were swirling around in their heads, it even made them believe they were hurting physically.**" He looked down at me again. "**I think you have the same as he did. Acnologia, don't use it unless it's a matter of life and death.**" He told me.

I looked dumbfounded up at him. Did I really have the power to do things like that? If the target even survived the exposure to something like that, he might just be traumatized for the rest of his life. I nodded to my friends' suggestion, fully understanding that I shouldn't be using it unless it was of utmost importance. Although, with his explanation, another question showed up. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be using this much. Why was my grandfathers' different though?" I asked him. My grandfather couldn't have been the _only_ one with that Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art).

Deamunas nodded to my unspoken question. "**He was the only one with it.**" He told me then looked like he was thinking really hard. You could almost hear the gears grinding against each other. "**I think I've heard something about your grandfathers' father was a Peace Dragon; it is quite common for Peace Dragon's Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) to go right to the brain like yours does. Instead of driving the foe nuts though, it calmed them down completely, so they wouldn't be on guard and ready for an attack.**" He explained slowly as if not sure if what he was saying was certain. "**But, since he was taught the Chaos Dragon magic, his two elements mixed together and made something new.**" His gaze met mine again. "**But it's only a guess of course.**" He hurried and told me, but I was already long gone.

It seemed like it was a valid guess. It was realistic that his two magic's would be mixing together and making something whole new. So I had Peace Dragon blood running through my veins as well? It was a wonder no one had called me mud-blood yet.

I pushed my thoughts aside and looked up at my friend. "Okay, so what do we do now? I don't really want to practice this Tarakona's Ngaro Toi (Dragon's Secret Art), since I know how to do it and may end up hitting you guys." I told him. If I ever hit someone with it that I hadn't intended to, I doubted I would ever forgive myself.

Deamunas nodded and grinned. "**We're going to look for your Fire magic.**" He told me. I moaned exasperatedly. That would mean more meditating! The unconscious rabbit shot awake and when it spotted Basuril still standing over it, it made a frightened squeak and darted away faster than the little Chaos Dragon could even react. Basuril pouted and fell to his butt like the little kid he was.

**At the end of day~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"**Okay, I think it's enough for today, it's been a long day for you.**" Alodiculis said just as I had fired a Haruru (Roar). It had showed up that I was much more powerful in my Dragon form than I was in my Human form. Not that it was a surprise really, Acnologia had already told as much from his training.

I nodded and watched the destroyed target. Or where it was supposed to be… I had blasted it into oblivion. I had always wanted to say that. 'I blasted it into oblivion'. Usually the catchphrase of some super-awesome hero and now _I_ said it! Or should I say thought it.

A smile found its way to my face. For once I wouldn't have to ride Alodiculis' back home to the cave, I could fly myself. I turned around and faced my 'Senpai', as I had been teasing him with calling him. I had found out mother had used to call him that, so let the tradition go on~. "**I'll **_**fly**_** home then, see you later...**" I paused for a moment, the smile transforming into a smirk. "**Senpai.**" I finally added just as Alodiculis got his hopes up.

He shook his head with a little smile playing at his lips. "**Like mother, like daughter, is it?**" He asked himself, then looked up at me skeptically. "**Are you sure you can fly all the way back to the cave?**" He asked, probably remembering how clumsy I was this morning.

I nodded. If you asked me, I thought I was moving just as I was supposed to, maybe a little clumsily, but still nothing bad and I could fly perfectly fine. Ish. "**Yeah, I'm sure I can do it!**" I said happily and spread my wings. I took off into the air with two strokes with my wings, just like I had learnt with Metallicana, and I automatically angled my wings so I could fly forward.

Alodiculis watched as I flew away with a sigh and took off as well, following me till he caught up with me, which didn't take long - and fell into my pace. "**I'm going with you.**" He stated when I looked questioningly at him.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "**You don't need to; I can do this by myself.**" I reassured him. I thought I had escaped the role of the 'Damsel in Distress' long ago, especially now I actually _was_ a Dragon. Why was I still being protected?

Alodiculis looked straight forward before looking at me with so much affection I was almost drowning in all the feels. "**I'm worried about you Lucy. I know you can do this by yourself.**" He looked forward again, allowing me to get air into my lungs again. "**Even if you were to fall, you would just get up and continue, I admire you for that.**" He looked back at me with those same affectionate eyes again. "**You know, Lucy, in this short period of time, you've really grown on me.**" He paused momentarily. "**You've become like the daughter I never got.**" He said slowly and carefully, watching my reaction.

I would have taken a hand to my mouth, but it was quite hard, so I just looked at him with my jaw dropping just a bit. I could feel the tears beginning to build up in my eyes. I smiled softly at him. "**I don't know what to say…**" I said truthfully, I really didn't know what to say. "**I would love to be your daughter!**" I said happily.

Alodiculis and I had become quite close and I would love to call him my father. Then Jude could just go to Hell, 'cause now I had a new father!

Alodiculis' smiled widely with tears brimming in his own eyes as well. "**Thank you Lucy. I'll do my best as your 'father'.**" He reassured me. I smiled and nodded. It could only get better on that department.

Before I knew it, we had reached the cave in which Acnologia and I stayed. Alodiculis - my new father - flew home with a smile and a wave with the tail. I waved at him with one of my wings and smiled as he flew away. When he was out of sight, I slumped a little. I was _so_ tired. It had been such a long day for me, awakening my Dragon and all, I hadn't had much time to just sit and relax. Besides that, my wings had been overused, I honestly didn't know how I was supposed to continue practicing flying again tomorrow.

I stretched my wings quickly then pulled them in and walked into the cave. I was just about to make myself comfortable, when I was interrupted. "**Hey! What are you doing here?**" A familiar voice asked slightly angered.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

What the Hell was that Dragon doing in _my _cave?! That… Beautiful, slender Dragon, who seemed slightly familiar. _What_. The. _Hell. _Acnologia. You have Lucy, why would you ever think like that of other Dragons?

My Dragon snorted. _You gotta admit that chick looks hot. If we hadn't had Dear Lucy, we'd be hunting _her_ down. _He commented. I felt a tick-mark appearing near my temple, pulsing a pair of times. How could he say that? I thought we shared the same feelings?

The silver Dragon turned around and looked at me. She had warm, brown eyes, that were way too familiar. My eyes widened. It… What? It just couldn't be.

The Dragon's face lit up in a bright smile. "**Sweetie! How nice to see you around.**" She said as she approached me, swishing her tail behind her.

Only one person called me that. Luckily. "**L-Lucy?**" I asked carefully. If it wasn't her - which was doubtful - I didn't want to insult her by calling her someone else.

The beautiful, silver Dragon stepped closer and nuzzled my neck right under my jaw. "**Of course, who else?**" She asked lowly.

My eyes widened and I smiled widely. I see, so she had found her Dragon form at long last. I looked down at the Dragon in front of me. She was a little lower than me, just like when we were in our Human forms. Her curvaceous body even showed in her Dragon form. And she was absolutely stunning.

I leaned down just a little and whispered in her ear. "**You're absolutely stunning, my Dragon mate.**" I stated my thoughts. I lowered my head and nibbled a little on the scales on the back of her neck. She shivered and hummed in delight. "**You're going to have to tell me the story.**" I muttered softly.

She nodded slowly. "**Yeah, but can't it wait?**" She asked with a sweet voice.

I chuckled lowly and nodded as well. "**Yeah, it can.**" I reassured her.

**So what do you think? **

**I imagine Lucy's Dragon form to be a little like the one on the image, ya' know. Except the many… Well… I don't know what it is, but it is at the back of her head and neck, if you just, kinda delete them, then that would be how I imagined Lucy to be looking. Which of course is one of the main reasons I chose the picture, I knew all along how she should look. MWAHAHAHAH! ^_^**

**Also, as I believe I have mentioned in an earlier chapter; all the Dragon's Secret Art - thingies are connected with a god, and believe me when I say it took long to find some gods that fit the damn elements. Okay, not so much Chaos actually. **

**Lucifer, we all know him, Mr. Satan, the Devil, the Grand Master of All Things Bad, Doc. Evil. Yeah, **_**that **_**guy. The opposite of God as we know him. Yearp, I imagine Lucifer would be making quite the Chaos when he left Heaven to make Hell, so he is part of the Chaos spell! Clever, aren't I? ^_^**

**When we meet new gods, I'll explain who they are, from which religion (Probably) and what they do and stuff. 'Kay?**

**Anyway~ ****TRANSLATIONS**

'**Riri' - 'Wrath'. 'O' - 'Of'. Yeh, that would be it.**

**Thank you MoonStar1312, mjb379, 00halfblood, Tana Satou, LaurenSmithxox, RainbowMystery, Nicole (Guest), Dark Meow Meow Kitty of Doom, JessieStorm40, inuyasharocks123, clumzybeans, kurohimeHUI, Dakrverger1, DarthMaine, OtakuLover43, FT LOVER (Guest), Shinigami Ou, Maiannaise, Guest, maskedgirl16, Braget, sora lazuli (Guest), hening93, aristofthemind, Poison Bat, EmeraldStar642, Hey-Its-Nana, Sapphire Water Maiden, AHopelessDream, sexy1571, cast49, Guest, Guest, darkrith, Guest, Miyako and Haruka Lin, .9, MizukiCelestial StarZ, cecebeec, Guest, Konan15, This story Lover (Guest), iklas9700, Mokasakura, ana5a6ira, Rosaline Yana, OSM (Guest), ChaoticDucky, OSM FANFIC (Guest), Pikachu17, WingedLunarHybrid and everyone else for continuously reading and following my chapters! ^_^**

**I know there were many guests last time but this time…. WOW! You're all wonderful!**

**~Line464d**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 **

**So today we're going to take a look through the different guilds for their reaction to our favorite magazine's new paper, shall we? It's a bit of a bonus-chapter, actually kinda like an OVA, but at the same time, it also holds some relevance. Fairy Tail will also be told of Tenrou Island being utterly and completely destroyed - kinda. Wow, look at that… Spoilers .-.**

**Oh, and thanks a lot to FT LOVER (Guest), who was my reviewer number 300! I can't thank you guys enough!**

**You guys'll want to kill me, but… I almost forgot to post the new chapter! GOMENASAI! I KNOW I'M A HORRIBLE, **_**HORRIBLE**_** PERSON!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is quite greedy about Fairy Tail.**

**Lamia Scale~**

**Lyon's P.O.V**

What mission should I choose this time? Something where I could slay some monsters, I needed to blow some steam off. And I had to get stronger than Gray! I'd been with Ur longer, so I should be stronger. I _was _stronger. I clenched my fist in determination. Yes! I was stronger than Gray, much stronger.

"Lyon-sama! Lyon-sama!" Someone called. I turned and saw my little pink-haired friend, Sherry, come running my way with something in her hands. "Look at this!" She yelled again, catching the attention of the whole guild. She stopped right in front of me, almost crashing into my chest, and held the magazine up in my face, too close for me to be able to read what it said. "It's horrible!"

I took the magazine out of her hands and held it at a reasonable length from my face. On the front cover, Gray's blonde friend, Lucy I think, filled practically the whole page. In one of the corners Team Natsu was doing their usual things, but instead of Lucy, Lisanna was there. Across the page in big, yellow letters were written "Lucy left Fairy Tail!" and underneath in smaller letters it said "After being kicked off Team Natsu, Lucy leaves the guild to train and show them she's not just something you throw out the window!"

I widened my eyes. What? Lucy was kicked off Team Natsu? Why? I thought Fairy Tail was all mushy and Nakama above everything else. What happened? Gray. I thought Gray was more than that. I never thought he would do something like that to someone. They seemed so close last I saw them, when we fought Oración Seis. What could have made this happen?

I flipped open the magazine and read it through. As I read, I narrowed my eyes. It just became worse and worse. I clenched the magazine in my hands and looked at the mission-board. I was going to get a mission.

**Blue Pegasus~**

**Hibiki's P.O.V**

So here it was, in the news. I figured it would come to this. I thought I saw someone sneak around the guild when I left a few days ago, it was Jason of Sorcerer Weekly then.

I sighed and put the magazine back in its place. I already knew what had happened; I had gotten the whole story from Makarov.

"Lucy-nee…" Eve muttered. I nodded soundlessly and walked on with the other Trimen. I hoped Lucy was alright. She seemed to be doing fine last time we met, but you never know.

**Mermaid Heel~**

**Millianna's P.O.V**

I bounced over to the newsstand for the latest news from my favorite magazine: Sorcerer Weekly. I wondered what kind of new things they would be writing about today! I picked up the magazine and looked at the cover. A beautiful, blonde girl covered the whole front page.

I tilted my head to the right and furrowed my eyebrows. I had seen that girl before at the Tower of Heavens with Er-chan, she was one of her friends. What was her name again…? I scanned the page, her name would surely be there.

Ah that's right, she's Lucy! Wait what was that? Wh… That's not how… What? That's not how Fairy Tail does things! What? Er-chan? Why would you _do_ that to someone? I… I thought Er-chan…

No. Jason misunderstood the situation. It isn't… It isn't right. Er-chan wouldn't do something like that. Not on purpose anyway. It was a misunderstanding. Yeah. A simple misunderstanding, nothing more.

I looked down at the page again. That guy with the - sweet, kawaii, adorable - blue cat and pink hair, Natsu, I couldn't speak for him. I didn't know him all that well, for all I know, this could very well be what happened. But, Fairy Tail wasn't like that. Jason exaggerated it. Of course he would.

I turned to the owner of the stand. "Hi mister! I would like to buy this!" I said with a happy smile and my usual cat-like smile. He nodded dully and asked me for 100 jewels. I gave them to him and walked back to my guild, where I would read the article through.

**Sabertooth~**

**Sting's P.O.V**

"Rooooogue~! Come on!" I yelled at my friend. We had both been accepted in Sabertooth, the master saw 'great potential' in us, so unlike the others, we didn't need to go through any trial to be a member of the guild.

Rogue silently followed me, looking around at the stands around us. Out of nowhere, he broke off and went in another direction, but I didn't notice before I had walked a little longer and didn't get a response to my question.

I turned around to my friend irritated that he didn't listen, but saw him looking down at a magazine from a stand expressionlessly. I frowned and walked towards him. Why the heck would he be reading magazines?

When I got closer, I saw that his expression wasn't blank, he actually seemed mad. I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the paper he was holding over his shoulder. I looked hard down at the girl on the cover. Where had I seen that girl before? She was so familiar, important even.

Rogue turned his head and looked at me, while I stared at the girl. He sighed exasperatedly. "'I will never forget you'" He simply quoted. I looked weirdly at him, then it hit me. The train, the day we joined Sabertooth. She was the girl, who invited us to her booth, when we were looking around for somewhere to be. I had told her I would never forget her, and here I went and forgot her.

Well, the almighty Sting can't remember every girl he meets, it would be impossible. I nodded as thanks and read the text. Along the way, my frown changed to a deep frown, then an expression of anger, much clearer than Rogue's. I just barely held back a growl. I couldn't believe it! Natsu-friggin'-Dragneel wouldn't _do_ that!

But here it stood, black on white, he had kicked his Nakama out of the team. So that was why she was at the train that day. It was the day she had been kicked out and she was leaving to train probably. Her Spirit, the cat, he was probably there to comfort her.

I clenched my fist. I knew Natsu was slow on the uptake, but this was ridiculous. _Why_ didn't he know kicking that girl off the team would hurt her? _Why_ couldn't he figure it out? _Why_ would he even kick her off in the first place? From the little time I had talked to her, she seemed like such a nice person. I would avenge her. I would get stronger and I would beat Natsu to a pulp. He destroyed everything I idolized about him. Everything I thought Fairy Tail stood for, just crumbled like that.

I turned to my dark-haired friend. "Rogue, we're buying this." I demanded. I would read this article, I would know it all and I would remember her.

I heard a lot of noise coming from the right and looked to see what was going on. My gaze quickly fell on a dark red Neko.

**Fairy Tail~**

**Romeo's P.O.V**

Father came bursting through the guild doors. Normally, no one would pay it any attention, but the _way_ he did it forced us to. I looked at father; he was catching his breath, as if he had run reeeally long. I looked at the magazine he was holding in his hand. It was Sorcerer Weekly. I grinned. I didn't know father was into girly things like that.

Wakaba pulled his smoke out of his mouth and looked lazily at my father. "Oi old man! What're you doing, you know you can't run that far." He called, blowing out some smoke when he was done.

My father ignored him and showed all of us the magazine. "Jason was here, he heard it all." He said, still panting for air.

This made me perk up. I walked to my father and took the magazine out of his hands to get a better look at it. Lucy-nee was on the cover of it, clearly what was supposed to catch the attention of people. I couldn't read very well, but what was written here was quite simple. "Lucy-nee…." I muttered slowly. This was horrible, the whole land of Fiore knew now.

When the rest of the guild heard my low mutter, they caught on and a gloomy aura hung over our guild. Fairy Tail would be doomed.

That was when a citizen burst through the already wide open doors. "Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail!" He yelled, drawing everyone's gloomy attention. "Tenrou Island has disappeared!" He yelled.

My eyes widened and I stared at the man stunned. Everyone… Natsu-nii…

Father went to the man and grabbed his collar, pulling him up. "Explain." He threatened the innocent citizen.

The citizen looked frightened up at the man threatening him. "I-I-I s-saw a D-Dr-Drago-on fl-flying ba-back fr-from tha-at dir-direct-tion and-and th-thought I-I sh-sh-should t-t-t-take a l-look. Wh-when I-I ar-arriv-ved at-t th-the I-Island's l-locat-tion, it-it-it w-wasn-sn't th-there!" He stammered nervously, it was almost impossible to understand what the man was saying.

I fell to my knees. No. They couldn't be gone. They just couldn't. I refused to believe it. This man was lying, it couldn't be the truth. Natsu-nii and everyone else were too strong to just disappear, they had Gildarts and Master too. There was nothing they couldn't defeat. Not even a Dragon. They had four Dragon Slayers after all, they wouldn't be beaten like that.

Father released the shaking man and stared off into the nothingness. The man looked up at him and then around at the guild. "I-I'm sor-rry for your l-loss." He stammered less now. He went out the door, eyeing the other guild members as if they would jump him at any time.

Wakaba let out a puff of smoke. "What will happen to Fairy Tail now?" He asked slowly as everyone fought back the tears that were building up and threatening to overflow.

Father looked at him, then down at the floor again. "Well, they were our core members. There isn't much to do, Fairy Tail will-" He started out before I cut him off.

I got to my feet and stared defiantly at him. "NO! THEY'RE _NOT_ DEAD! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!" I yelled and stormed out of the doors.

**Somewhere else~**

**Unknown's P.O.V**

The big wooden doors creaked open and revealed a man in a dark cloak, hiding him from view. The man walked towards me and kneeled on the ground before me in the dark. "Master." He told me. He looked up, his turquoise eyes met mine, the scars on the right side of his head clearly visible. "We've lost control of the two mages." He told me.

I glared at him through the shadows of my bangs. "_What?!_" I growled at him. How could he lose control of the two?!

I saw him shaking under the weight of my gaze and he quickly averted his gaze to the cobblestone ground. "Th-the D-Dragon b-b-bl-blast-sted th-them i-i-into th-th future!" He quickly stammered nervously.

He couldn't see that the corner my lips slowly turned upwards. "When will they wake up?" I asked him, more calmly this time.

He didn't look up. "I-in s-seven-en ye-years' time, Master." He told me.

I nodded slowly. "How is the plan coming along otherwise?" I asked him. This simple thing wouldn't stop my plan.

He looked up at me with more confidence and a little smile playing at his lips. "It's working out perfectly, everything is going according to the plan." He told me.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. That's good. The seven years'll give her some time to get stronger. We'll make sure to get a hold of the Salamander and the Strauss sibling when they awaken." My deep voice echoed in the big circular room. I broke into a deep laughter. "This is _perfect_. Our plan will soon be reality!" I said loudly.

The man nodded, his cloak revealing a smirk. "Yes Master. It will." He said, still looking at the floor. "Is there anything you need me to do?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yes. Keep watch of her and the remaining guild members. Even though I doubt they'll be trouble, I won't risk it." I told him. That guild, it was so obnoxious and loud and always seemed to ruin my plan. Over and over again. But this time, they can't stop me.

The man nodded. "Yes Master, I'll send someone immediately." He said and turned around, walking out of the doors again, leaving me alone in the big room.

Oh, my dream would finally come true. The world would be as it once was.

**My oh my. Look at that; a cliffhanger. Actually, I'd say there was more than one actually. But, the last one, well, it was the worst ^_^**

**Hope you liked the bonus-chapter with relevant information!**

**Thank you mjb376, Nicole (Guest), 00halfblood, flowerpower1611, clumzybeans, BuioLupo, Maiannaise, LaurenSmithxox, exdude122, OtakuLover43, KptHook, origamirulez, Otaku14girl, Alaina Kuski, KAT of fanfiction, aristofthemind, MoonStar1312, Darkverger1, FT LOVER (Guest), Shirobeni, .awesome, AuroraPhox, ThisStoryLover (Guest), Dawn126, Whatstoknow, SillyKitty88, Guest, olcos, JuniorShadow1711, nightshadow6742, BlossomsCherry, princess yuki-sama, ReshaAngel, KatieKat666, yuki-sama26, Guest, Guest, Shinigami Ou, Katatonic97, AnimeFreak1001, katara196 and everyone else! **

**It's 00:13 now .-.'' I should be sleeping! BAKA BRAIN! You're supposed to remember this kind of stuff! Well… Sweet dreams, guys~**

**~Line464d**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Here you are.. A chapter as an apology for the earlier too short chapter and because I almost forgot to post it! AND THANK YOU EVERYONE, 300 FAVORITES! ^_^**

**I don't know how long the chapters will be now, during the training, probably a little short (I say that and then write a chapter of 6.000 words .-."), but when she returns, I promise they will be long again! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, oh Slowpoke. Would you just **_**please**_**, just share Fairy Tail with me? Yeah, káo, not gonna happen :/**

**At the field, Dragon Realm~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I gathered my magic between the palms of my two hands and made a kind of circle with my hands. A bright, silver glow appeared between my hands and continued growing in size. When it filled the whole circle, I pulled my two hands away from each other and let the magic expand. I looked at the rock not too far away from me. "Mau'Te Rongo Tarakona's Kurupae! (Peace Dragon's Beam!)" I yelled and the magic I had kept between my hands shot out and hit the rock straight on, leaving a clear hole through it.

The last long weeks I had gotten used to my Dragon form and if you asked me, I was getting really good at using my Peace magic, considering I had only had it for such a short period of time. Metallicana had made sure I could fly just as well as he could, or was trying to anyway, I was starting to _really_ get the hang of it, but it was still clear I wasn't as experienced as the rest of the Dragons.

But it was nice at night, I never had to feel cold and I could freely be as close to Acnologia as I wished, without him fearing for my life. I honestly couldn't find any better way to spend my nights.

"**Okay, Lucy, I think it's enough for now.**" Alodiculis said with a smile and a soft voice. I nodded and looked up at him. I had gotten used to the thought of him being my 'father', it wasn't so hard really, he was much more considerate and nice than the actual one was.

I waved goodbye to him, after giving his snout a hug, and fell to my butt on the ground. Loke had some business in the Celestial World, and Metallicana had other things he needed to see to today too, so I had decided I would see if there were any Spirits that could be called in the inner Celestial Realm of mine.

Just a few days ago, I had opened Lyra's Gate in there. Her music could now do what I wanted it to, meaning I could hypnotize people with it, if that was what I wanted, I could make them completely calm or I could make them feel physical pain. It was a cool addition to my Spirit's already fantastic music.

I had entered the realm of my mind so many times I could do it in my sleep. So of course, I shortly after stood in front of the bright, blinding star. I looked at the silver Fairy Tail logo, it wasn't shining as bright as my Celestial magics' star, but comparing it to when I had discovered it, it was radiating light.

I smiled and went into the Celestial star. My smile widened when I didn't just pass through like I usually did when there was nothing for me to achieve there. As usual, the meteorite danced across the night sky, forming a fine symbol. It didn't take me long to recognize it as Aquarius'. I widened my eyes. I thought it went after strength of the Celestial Spirits, so why was Aquarius the first to be picked now? She was one of the strongest of my Zodiacs, and would be crazy if she could just control her temper.

Her Gold key appeared out of nowhere and landed in my hands. It felt a little warm in a very comforting way. I looked up at the stars. "Uhm, excuse me? Why was Aquarius picked first? I thought it went after strength of the Spirits?" I asked them hesitantly.

_That is true, but only for your Silver keys, your Gold keys will appear in the same order you got them in your world._ The stars chimed lightly.

I gaped a little, before realizing I was doing it and closed my mouth. So the next one would be Cancer and then Taurus? - That was the order I made a contract with them in.

I nodded determinedly. I would get Aquarius out here in this world, I swore I would. "Open Gate of the Water Bearer!" My mind flooded with all the memories I had of my water Spirit. Even if she sometimes had difficulties taming her temper, even if she sometimes hit me with her attacks as well as the enemy, I loved her. I loved her so very much. She was the first Spirit I made a contract with, and I wouldn't ever stop loving her. The latest memories of the time in the cave, after I had my Second Origin opened replayed for my eyes. I smiled widely at the concern she had showed that day. "AQUARIUS!" I yelled as I channeled all the love and affection I had for my wonderful, forever angry Spirit into the key. Its temperature rose almost scolding my hand, but I kept holding it, I wouldn't let go, not now.

The key radiated a bright, golden light with a light blue hue and just as I thought it wasn't possible, I was proved wrong. "LUCYYYYY! WHY ARE YOU SUMMONING ME NOW!? I WAS ON A DATE WITH MY _BOYFRIEND_! BITCH, MY _**BOYFRIEND**__!" _She yelled angrily at me her pupils having disappeared from her eyes, leaving only the white. She was holding the urn, ready to wash me away when she got the mark.

I smiled widely at my Spirit, tears threatening to fall. I had called her out. One of my strongest Spirits and one of those I had most memories with. Even if those memories were mainly where I was washed away by her waves, her continuously plaguing me with her boyfriend talk.

Aquarius seemed to notice her surroundings and looked down at me with a dangerously pissed look again. "Listen, _just_ because you're in a _weird_ place without _anyone,_ it doesn't mean you can just go and summon _me_ whenever you feel like it." She said in a deadly tone. "Just because _you_ don't have a boyfriend. If you just got one, we wouldn't even be _having_ this conversation." She said venomously.

I smirked at her words. I see, so Loke hadn't told her. I placed my hand over the clothes which hid my mark of being Acnologia's mate, and slowly brushed it down as I spoke. "I guess Loke haven't told you then." I muttered and revealed my mark. "I _do_ have a boyfriend now." I said smiling.

Much to my surprise, Aquarius wasn't looking surprised or angry or any of the sort. Káo (no), she was smiling like a child at Christmas morning. She began hovering up and down above the invisible floor as if she was jumping excitedly. "Ohhhhhh! Let me see!" She said in a fan-girl like voice and rushed to my side before I could do or say anything. She smacked my hand away and cleared the view of my blue mark. "This is _so_ good! You finally got a boyfriend!" She said ecstatically.

I was staring stunned at my Spirit, who was acting completely out of character, even more so than when I got my Second Origin opened. Which reminded me, now was a good time to ask her, since we were all alone and everything. "Aquarius, wha-" I was cut off as she pulled away and looked at the stars with a hateful glare.

"LEEEOOOOO!" She hissed at the Spirit, who was far, far away. "I _will_ get you for this!" She snarled with a pissed expression. Aaaand the good old Aquarius was back, somewhat. I sweat dropped. I was getting worried there. She turned back to me, still looking slightly pissed. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you can now summon me without the need of water and I can materialize water myself." She said and turned around as if to leave.

I figured I could just ask another time, when she wasn't in such a hurry to beat my Lion Spirit up. I sighed and shook my head. Poor Loke, he was unlikely to survive this. I would miss him and all the good times we'd had. I felt Aquarius trying to leave, but also felt when she couldn't.

_Aquarius, there is something you need to tell Lucy._ The stars said mysteriously. I furrowed my eyebrows, what could they be talking about and how could they prevent Aquarius from going home? It really was such a mysterious place.

Aquarius sighed and turned around, looking at me with a sad expression. "I had a hunch it would come to this." She said lowly and walked towards me, staring into my eyes with her own filled with sorrow. "Lucy… There is something I need to tell you." She told me.

**In the clearing in Socubedo Forest~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

For Mavis' sake! Why couldn't I just find that damn Fire magic already? It couldn't be so hard. Lucy had done it, so I could too! I growled a little under my breath, cursing my own inability to find my Fire magic.

I heard someone approaching, humming happily. I furrowed my eyebrows, who could it be? Soon enough I could smell the scent of flames and ashes. What was he doing here? I asked myself as Igneel stepped out of the cover of the trees in his Human form, for some reason.

He turned his onyx gaze to mine and smiled widely and toothily. "I hear you're having problems finding your Fire magic, Acnologia?" He asked rhetorically. I sighed and nodded, of course someone would tell him. He nodded as well. "Yeah, so I have come to help you!" He said happily. I moaned. Of all people…

Suddenly, I got the feeling that something was wrong deep down in my stomach. I looked around at my surroundings with narrowed eyes. What could it be? What… Was this feeling?

My sweet, silver haired mate appeared from the darkness of the forest around us. "Hi Sweetie, how are you doing?" She asked sweetly and with a little wave, tilting her head a little to the side, as she usually did. I knew both the cat and the old geezer had other things they needed done today, so I didn't wonder why she was here. Although I _was_ happy that she thought to use her little free-time to give me a visit.

I was just about to wave back, when I saw a thick branch from the tree above her cracked off and began falling down. My eyes widened. It would fall down at Lucy! "Lucy! ABOVE YOU!" I screamed not so manly. As if in slow motion, she looked up and her eyes widened, while her pupils grew tiny slowly, as she stood paralyzed and watched the branch keep falling and soon would hit her.

I watched in horror as she stood still, not moving an inch. I leaped into action and breathed in heavily for a Haruru (Roar). I spewed out the torrent of magic at the branch. "KAPURA TARAKONA'S HARURU! (Fire Dragon's Roar)" I yelled in pure instinct. The inferno of Fire magic hit the branch and it erupted into flames and was knocked off course at the same time. I didn't pay the fact that I had used my Fire magic instead of my Chaos magic any attention as I ran towards my beautiful mate. I almost stumbled as I reached her, but regained my balance quickly and held Lucy at arms' length away from me, looking worriedly into her brown eyes. "Lucy! Are you okay?" I quickly asked, while checking her for any - nonexistent - injuries. She shook her head and smiled as if nothing had happened. All out of nowhere, she turned transparent and disappeared in a pop. "Wh-wha?" Was all I could say as my arms hung comically in the air.

Igneel began howling in laughter next to me. "Oh you should have seen your face! It was priceless!" He laughed. Well at least _someone_ was having fun. I decided to just stay silent and glare at the Dragon with crossed arms until he would tell me what was going on. Soon enough, he stopped laughing and panted for air. I began tapping my foot impatiently on the ground, catching his attention. His features stretched out into a huge grin. "Well, I'm guessing you're waiting for answers?" He asked rhetorically. I nodded and kept glaring at him. I did by no means find this little… _Whatever_ it was amusing in the least. I had been almost scared to death. "Well, I knew you were having trouble finding your Fire magic, so I was asked to help you find it." He explained with his usual grin. "So you see, I got some help from a good friend of mine." He turned around and motioned for someone to step forward. He turned back and looked at me happily. "He's from the Illusion Dragon Clan, and is of course and Illusion Dragon." He told me.

I raised an eyebrow and watched as a Dragon stepped forward from behind the Fire Dragon. For some reason, I had just expected it would be the Head Dragon, who was known to be quite authoritative and serious, but the guy who stepped into my view seemed just as goofy as the Fire Head Dragon. If his bright grin and the way he lazily held himself was anything to go by.

His scales were - to put it lightly - very unique compared to any other Dragon I had seen. I honestly didn't know any Dragon could have these kinds of scales. Anyhow, this guy did. He had the colors of the portal, the red, blue and purple and it seemed like he had been too close to that portal, because the colors were 'arranged' in pretty much the same way they were in the portal. His two horns pointed straight backwards and seemed to be curling around themselves in a very special way. A little like Lucy, he didn't have anything going down his back, but at the end of his tail, it seemed like there were, long white hair of some kind. His wings were pretty much basic, but a little exaggerated and the 'skin' between the 'fingers' of the wings, was a bright white, like the hair at the end of the tail. His eyes were a bright white, which seemed to almost light up like a star.

The Dragon grinned at me. "**Good to see that I could be of help.**" He said in a very Igneel-like manner. I almost moaned at the thought. One Igneel was enough. More than enough. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Acnologia, I'm Shino Tokonga, SIC in the Illusion Clan.**" He greeted friendlily.

I just scowled at the two of them. I hadn't forgiven them for what they did, even if it was meant to help me. I had almost gotten a heart-attack! Or just a broken heart. "Te áheitanga katoa (hello)." I said quite coldly. I looked at the Fire Dragon I knew so well. "What on Earthland possessed you to think that was the way to go about doing things?" I asked him angrily. I wanted and answer.

Igneel looked seriously at me, for once, and nodded. "I figured you would say something like that." He slowly said as my patience was slipping away. "Sometimes, you just need a trigger for it to appear, I figured that was how it worked with you. I hated meditating myself - and still do - and thought that you might too." His face went from the serious leader-type to the goofy idiot-type, decorated with a wide, childish grin. "So I did it my way!" He told me excitedly. 

I just stared at the Fire Dragon, wondering if he was actually sane. How would he like it if it was his mate he saw? Then it probably wouldn't be so great. Oh, I would get him back for this someday. And it wouldn't be pleasant…

Igneel planted his butt on the ground with a thump and said goodbye to his friend, then looking at me expectantly. I just raised an eyebrow at him, indicating him to explain exactly why he was sitting there. He grinned widely. Again. "Are you asking why I'm here?" He asked. I nodded, holding his gaze. He looked even more excited and if my eyes didn't betray me, he seemed to be bumping up and down like a little kid. "I'm going to tutor you!" He said excitedly.

Káo (No)… Please tell me that wasn't true. I looked at his happy face and knew it was. I dropped my head into my palm. Great.

**In Lucy's Mind~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I got this feeling that something had happened somewhere, but quickly brushed it off as I knew Aquarius was going to explain her odd behavior from some months ago. She told me it was about that just now.

My Water Bearing Spirit looked at me with an indescribable expression. "Well… I don't know how to say this, really." She said slowly. Then looked at me with fury blazing in her eyes, making me reflexively take a step back. "And don't you _dare_ say it to _anyone_!" She snarled dangerously.

I nodded shivering. "I-I won't." I promised her.

She seemed to calm down at my promise and nodded, reverting back to the more gloomy aura she had had around her a second before. "You see… Before you and your mother were my Master, I had another Master, Shinda Ryogin. He owned both me and Scorpio." She looked down at the transparent floor and at the stars under it. "What's important about him is that just like you, he didn't see Spirits as tools to be used however you wished." She looked up at me again with sorrow flooding her eyes. "And, like you, he also wanted to get stronger, so he decided to get his Second Origin opened." She looked at the floor again. I furrowed my eyebrows, this was hard for her. I could tell. Well, everyone could tell. She inhaled deeply, with closed eyes. "He wasn't as strong as you, Lucy, not at all. Neither in mind or physically. He was a bit of a wimp." She laughed humorlessly. She looked carefully up at me. "He didn't survive it. He died." She whispered and covered her eyes with her hands.

I looked shocked at her. He had died? That explained everything. _That_ was why she was so out of character when I got mine opened and wanted to stay with me as much as possible. _That_ was why both she and Loke were so angry at me - obviously he would know. Just by looking at Aquarius and how she spoke about Shinda, it was obvious she had loved him, not romantically, and that it had been a hard blow for her.

"B-both Scorpio and I c-came out. W-we could f-feel when he d-d-d-di-die-d-d." She stammered, desperately trying to keep back sobs. "H-he lay th-there w-with that p-painful-l e-expression. I-I was s-so s-sad, h-he…" She trailed off stammering. I quickly made my way to her and wrapped her in my arms. She looked at me with a shocked expression, but then wrapped her arms around me as well. She inhaled deeply and shakily again and calmed herself down. "A white-haired woman came b-by. She called herself Selena Aguria, a Celestial Mage. She wasn't like you, your mother or Shinda and when she found us, Shinda had just died. I-I was still grieving, but Scorpio wanted to be the strong support for me then, so he had held back the tears for my sake." Aquarius sobbed quietly. "S-Selena said she d-didn't want weak Spirits, s-so she only took Scorpio's key and left me alone." Her tearful blue eyes met mine. "Your mother f-found my key later that week and kept me." Aquarius told me in a low voice.

I had been told a few times by Mama how she found Aquarius' and the others' keys. She hadn't known who had owned Aquarius before, she had just found the Gold key lying near a lake where a grave lay. That was probably Shinda's grave, which Aquarius and Scorpio had made. Or maybe it was just Aquarius?

I tightened my hold around my Spirit. I felt so bad for her. She must have been so worried when I got my Second Origin opened. By the way she speaks of Shinda, I think she could see him in me and probably thought I would die like him when he got his Second Origin opened. If I had known I had brought so much pain to her, I wouldn't have had my Second Origin opened, even if I would acquire my Dragon magic then. She and the rest of my Spirits meant more to me.

I gently rocked her a little from side to calm her down; she was still sobbing her eyes out. "I'm sorry Aquarius." I muttered lowly.

She looked at me with a confused expression and tears running down her cheeks. "What? Why ar-are you sorry?" She asked me.

I smiled lightly and brushed her tears away. I kind of felt like Acnologia; he would do something like this every time I told him about the adventures I had had with Fairy Tail and began crying. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that pain again." I told her.

She shook her head. "No, you couldn't have known." She said, regaining a little of her usual character. She let go of me and stepped back. "If you don't mind, I think I will go home now." She said and disappeared before I could say anything. This time, the stars didn't disrupt her department.

Suddenly, I felt something burning on my right thigh, or well… It was probably just as warm as Natsu's hand, but it had been such a long time since I had felt his touch, so I would guess he would be almost burning me with that abnormal body-heat of his.

I looked down on my thigh, but obviously nothing was there. I furrowed my eyebrows and went back to 'my world'. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the familiar surroundings of the Dragon Realm. I looked down at my lap and saw a fine Gold key lying there. It had a symbol which I had never seen before. Never mind that, I hadn't ever experienced that a key just magically comes and lands on your thigh.

I took it into my hand. It had what seemed like two tiny feathers pointing down at the top of the handle and, other than that, small feathers engraved in the metal. At the other end, it could have something resembling a beak if you looked closely and used some imagination.

While I was studying the key, the Spirit King popped up out of nowhere and scared me half to death. I jumped a half a meter in the air with a scream and landed on my butt, falling back to the ground in pure shock. I lay there on the ground, staring up at the sky and clutching the new key tightly while trying to catch my breath.

The Spirit King's deep laughter almost roared next to me just as I landed on my back. Shortly after, when I had regained my breath and my heart-rate slowed down, I giggled along with him. It must have looked funny.

After a while, the Spirit King hummed a little under his breath. "**Today, the Head Dragon of the Celestial Clan will come by.**" He looked down at the key I was clutching. "**It would seem the timing couldn't be better.**" He chuckled deeply and looked at the sky. "**She should be here any minute now.**" He hummed deeply.

I nodded and closed my eyes, focusing on my hearing. Maybe I could hear her? And right as I was, I _could_ hear her, she was coming from the right. I pointed at the direction I had heard her coming from. "She's coming from over there." I told him.

He looked weirdly at me for a minute, then realization hit him. "**Oh, right. You're a Dragon, you have enhanced hearing. I forgot for a moment.**" He said, adding a little laugh at the end. I just smiled at him, I tended to forget sometimes too, but then the need for changing into the Dragon form showed up and I was reminded that I was actually a Dragon.

Soon enough, the familiar flap of wings came closer and the Dragon landed in front of us. She was a beautiful, night-blue Dragon with a black stomach. Her horns were the outline of one of the corners of a star, so there was basically a hole in the middle of the horn and they were a golden color. Her wings were pretty normal, on the outer wing; they were night-blue and the inner wing, they were golden. At the end of her tail, there was an outline of a whole star in the same golden color. The corners of the star were the same size as the horns.

Her golden eyes met mine in with a nice smile. "**Te áheitanga katoa (hello). You must be Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi **_**(The Lost one). I'm Twilight Tietiera, nice to make your acquaintance.**" She introduced herself and me.

I nodded with a smile of my own. "Ae (Yes), that's right, I'm Lucy." I smiled at her. "Thank you for accepting to help me out." I thanked her. It was amazing how all the Head Dragons wanted to help me. They were kind of like all the Guild Masters. At least those I knew of, who came from light guilds. They would accept helping Fairy Tail too. If that was even comparable to my situation.

She nodded with a bright smile. "**Of course! It's been so long since I've spoken to someone with Celestial magic!**" She said happily and with a light voice. She looked down at me and spotted the key I was holding in my hands. She looked a little surprised. "**Oh, I see one key has already found you.**" She commented with a nod.

I looked at the key I was holding and up at the Dragon again. "Found me? What do you mean?" I asked her. The key found _me_? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around; I found it?

The Celestial Dragon nodded. "**Yeah. It isn't like in Earthland. Here, the keys find you.**" She explained matter-of-factly.

I looked dumbfounded at her. It was kind of cool how the key found you and all, but how did you make the keys find you? I decided to ask exactly that. "How do the keys find someone?" I asked hesitantly, I didn't want to seem too clueless, even if I was.

Twilight giggled at me and shook her head. "**No need to hesitate, there's room for stupid questions.**" She smiled and reassured me. "**They'll come when they deem you strong enough to own them.**" She explained.

I looked down at the key I was holding. So I was strong enough for this Spirit? Basically, as I grew stronger, they would just show up on my doorstep? I nodded. "Okay, I understand." I said. I was guessing it was a nice way for the Spirits to be able to pick their own masters too, instead of being forced to work for someone.

The Dragon nodded. "**The key you're holding…**" She said, catching my attention. "**It's the key of the Fire Bird, Phoenix. It's based on the Fire element.**" She told me.

Based on the Fire element? What? "What do you mean, 'based on the Fire element'?" I asked. The Spirits I've encountered weren't based on any elements like that, really.

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. The Spirit King looked at the Dragon while playing with his beard - a sight I had gotten used to over time. "**You see, Twilight, in Earthland, the Zodiac keys aren't based on an element like they are here in the Dragon Realm.**" He explained.

The Dragon got a look of understanding on her face and looked at me. "**Oh, right, I forgot.**" She said with a bright smile. "**Well, here in the Dragon Realm, the keys are based off of an element like the Dragons. They would be the elements of the original Dragon Clans, so; Fire, Water, Earth, Sky, Poison, Ice, Lightning, Iron, Light, Shadow, Chaos and Peace.**" She told me. I nodded slowly, processing the information in my head. "**The Chaos and Peace keys, the Demon, Daemon, and the Angel, Angelis, are the leaders of the Gold keys of the Dragon Realm, much like Leo is of Earthland.**" She told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Two leaders? So it would fit with the Dragons, where the Peace and Chaos Clans are the - hidden - leaders? Except, here it was more obvious. I looked up at the Dragon and met her golden gaze. "Did a Dragon create them?" I asked her.

She looked shocked at me. "**You catch on quick.**" She nodded and smiled. "**Ae (Yes) a Dragon created the keys. Actually it was Kurama's mother, wife of the deceased Acnologia.**" She said. My eyes widened. Acnologia's grandmother? _She_ had created the keys? Why was there always something new to learn about Acnologia's family and my own? "**Try calling him out.**" Twilight suggested. "**You just say the same as in Earthland.**" She told me.

I looked up at her, confused for a moment, before realizing what she meant. I nodded and held the key up. "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!" I said loudly calling my magic and sending out into the key as I swiped it down.

It heated up as I sent more magic into it. I let my magic search for the Gate I knew was there. When I founded, I slammed them open and a burning heat flooded over me and warmed me up instead of burning me, like I had thought it would. In a swirl of fire and bright, golden light, my Spirit made it appearance.

He was a lean and quite handsome man, if I do say so myself. He had long hair, which fell freely down his back and turned from a dark red to and almost orange color at the end in a weirdly natural way. His eyes were blazing like fire itself. He was lean and muscular and behind him, two beautiful, majestic wings sprouted out of his back. I think they were just as tall as the man himself. The feathers on the wings went from a dark red to the same almost orange color, like his hair did, and once again in a natural way and when he moved them, they seemed to be on fire. The same small, red-orange feathers decorated his skin right underneath his chest like scales, but only went about halfway, then went back to his back in a kind of slender triangle-form. The same feathers lay as a kind of… Well… skirt which sat a little higher on one hip.

Basically, he was hot, not only in temperature, but also in looks. Oh dear Mavis, how would I ever survive this if every Spirit looked like this?

The Spirit bowed deeply for me. "Hello Mistress, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said politely and straightened his back, his blazing eyes met mine. "I am Phoenix, the Fire Bird, and I rule the element of Fire. I and my powers will be at your service." He told me formally. Which didn't seem to be his kind of character. Like… At all.

I giggled at his sweet attempt at being formal and polite. "Hi Phoenix, I'm Lucy, not Master or Mistress. _Lucy._ I consider you, as well as all of my other Spirits, my friends, so you don't need the honorifics." I smiled at him. He widened his eyes almost comically and looked at me shocked. "It's nice to meet you too." I said and bowed just as deeply as he had, showing we were equals.

Just as I had straightened my back again, I felt two strong and abnormally warm arms holding me close to a just as abnormally warm, but nonetheless hard, chest. I looked up at my new friend. "Ohh! So you're the 'Princess' Leo of the Earthland Spirits have been talking about!" He said excitedly and pulled back again while I was still trying to find out what was going on. "I've heard so much good about you from that Lion, but he always refused to reveal your name! I'm _so_ glad I finally met you!" He said as he looked me up and down. "And I see Leo wasn't lying when he said you were gorgeous." He said a little lowly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and pushed him a little away, so he didn't touch me. Another pervert? Wasn't it enough with Loke and Taurus? I sighed and shook my head. Now it wasn't so weird my Lion Spirit and Phoenix were friends.

I decided I would deal with his perverseness another time, now I wanted my contract done. "So, Phoenix-" I started, but was interrupted.

Phoenix shook his head, holding his hand up. "Please, just call me Fenix, Princess." He said, adding a smirk at the end. Why didn't it surprise me that he called me Princess as well?

I smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, so, _Fenix_, when can I summon you?" I asked him.

He didn't even hesitate when he answered. "At all times, Princess! I am always available whenever you need me, for _whatever_ you need me to do." He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes at him and decided I would burst those hopes from the start so they wouldn't grow like Loke's probably had. "I'm sorry, Fenix, but I'm taken." I told him with a smirk of my own. Now what will you do, Fire Bird?

He just smirked wider. "Oh, I see. Well, this needs some planning, but I _will_ make you mine someday!" He said and disappeared in a burst of flames.

What? Seriously… What? Was he crazy? Oh dear, Acnologia probably wouldn't like this one the most. I sweat dropped. Káo (No) he most definitely wouldn't. And what did he mean with those last words?

I shook my head in confusion and dropped the topic. I stroke the still warm key once before putting it on the belt with the other keys. A new addition to the family, whether he was a pervert or not.

Then I realized something. I had forgotten to ask him about his magic! Maybe there was something special I needed to know about his magic! How _stupid_ could I be?!

I face palmed in self-pity, but was pushed out of it as I heard two laughs nearby. I looked up at the Spirit King and Twilight, who sat near me. I had completely forgotten those two.

Twilight smiled at me and got on her feet, spreading her wings. "**Well, I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow and explain the keys to you. As much as I can anyway.**" She reassured me as she flew away. Before I could say anything.

The Spirit King grunted. "**It's time for me to go too. See you later Lucy.**" He said and disappeared in a burst of light. Before I could say anything.

**So.. Done with that chapter.**

**I hope you like Phoenix! I had fun writing about him anyway. These keys of the Dragon Realm, I may or may not use them in another fanfic sometime, where the gaining of the keys and everything is in center. Maybe. Have to figure out a plot first though.**

**TRANSLATIONS**

'**Tokonga' means 'Illusion'. 'Tietiera' means 'Celestial' and 'Kapura' means 'Fire'. 'Mau'Te Rongo' means 'peace', of course. **

**Thank you 3131182, Zaara-chan, Maiannaise, OtakuLover43, Nicole (Guest), mjb376, Konan15, Guest, clumzybeans, FT LOVER (Guest), Darkverger1, Aura21271, inuyasharocks123, Shinigami Ou, Alaina Kuski, MoonStar1312, Amethystfairy1, KatieKat666, HeirOfFire, tana1100, Manga is Life, Tatsuyoshi (Guest), SillyKitty88, pie480, RoyalBlueDressXx, CrownOfDaisies, wildfire232, the-fanfic-princess, fairychime-diamond47, Tatsuyoshi Tsubasa, Scarlet Forest, sofsof2015 and everyone else, thank you for everything! – I've really gotten lazy .-.**

**I'm surprised with how many names I write repeatedly, you guys are really amazing, I honestly have no way of expressing it… To think I had regulars in Guests too, it's quite cool, if you ask me! ^_^ **

**~Line464d**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**Soralazuli, the guest, I feel I need to respond to your review, I'm beyond glad I could encourage you to write a new chapter to your story! Is it on Fanfiction or just one you keep for yourself?**

**At any case… I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, sorry guys, Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail.**

**At the field, Dragon Realm~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I extended my hands and aimed at the little, confused and scared mouse with my palms facing the animal. It wasn't so small though.. We _were _in the Dragon Realm, after all. I gathered my magic and sent it in front of my two hands, letting it expand in size till it reached the size of a tennis-ball. "Mau'Te Rongo Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Dreamy Haamana O Eirene! (Peace Dragon's Secret Art: Dreamy Memories of Eirene!)" I said calmly and sent the beam of silver magic towards the terrified mouse.

The unsuspecting mouse was hit and instantly calmed down. It's wide, black eyes got this hazy look in it and it seemed to turn comfortable. A light pink aura surrounded it and small sparkles popped here and there. It began wagging its tail a little, like a dog would.

I smiled. I had been practicing my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for a while now, I just learned it today. Basically it did the completely opposite of what Acnologia's did. While his terrified the target and tortured them, mine calmed them down and let them relax. I was told by Alodiculis that my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) had the same properties as my Mama's did and Silvia too.

Well, if I was going to use his words exactly; "It makes the enemy remember good memories which makes him or her lose his or her guard and relax so much he or she goes into this kind of dreamy state. They completely lose the connection to the world around them and won't be able to hear anything, even if a Dragon roared right into their face. It could only hit one person a time, but it would be more than effective if you were trying to sneak up on a target and, like me, wasn't so good at sneaking around.

I had pretty much perfected it by now, both in my Dragon and Human form. It wasn't so hard once you learned how to do it, but it took a lot of magic. Even when I was in my Dragon form.

Lately, I had trained with Fenix and gotten to know him. He was a pervert, much like Loke, and thought that he somehow could turn me away from Acnologia. He could fly with the two wings, obviously, but he couldn't carry anyone with him, not for long anyway. He owned the magic of destruction; Fire, so he was good in combat, both long range and close combat.

Besides that, Twilight had taught me about the keys here in Dragon Realm. There was, of course, a key for every element; Phoenix, the Fire Bird, user of Fire magic. Angelis, the Angel, user of Peace magic. Daemon, the Demon, user of Chaos magic. Ceterum, the Hydra, user of Water magic. Terra, the Golem, user of Earth magic. Alae, the Wings, user of Sky magic. Aelurus, the Feline, user of Shadow magic. Canini, the Canine, user of Light magic. Serpus, the Snake, user of Poison magic. Fortis, the Warrior, user of Iron magic. Ferre, the Bear, user of Ice magic. Consectetuer, the Flash, user of Lightning magic.

They were impossible to find. They hid somewhere in the Dragon Realm until they had found a master. She also told me that, just like Loke and Virgo, they could pop out whenever they wanted to. I actually didn't know if that made me happy or concerned. I would have to watch myself when I took baths from now on.

Nothing much had happened with Loke and Metallicana. Just doing the usual thing, running for my life - which was becoming easier - and practicing close combat. Metallicana had finished up training my flying, he told me all I needed now was some experience and since I flew every morning and night and one day every month, I would be okay. Loke told me I had really improved in close combat, I was doing really good. Well, that was compared to how I used to be once.

I broke back to reality and watched as the mouse still went around in that dreamy state. I smiled, it looked quite cute over there. I gathered my magic and got ready to use the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) again.

**In the Clearing in Socubedo**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I turned to Igneel as he called my name. "**Acnologia, it's time to meet your Dragon!**" He said happily. I narrowed my eyes at him. He obviously knew I didn't like my Dragon much and was having a blast teasing me with it. "**We need to unlock your last reserves of Fire magic!**" He cheered.

I groaned. Did I really have to meet up with that jackass again? Was it really necessary? I knew it was, so I nodded and looked at him. "Okay then, do I just begin?" I asked him. He nodded and I sat down.

I closed my eyes and did the same thing I did last. It didn't take long before I was in the dark place, which was my mind. I looked around. It was much darker than I remembered it to be. But on the other hand, it had also been a long time since I was here last. The big mark was already there and I entered it against my will. I had no desire whatsoever to see that other me again.

After the blinding light, my vision cleared and I stood in front of my Dragon, who was looking down at me. "**You're here again? I thought you would have given up by now.**" He mocked me, accompanied with a smirk.

I sighed and shook my head. "Káo (no), I haven't given up." I told him exasperatedly. "Actually I'm here to gain the full power of my Fire magic." I told him, looking straight into his eyes.

He just looked bored at me. "**So…**" He said slowly. His face quickly turned to a full-blown grin. "**How's life with dear Lucy?**" He asked me with a glint in his eyes.

I moaned. He knew just as well as I did how everything was going with Lucy, why did he feel the need to ask? "It's going good." I told him plainly, I honestly didn't feel the need to elaborate.

The Dragon shook his head. "**Oh, come on! I know it's more than just 'good'.**" He said, smirking as we locked gazes. "**We basically share mouth-water every chance we get.**" He said excitedly.

A faint blush adorned my cheeks, which only served to make my Dragon laugh loudly. I glared at him. "That's only because it's all new! With time, it'll be… Less…" I trailed off, averting my gaze to the ground. It would at some point, wouldn't it?

The Dragon raised an eyebrow at that. "**And why the Hell is that a **_**good**_** thing?**" He asked me. "**I don't see anything positive in that.**" He told me. I just looked at him blankly. Well of course he didn't, he was a greedy Dragon after all. "**If it was up to me, I would kiss her senseless every day.**" He explained.

I sighed. "That's fantastic." I said sarcastically. "Now I would prefer if you keep your dreams of my girlfriend to yourself." I told him.

He just smirked wider. "_**Our**_** girlfriend, Mini-me.**" He said with a happy face. Which just pissed me off even more.

"Would you just send me to wherever I need to go to gain my full potential Fire magic, already?" I asked him exasperatedly. Why did he want to talk with - torture - me so much?

He shook his head with a wide grin, obviously enjoying this. "**So busy all the time, Mini-me.**" He looked to his right and a mark, just like the one last time, appeared in a burst of flames and was left in a warm red color.

I sent a glare at the Dragon and entered the symbol, teleporting to another place entirely. I looked around at the place I had arrived at. It was nothing like anything I had ever seen before. And I never thought I would see anything like it. Much less survive it. But here I was.

At a volcano. Well, to be more specific; at the foot of a volcano. A mighty one at that. The big rock was a weird color of brown and crimson lava was calmly flowing from the top and to the bottom. Black smoke rose freely from the top of the volcano. Two lanes of the burning hot lava streamed past me and kind of caught me in a triangle. The ground I was standing on was full of cracks, revealing magma underneath, but at the same time it also seemed steady enough. There were no sign of plants or anything living altogether anywhere _near_ my area. Everywhere I looked, the ground was covered in cracks and was the same brown stone as on the volcano. The air around me was almost moist in heat and I could already feel the sweat beginning to appear. Which was weird considering I had discovered my Fire magic.

I turned to the dark sky filled with the smoke from the volcano. Yet it didn't seem like it would ever fall down again. It was as if an invisible barrier was holding it back somehow. "Okay, so what am I supposed to do now?" I asked the sky, feeling like a complete idiot. Once again.

_Oh, that's simple. You just beat this one._ My Dragon said plainly. Just as he finished talking, a man stepped out of the lava.

He didn't have a face, like the last magical man I had fought. He had the same stature as the Chaos man, actually he could go for being the same person, had he not been on flames and seemed to be pure magma.

So I just had to do the same this time? Beat this thing up? Well, that should be easy enough. I had done it once, I could do it again.

I crouched a little, ready to pounce. The Fire man stood tall and didn't move just like the Chaos man hadn't. I smirked. They were so similar, I could still remember how the Chaos man fought, giving me another advantage. Maybe that Dragon of mine wasn't so creative after all.

Just as I was about to charge the Fire man, he charged me with his fist held high. He started running towards me, his flaming feet thumping the ground as he came closer. I watching him come closer calmly, keeping watch of his fist, to be ready when he hit and to be able to quickly spot if he decided to use magic.

When he had gotten close enough, he leaped into the air and flew at me, fist first. He kind of looked like Superman. I ducked under his fist and felt the heat of his body fly over me, his flames almost touching me.

The time seemed to slow down and he flew over me much slower that I thought possible. I quickly clenched my fist and jolted it forward, connecting with the foes ribcage.

The man didn't make a sound and none of us budged for a second. Then I felt my hand heat up quickly and the pain my skin beginning to sizzle as it burned. Time reverted back to its normal speed as I pulled my hand back in a reflex. The Fire man, having been blown off course, flew to my right. He twisted in the air and landed safely on his feet, watching me silently.

I looked down at my hand. My fingers were completely black where my fist had touched the Fire man and they still sizzled painfully. The skin was burnt down to the flesh and hurt badly.

I looked up at the Fire man with one eye, the other was closed as I resisted the pain that tore through my hand. How did he burn me? I had discovered my Fire element magic, so shouldn't I be resistant to Fire magic? Actually, shouldn't I be able to eat it?

My Dragon chuckled out of nowhere. _That wouldn't have impressed dear Lucy, Mini-me._ He mocked me. _Of course you can't punch fire, you dumbass, what did you expect?_ He kept almost scolding me.

I glared at the sky. "Why the heck didn't you tell me you big idiot?!" I yelled at him. That idiot Dragon.

The Dragon grunted. _Because I didn't think you would be that stupid._ He told me.

I just growled and focused on my enemy once again. He had been standing motionlessly all through the conversation, obviously being controlled by the Dragon. A 'real' enemy, who could actually think, wouldn't just stand idly by when the foe was occupied. The Dragon actually gave me a chance.

So I couldn't use my combat-skills on this one. And Fire magic obviously wasn't a good idea to use. So Chaos magic it was.

I crouched again and focused on my target, brushing sweat off my forehead unconsciously. I was going to need to fight this one in a different way. Thinking about it, I had actually never really tried practicing using magic in combat for real, so this would be the first time. I smirked. This would be fun.

The Fire man did the same and seemed like he was watching me, even if he didn't even own eyes. I gathered my black and blue Chaos magic around my hands and it elongated my fingers, turning into claws of pure magic and covering my hands completely from view. The Fire man's hands burst into even bigger flames, but they weren't claws like mine.

I raised an eyebrow, nice try Fire man. I began running forward at the faceless man, speeding up as I got closer. "Tehepo Tarakona's Maikuku! (Chaos Dragon's Claws)" I yelled and extended my hands, slashing him over the chest. Well, that was my goal. Unfortunately he stepped back, narrowly evading my slash. I smirked, oh, I wasn't done.

I sent just a little more magic to my magic claws. Well, if they weren't long enough I would just _make_ them longer. So I did. My claws elongated and pierced his magma-'skin' easily. I slashed down, leaving four very visible black and blue scars from his chest and down diagonally. The last of my magic blew off him, leaving him seemingly fine from the looks of it.

I quickly jumped back, so he wouldn't have time to make a counter attack. I let the magic dissipate again, it having served its purpose and my fingers turned back to their original form.

I wouldn't let the Fire man rest though, so I quickly leaped into the air forcefully. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with magic. I took my aim at the Fire man as I had done so many times outside this place. "Tehepo Tarakona's Haruru! (Chaos Dragon's Roar)" I yelled and released my magic down on the Fire man.

He lifted his hands up, palms facing me, as if that would give him some sort of protection against my attack. I smirked and kept blowing out magic from my lungs. I would get him this time for sure.

Suddenly, a beam of fierce flames shot out of the Fire man's hands and clashed with my Haruru (Roar) in an explosion of black, red and streaks of blue. In pure shock, I stopped spewing out magic and covered my head with my arms against the flames. What I didn't know was that the Fire man hadn't stopped sending magic, so his beam hit me straight on.

I screamed in agony as his blazing hot flames hit me and burnt my clothes and skin as I fell to the ground and landed hard on the warm ground which did nothing to ease my pain. My shirt and jacket quickly caught the flames and before I got to stopping them, they had burnt almost my entire jacket and half of my t-shirt. For some unexplainable reason, my pants didn't catch fire.

I kept my arms up covering my face until the flames had stopped and I had stopped screaming. Instead I gritted my teeth, enduring the feeling of the pain burning on my skin of my torso and arms. I waited for a moment, expecting more flames, but wasn't hit by any. I lowered my arms and glared at the Fire man. That hurt, dammit!

I got up and pulled off the burnt jacket and t-shirt. Even though I knew it exposed my skin completely, I also knew they would be a hindrance when I fought, with the remains flailing around randomly. I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the Fire man, I would have to be more careful, I wouldn't be able to go on if I took many more hits like that.

Once again, the Fire man had been standing still while I was defenseless. I was beginning to wonder if my Dragon's goal was to humiliate me in front of… Well… Myself? At any rate, if that was his goal, he should find another tactic.

This, even though I was burned, was fun. It was nice with a change for once; I had been doing the same for so long; practicing control of my Fire magic. I needed to be doing something else, that was way too boring for my liking.

Okay, enough about that, I needed to focus on the battle at hand. The Fire man, motionless as ever, waited for me to do something. I nodded, more to myself than anything else. I would try a combo of sorts.

I sent my magic to my fingers and it extended from my fingertips into black and blue claws. I began charging the foe. "Tehepo Tarakona's Maikuku! (Chaos Dragon's Claws)" I called and reached out to claw him again. This time, he was cleverer and sidestepped instead. I had expected that, so I had inhaled the air and added magic to the mix in my lungs. "Tehepo Tarakona's HARURU! (Chaos Dragon's Roar)" I yelled loudly and let the beam of black and blue Chaos magic hit my enemy straight in the face, where it was supposed to.

The Fire man bent backwards, then flew with the Haruru (Roar) like some kind of ragdoll. It actually looked a little funny, how his arms and legs flailed like that.

Without warning, the Fire man made a backflip, pushing himself over the Haruru (Roar) and staring at me. He held his hands so his two palms face each other. A little ball of Fire quickly appeared and was shot at me, while I was still firing my own magic.

I quickly cut the connection with the Haruru (Roar), snapping my teeth together and shutting my mouth. I jumped backwards as the little ball of flames neared. It narrowly missed me.

I looked up, only to find more of the same kind of fireball come flying in my direction. I almost danced from side to side to avoid the fireballs. When the last ball was fired, I was standing on the volcano, which I had completely forgotten about.

I glanced behind me. He was forcing me up in a corner. Like hell was he going to do that! I sent my magic to my arms and the magic flooded out of my arms. "Tehepo Tarakona's Parirau Huaki! (Chaos Dragon's Wing Attack)" I yelled and jumped high into the air, using the magic as a kind of wing, so I could glide down to the ground softly, to avoid broken bones. This was something I had figured out during training with Deamunas. He had been quite surprised that it could also be used in that way and decided to try it out himself. He fell and crashed to the ground.

I fueled up the magic flowing from my arms and shot forward at the Fire man in a sudden burst of speed. The magic I had from the Parirau Huaki (Wing Attack) was sent to my hands instead, because I was falling directly down at the Fire man. The wind rushed through my hair and past the bare skin of my stomach and back. Chaos magic covered my hands in a little sphere of magic.

I used the last of the magic I had gathered with the Parirau Huaki (Wing Attack) to burst forward in speed once more, quickly falling towards my target. I moved my hands slowly - because of the mighty strong winds - in front of me, aimed at the enemy. "TEHEPO TARAKONA'S RÍTAHA! (Chaos Dragon's Slash)" I yelled and first now did the Fire man notice me above him. He moved his head slowly to me and had he had a gaze, it would have locked with mine.

I flew down, my right fist connecting with head. My magic expanded to cover him in a bubble of black and blue and I felt the magic work as I felt the Fire man thrashing from side to side. What seemed like an eternity, but really only was seconds, after my attack had hit, the Chaos magic disappeared and revealed a Fire man, who had been disconnected completely. His limbs were scattered on the ground all around him, but still burning, surprisingly.

I had evolved my Rítaha (Slash) a little, I didn't need to slash the enemy myself, I could just let my magic do the work. It took a lot more magic than when I did it myself though. Against normal humans, it wouldn't have shattered them like it did with the Fire man, it was only because he didn't have a body like that, he was just a lot of Fire magic collected in one place. I had developed this other form of it, because otherwise it was a little too similar to the Tarakona's Maikuku (Dragon Claws), as the only exception that the Maikuku (Claw) was one powerful slash and the Rítaha (Slash) was more than one, but weaker.

I landed on the ground on my feet and fell to one knee panting. That last one had taken a lot more magic than I had first expected. With a clenched fist, I pushed myself off the ground and went to the man I had just slain. Just as I reached him, he burst into flames, making me involuntarily take a step backwards and watch as he disappeared with the flames.

I smirked at the sky. "Well, Dragon, that was a good one you made here." I praised him, even though it went against me. I had fun with this battle, so the Dragon deserved the praise. The last real fight I had had was the one against Makarov on Tenrou Island. Káo, the fight with Fairy Tail wasn't really a battle, it was too one-sided on my part to be entertaining in the least.

_Hmph. Thank you, Mini-me._ He said sarcastically. In a burst of flames, the warm, red mark appeared, signaling for me to enter. _You did 'good' Mini-me. Next time, don't get hit by a beam of flames. It didn't sound so manly the way you screamed like a little girl._ He mocked me.

I just sighed and rolled my eyes as I entered the portal, finding myself in the well-known cave I had most definitely grown to love. As well as the other person living with me in it.

Just as I came through the portal, it was like I was hit by a blizzard. I shivered. I guessed I had been sweating a bit more at the volcano than I had expected.

"**The way you just threw off your shirt like that wasn't cool either.**" A much too familiar voice told me amusedly. I turned my head to the right to face my Dragon.

I smirked at him. "Yeah, right, you enjoyed the view, just admit it." I mocked back. I almost laughed at the hilarious face my Dragon made at that comment.

His face warped as if he had tasted something sour and he shook his head. "**Okay listen, Mini-me, I'm straight, and I'm taken by dear Lucy. Although, if I was into boys I would have to admit that body was gorgeous.**" He said with a smirk. I looked weirdly up at him with furrowed eyebrows. He was probably the weirdest of his kind. "**It is **_**my**_** body after all!**" He then added proudly, which made everything clear.

I sighed and shook my head. He would never change, would he? "Of course you would say that. Why am I even surprised?" I asked rhetorically.

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"**Lucy, I think it's time for you to meet your Dragon.**" Alodiculis said just as he landed on the ground as he so often did. His warm amber eyes smiling at me.

I looked at him with widened eyes and almost jumped in happiness. "_Really_? I'm meeting my Dragon?!" I couldn't believe I would finally meet her. I had wanted to meet her so badly for ages now and finally I could go there!

Alodiculis nodded. "**Yeah, really. I'm sure you know what to do.**" He smiled at my excitement. While I had chosen not to call him 'father' or 'dad', he was still a father-figure for me. It was simply because those two words weren't positive in my book, I thought of another person when I said that. Instead I called him 'Senpai'.

I nodded, still smiling widely, and sat down, closing my eyes. I opened my eyes to see the abyss darkness I had seen so often. I no longer needed to focus on my surroundings to go here. Actually, I wasn't really meditating at all when I did it, I just closed my eyes and teleported here. Pretty much.

The bright golden star shone blindingly bright. I smiled, it had become so bright because I had practiced my Celestial magic so much and had gotten much stronger.

Right next to it was the silver Fairy Tail insignia. While it didn't shine as brightly as the star, it was still glowing nicely compared with the way it started out with. I wasn't as experienced with my Dragon magic yet either, so it would only be natural.

I stepped closer to the silver symbol, so close that I stood right in front of it. I had reached this far already. I couldn't believe that I was about to meet my Dragon.

Would it be like Acnologia's? Or would it be sweet and kind, like Grandine? Or straightforward and blunt, like Skyadrum? Clever and silent, like Weisslogia? Wise and stern, like Dravola? An idiot, like Igneel? Rough and arrogant, like Metallicana? Or would it be some other mix of a person I hadn't met before?

Would I have to fight some Peace creature like Acnologia's Dragon had made him? Suddenly, I wasn't so sure I was ready to meet my Dragon yet. I wasn't good in hand-to-hand combat yet - by no means - I wouldn't be able to defeat an enemy with my bare fists. I would lose. Look like a complete moron in front my Dragon. Great first impression.

Káo (no), Lucy. Pull yourself together and do this. Show the Dragon just how much girl-power you have!

Yeah, something like that. I could do this, piece of cake.

Having decided that, I went through the silver insignia. I closed my eyes as a bright, white light came out of nowhere and blinded me. When I could see that the light had faded, I opened my eyes to familiar surroundings. I was at the field where I trained every day. The river and the forest were also there.

And then of course a beautiful, silver Dragon. I looked just as Acnologia had described. And just as I had seen in my own reflection in the water, I was a beautiful Dragon, although nothing near Grandine.

My Dragon looked down at me with big, brown orbs and a playful smile. "**It's nice to finally meet you, Mini Lucy!**" She tilted her head and smiled. Suddenly, she stuck her head up close almost touching me with her snout. "**You are much smaller than I thought you would be though.**" She added.

I sweat dropped and scratched the back of my head with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, and you're much bigger than I thought you would be, Big Lucy." I told her. Truthfully, somehow I had expected her to be smaller. I didn't know why, honestly.

She giggled and pulled her head back again. I quickly caught on her infectious laugh and giggled along with her. I had nothing to be afraid of, my Dragon was not like Acnologia's, or how he saw him anyway, she seemed really nice.

She lay down on the ground and looked at me with her head down on the ground, so our eyes were on the same level. "**So are you ready to get your full power of your Peace magic?**" She asked with a smile.

I gulped and nodded carefully. "Y-yeah I am." I stuttered. I was getting quite nervous now. What if I screwed up completely and she would have to save me? That would be so embarrassing, I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye ever again. I had trained for so long, but I wasn't strong enough for this. Not yet.

Suddenly, I was pushed out of my thoughts. I looked up to see my Dragon had been the one to push me. She was looking at me with a playful smile. "**I know what you're thinking. 'Will it be like with Acnologia? Will I have to beat a Peace creature? I can't do that'. Yeah, well. It won't be a problem, because that's not what we're going to do.**" She reassured me.

I let out the breath I had been keeping in. "We aren't?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head lightly. "**Káo (no), I'm not as rough as Acnologia's Dragon.**" She told me. Was there a little hint of a dreamy tone there? Well, it wouldn't surprise me.

I nodded, wearing a wide smile. "Okay, what are we doing then?" I asked her, happy I wasn't going to be fighting anymore today, I had done that earlier with Loke and Metallicana. Where they both - as usual - tried rubbing their scents on me as much as possible.

She smiled lopsidedly at me. "**Well, first of all you have to summon your Dragon magic. It may be a little harder here than in the 'real' world. It will show if you have full control over your magic. If you do, it won't be too challenging to summon it, while if you don't it will be hard.**" She explained.

I nodded, so it would be a little like what I had first thought it would be like with my Celestial magic. It shouldn't be too hard, I had great control of my magic already.

I closed my eyes and focused on the magic running through my veins. The first I found was of course my Celestial magic, which was as warm and inviting as always. That wasn't what I was looking for. I searched deeper and found the cool and comforting feeling of my Peace magic. That was it.

I pulled at it and sent it to my hand. It was more resistant than usual, but my Dragon had already told me that, so it wasn't much of a surprise. I pushed it a little harder, put more force into getting it into my hand.

It was still disobedient. I furrowed my eyebrows, still keeping my eyes closed, and focused more on getting it to my hand.

"**Put everything into pushing it, Mini Lucy!**" My Dragon told me.

I nodded. My everything? Okay, then it should be doing what I tell it to.

Just as my Dragon instructed me to, I put all my forced my magic to my hand with everything I had in me. This time, it easily flowed down to my hand. I opened my eyes and looked at the hand I had collected the magic in. It was glowing a bright silver.

A small smile made its way to my lips. Okay, now for the final touch. I pushed the magic out of my hand and collected it in a little ball above my hand. It was easier to manipulate now I already had gotten it out of its natural course.

I looked up at my Dragon to see if I had done what I was supposed to. She smiled at me and nodded. "**Exactly. Okay, now for the next part.**" She said and looked to her right. Up from the ground rose five Peace figures, which I soon realized were supposed to be humans. She looked back at me. "**I want to you to hit these targets at either the heart or the head.**" She told me with a smile.

I nodded. This was like what I had been practicing with Alodiculis for ages. I stretched my fingers out and aimed for the head of the first one. I shot of the Peace ball I had collected and quickly moved on to the next target. Before I knew of it, I had already sent a new Peace ball in the air towards the next targets heart. The next ball was aimed at the head. Then the heart again. And at last the head. All rapidly after each other.

I let my hand drop again and saw that I had hit each target perfectly. My Dragon giggled at me. "**You show-off!**" She teased me. I sweat dropped and giggled with her. I had shown off a bit, hadn't I? She nodded and looked at the field again. "**Okay, let's make it a little harder this time.**" She told me.

Three much bigger figures appeared this time. They quickly took the form of three Dragons. I looked up at my Dragon. How was this any harder? "Am I just doing the same this time?" I asked her.

She nodded. "**Yeah, kind of. Except you can only hit them in the heads. Dragons' scales aren't so easily broken, especially not around their hearts, but the scales on their heads tend to be smaller and thinner.**" She explained.

I nodded and looked at the three Dragons. Hit them in the heads, huh? I could do that. I pulled the magic, with the force necessary and maybe a little extra, and sent it up from my palm, making the same size ball I had before. I aimed at the first Dragon with my fingers stretched out in front of me. I took a little more time to aim this time, both because the Dragons were further away and because their heads just seemed so small compared to the rest of their bodies.

At last I fired and created a new ball as I watched if the first one hit. Had it been a real Dragon, it wouldn't have survived, let's just say that. In other words, I hit bull's-eye. I smiled and nodded. Okay on to the next.

I hit them both spot on, but I also took time to focus on the heads.

My Dragon thumped the ground with her tail excitedly. "**Great job Mini Lucy! You hit them right in their heads!**" She praised me. I was beginning to wonder if maybe my Dragon was a sadist. "**Level up~**" It was as if it was as much fun to her as it was to me.

I smiled at her and shook my head without her noticing. I had gotten myself a weird Dragon. But lovable. Definitely lovable.

This time two Dragons showed up and walked from side to side. "**This time you have to hit them while they're moving!**" She told me.

I nodded again and furrowed my eyebrows, focusing on my two targets. We hadn't practiced this so much, Alodiculis and I, but I was sure I could figure it out.

I locked on to the first Dragon and followed its movements from side to side. I figured out when it would be turning and when I had prepared myself, I shot a little in front of it and added extra speed to my shot, so it would hit it on the head. Just as I had expected, it hit exactly where it was supposed to.

I faintly heard my Dragon cheering me on next to me while I aimed at the next Dragon and repeated my actions. I also hit the Dragon right in the head with this Peace ball. It wasn't so hard once you got the hang of it.

"**You did it~! You're so good at this Mini Lucy!**" She praised and cheered at the same time. I could feel a light blush slowly spreading to my cheeks. I wasn't used to this kind of praise. "**Now for the hardest one.**" She said with a faint grin.

She created one figure a long way from us. It faced us, but stood completely still. I looked confusedly up at my Dragon. "What am I supposed to do this time?" I asked her.

She looked at her creation with a glint in her eye. "**Keep calm.**" She told me amusedly.

Before I could ask what she meant, the Dragon began charging towards us. Rapidly. Shit. What if I didn't hit it? Would it be like with Acnologia? Where the Dragon will just run straight into me and stomp on me? What if I don't survive? Then Acnologia would be so sad he wouldn't survive either. That was the 'law' of mating.

KÁO (NO) LUCY! Do as your Dragon told you to and keep calm.

Just as I had reprimanded myself to do, I calmed down and aimed at the Dragon with a steady hand. It had gotten a lot closer during my rant of thoughts. Just as it was getting too close, I fired the ball of Peace magic. It hit it right in the head. The Dragon collapsed right in front of me, I could literally just reach out and I could touch its snout.

I was pulled out of my trance when an oversized tongue licked me from top to toe. Luckily, it was more like a cats' tongue than a dogs', so I didn't have slobber all over. I looked up at my Dragon with a raised eyebrow. Why the heck would she do that?

She was standing there with her butt in the air like a playful dog, making me sweat drop. Then, all of a sudden, she bounced at me and knocked me down with her head buried in my stomach. It wasn't anything like when Basuril did it, she had a much bigger head. Which also made a much bigger impact. "**YOU DID IT MINI LUCY! IT'S AMAZING!**" She cheered happily and nuzzled her head in my stomach.

I could help but giggle at her childish behavior. "Of course I did, Big Lucy, why wouldn't I?" I asked her, in a way that didn't make me sound arrogant.

Just as suddenly as she had bounced on me, she pulled back and looked at me with an amused grin. "**Now we have some extra time.. Let's talk about Sweetie~!**" She said excitedly.

While I nodded, I laughed at my Dragon. I liked her a lot already.

**Okay, chapter done! I know this chappie was kinda long, but I can't make every chapter this long… So, yeah. Hope you liked it?! ^_^ **

**Eirene is an ancient Greek goddess of peace, which is why I chose her for this Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). She is said to be a beautiful young woman carrying a sceptre, cornucopia and a torch or rhyton. She is also said to be the daughter of Zeus and Themis. Not that it really matters…**

**TRANSLATIONS!**

'**Haamana' means 'Memories'. **

**Thank you FT LOVER (Guest), Darkverger1, Alaina Kuski, KatieKat666, aristofthemind, IchigoHeart, Nicole (Guest), mjb379, Guest, clumzybeans, OtakuLover43, OliTassell, SillyKitty88, Raven Blacknight, Stardust712, MoonStar1312, Konan15, 00halfblood,soralazuli (Guest), the-wolf-of-winter, Miyako Yukimura, Canori, MinorBandit, animelover9240, K.C.96, FairyTailLover93, .1, Dragonic Revenger, Badluckcat13 and everyone else! You know why…**

**I am actually surprised – in a **_**very **_**good way – that so many would be written in this section when it was only 4 days, thank you guys, thank you! ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R! **

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke still owns just about everything with 'Fairy Tail' written on it.**

**At the Field, Dragon Realm~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I was in the middle of training close combat techniques with Metallicana and Loke, as usual they would grab any chance they could get to get close to me.

Earlier today with Alodiculis, I discovered my other Dragon magic, Ice, it went surprisingly simply actually.

**A few hours back~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_I looked at Alodiculis with a raised eyebrow. "__**Seriously? You want me to put my hand in the water?**__" I asked him incredulously. What good would that do?_

_Alodiculis had just told me that I would discover my magic quicker if I put my hand in the river-water. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. _

_The silver Dragon nodded. "__**Ae (Yes) I want you to put your hand in the water.**__" He looked down at me and sighed. "__**Just do it, Lucy, trust me.**__" He told me._

_I looked skeptically at him once more before letting my Peace magic surround me. For a short period of time, all I could see was silver, then I felt it through my body as I changed form in a split second, and the silver disappeared again, leaving me standing on two legs._

_I went to the river-bank and dipped my hand into the cold water. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I submerged my hand in the water._

_Lately it had been getting pretty cold around here, it was soon winter. Usually when I took the morning bath with the other ladies, we would let Amelane blend her own, warmer water with the cold river-water till it had a comfortable temperature. _

_I looked up at the silver Dragon with a questioning expression. His Amber eyes met my brown ones. "__**As I'm sure you know, we're looking for your Ice magic.**__" He told me and looked around. "__**The conditions are just right.**__" He added with a nod. _

_It was several weeks ago I had met my Dragon and unlocked my full Peace magic. I had been practicing the attacks with my Peace magic, using some of the things I had been learning with Loke and Metallicana. I had been begging for Alodiculis to help me find the new magic I would be training with, but he always refused, saying 'The time isn't right'. But today was the day!_

_I nodded. It wasn't difficult to figure out what magic I would be finding was. It was either Water or Ice magic, but considering I had my fingers in _ice _cold water, I figured it would be Ice magic. "Yeah. What am I supposed to do?" I asked him, eager to get the training with my Ice magic started. _

_He tilted his head ever so slightly. "__**You're supposed to freeze the water.**__" He told me plainly._

_I looked surprised up at him. "What?! How am I going to do that? I don't have any Ice magic!" I told him frustrated._

_He nodded. "__**Ae (Yes), you do, you just haven't found it yet.**__" He told me. Before I could reply, he continued talking. Looking at the river. "__**Well, this is supposed to awaken your Ice magic.**__" He looked down at me again. "__**You see, this water is **_**very **_**cold today, which is why I picked today. If your Ice magic haven't awakened in an hour, the blood-flow to your hand will freeze completely, and you will lose your hand.**__" He told me with a straight face._

_It took me a few moments before the reality of his words hit me. I looked at him with wider eyes than I had ever had before. "WHAAAAAT?! How can you say that with a straight face?!" I yelled at him._

**Present time~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Well, luckily it hadn't come that far. It took me an half an hour with my hand in the water, for the Ice magic to course through my veins. I remember it quite clearly. My hand was completely numb and the burning feeling you get when you touch something cold had disappeared a while ago.

That was when I felt a cool rush going through me. When I looked down, the water around my hand had frozen completely and was a transparent shade of blue, a little lighter than Gray's.

Afterwards, Alodiculis had to me that I wouldn't have lost my hand, even if it took over an hour. It was simply to speed things up. Apparently it would awaken sooner if I was under some kind of pressure.

I had been pretty pissed, to say it mildly, but in the end, we just laughed it off.

Besides that, I had also opened Taurus' and Cancer's Gates in that starry world of mine. Taurus hadn't changed much, he had just gotten stronger than he was before - not that he needed it. Cancer had learned several new hairstyles and his agility had upped.

Just yesterday, I kinda finished my training with Plue. If you could call it that. He could make an illusion of a Dragon the size of Metallicana and Deamunas, without me being affected by it all that much, and it could be touched and deal real damage. I was _so _looking forward to actually using that in a real battle sometime. The rest of that day, much to my and Aquarius' dismay, I had practiced calling Aquarius without sticking her key in the water. It was harder than you would think, actually.

If I had to be all honest, I had no idea how my training with Metallicana and Loke was going, I thought I had become good, but both of them had said I still needed a lot.

Acnologia had also come really far with his Fire magic, he had already mastered the three basic moves and was working with the special attack.

I don't know if he was lucky that Igneel was teaching him, no days were the same and that Dragon was hilarious sometimes, or if he was in his own personal Hell, because that very same Dragon could get so annoying too, because he was so stupid.

That was when I was whacked at the back of my head and I crashed back in reality. I looked at the big guy who had hit the back of my head with a pissed glare. "And what the heck was _that _for?!" I asked the Iron Dragon who was looking down at me with a raised eyebrow.

His lips tilted up ever so slightly. "You were spacing out for a whole minute, Squirt, I just wanted to get you back here." He said, a smirk evident in his voice.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, well, I was just thinking." I looked back up at him with a grin. "Something you obviously have a hard time doing." I mocked him.

I saw his eye twitch once, before he looked at me with his usual smirk. "I don't _need _to think, Squirt, I only need my instincts!" He said triumphantly. Obviously he thought that he had won. Keyword: thought.

I shook my head as if he was stupid. "That's obvious by the way you smell." I told him.

Actually, that was a lie. I did kinda like his scent, in a non-romantic or sexual way I might add. It reminded me of Gajeel's, except more metallic, if that was even possible.

I would never tell him that though. His ego was big enough as it was.

While Metallicana was scowling at me, Loke threw his arms around me and hugged me from behind, making a show of pressing his chest to my back. He rested his chin on my shoulder and looked at me. He had let his glasses stay in the Spirit World today, and his hazel eyes met mine. "Were you thinking about me, Princess?" He asked with a grin.

I rolled my eyes at him, sighed and pried his arms away. "Káo (no), I would rather be thinking about Acnologia." I told him plainly and turned around, so I was facing him. "Besides, you're too close." I said.

Loke fell to his knees and clutched his clothes over his heart as if I had brought him real pain. He looked up at me with a pained expression. "You're so mean, Princess!" He said and extended his hand towards me, trying to... Well... I don't know what he was trying to do actually. Nevertheless, I just stared down at him with a deadpan expression, not making any hint of grabbing his hand whatsoever. Loke quickly adopted a grin and got up to his feet in a matter of seconds. Before I knew what was going on, he had grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. "Playing hard to get, are we? Well, I'm not one to give up!" He reassured me.

I pulled my hand away from my Spirit exasperatedly and felt the weight of someone's arm on my head. I hardly had to look to be able to figure out who that was. It could really only be one person. "Well you seem to be awfully friendly with the cat there. Don't tell me you're two-timing!" He said mockingly with fake surprise in his voice.

When would those two morons stop this? It couldn't continue being fun! I sure was getting enough of it.

I grabbed Metallicana's hand in a flash and twisted it behind his back and kept him in a bend over position. I grabbed his other arm and held it in a tight grip. He'd taught me that a while ago, it was useful whenever someone stronger than me needed to be kept in check, he told me.

I grinned at him, even if he couldn't see it. "Now I would prefer if you two boys would keep your distance." I told them proudly.

I heard a 'Gihi' from the Iron Dragon. He turned his head and looked at me at the edge of peripheral, a smirk adorning his features. "Squirt, this doesn't really work if you're against a Dragon!" He told me and suddenly, whirls of iron swirled around the man, forcing me to let go of him.

I stepped a pair of steps back and watched with a pout as Metallicana turned back to his Dragon form and towered up above me.

I pouted at him with crossed arms. "That's no fair Metallicana! Don't just change into your Dragon form!" I yelled at him. That cheater.

He just laughed at me. "**Oh come on now, Squirt. You also have a Dragon form, or have you forgotten?**" He asked me mockingly.

I fixed the Dragon a glare. "Káo (no), I haven't, but I haven't learnt to do anything but fly and do magic in my Dragon form." I turned my voice to a lighter tone and I looked at Metallicana with a begging expression. "When will you teach me to fight in my Dragon form, Metallicana~?" I begged him.

He grunted and looked at me with a half evil smirk. "**You know, that still doesn't work on me.**" He told me, to which I pouted. "**I'll teach you to fight in your Dragon form once you've learnt to fight in your Human form.**" He said plainly.

My jaw dropped. "What?! But that will _never_ happen! Why aren't we just doing a bit of both?" I suggested.

Loke made his presence known as he cleared his throat. "Well, Princess. It is entirely up to you when we'll teach you to fight in your Dragon form, how fast you learn to fight in your Human form is based on how engaged you are in training." He told me. I wasn't quite sure I got all that in the start, but it seeped in slowly. "As to why we can't do both, we expect that you will be using your Human form more than your Dragon form, so we're making sure that's what you're best at." He explained.

"**What he said.**" Metallicana quickly added. Unnecessarily.

I nodded slowly as I processed what he had said. Couldn't he have put it more simply instead of those long words? "Alright..." I said slowly.

The Iron Dragon looked in the sky. "**Time's up. See ya tomorrow, Squirt.**" He said and flew away before I could reply.

I turned to look at Loke, holding his key in my hand. "Well, Loke, I'll see you tomorrow then." I said and lifted the key to close his Gate.

He looked at the key and a second later, a sly smirk appeared on his face. "Goodbye Princess!" He said as he threw himself at me, locking his arms around me and then disappeared in a burst of golden light.

"LOKE!"

**In the Clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"Oh come on now, Acnologia. Is that all you've got?" Igneel asked me. I glared at him, panting a little. We'd been at it since this morning. Ever since he started being my new teacher instead of Deamunas, who had gone who knows where, we'd been doing this constantly.

'It' was fighting, in case you were wondering. Igneel thought that was the ideal way to learn new things, to test and try them and get stronger as you fought. That was also the way he had taught Summer, he told me. Not that I cared in the least. Actually it made me resent his way of training people even more.

I was surprised by how bulky that old man was, he was a really good fighter, when he got down to it, and I sure couldn't beat him. Yet.

He motioned with his hands for me to come at him. "Give it your all, boy!" He said eagerly and smirked.

Ae (Yes), he had gone all business-mode.

I was screwed.

Although he had taught me to use the basic moves effectively and creatively in battle. And facing an opponent stronger than yourself. But that was also about it. Other than that he had had fun beating a younger man up.

Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if he just did this for his own entertainment.

**In the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"Hime-sama, is it time for my punishment?" Virgo, my lovely Maiden Spirit asked me plainly, as usual.

I had just summoned her in my starry world in my mind. She wasn't hard to call out at all, not with all the memories we had already shared.

I shook my head at her with a wide smile. "Káo (no), Virgo, not today. Take a look around you." I told her and she did.

She looked away from me and first now seemed to realize she was not in either the Dragon Realm or at Earthland. She turned her expressionless gaze to me. "I see, Hime-sama, you've summoned me here." She said monotonously as always. I nodded again, without saying anything else. "I can change to another size and form whenever you want me, so the punishments get as painful as possible." She said as if everything was normal.

I sweat dropped. I couldn't help but wonder if the last Zodiac Spirits and rest of the Dragon keys, as the keys from the Dragon Realm were called, had as exaggerated personalities as my Zodiac Spirits had. If they did, I wouldn't have a moment of peace. Required I got any more. Although Twilight had reassured me I would get more keys, at least of the Dragon keys.

I focused on my Spirit again as she continued. "I'll be able to dig more holes quicker as well, Hime-sama." She told me.

I nodded for the third time. "Okay, thank you Virgo, I'm looking forward to trying it out." I smiled at her as she disappeared in a shower of golden light.

Next time it would be Loke. I smiled by myself. He would probably be the easiest to summon of them all. It wasn't like I didn't love the other Spirits as much as I loved the Lion, it was simply because he and I shared a special bond. I was somehow… Closer to Loke than the other Spirits.

Apart from him, I only needed to summon Aries, Gemini, Scorpio, Capricorn and Fenix and then I'd summoned all the keys I had.

I blinked once and found myself back at the field. The Spirit King wasn't here anymore, no one was actually. Well, if you didn't count the familiar strokes of wings, which didn't seem to be far away. Actually… There were two sets.

The first was obviously Alodiculis, but the other one… Who could it be? Alodiculis never mentioned anything about any guest or anything so, who was accompanying him?

That was when the light bulb turned on above my head, oh right, it was-

The two Dragons landed almost simultaneously at the field, one in a much more graceful way than the other. "Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Alodiculis, Glanasile." I greeted the two of them I looked at the white Ice Dragon. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" I smiled and asked him.

He looked down at me with a little curve of his lips. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello), Lucy, it's been a while.**" He greeted back. "**I am going to be your new teacher, to teach you the art of Ice magic. Alodiculis is going to assist me during our time together, if there was something I would miss.**" He explained.

I looked alternately at the two Dragons in front of me and nodded. "Okay." I slowly said and looked back at Glanasile. "So where do we start?" I asked, already quite eager to begin the training with my new magic.

He shook his head lightly at my eagerness. "**As I'm sure you figured out, we're working with control for starters.**" Yeah. I had pretty much figured that would be where we started. It wouldn't be right to start somewhere else, actually. So I nodded. Alodiculis sat down, I took that as an indication that Glanasile was heading towards a longer explanation. "**Ice magic isn't anything like Peace or Celestial magic. It is more material than the two you've learned so far.**" He told me. "**You can't hold it in a hovering ball above your hand like you can with Peace magic, it isn't manipulated that way.**" He explained.

I nodded. It would be amazing if you could hold a ball of ice above your palm, but it was too heavy for that. The magic itself was heavy, I experienced that earlier by the river, it was hard to move around and work with, because it felt so heavy. I wondered briefly how Gray and Lyon especially could make so much ice with their Ice magic and use it as much as they did. "Okay, I understand, so what am I supposed to be doing, then?" I asked the big Ice Dragon.

He sat down next to Alodiculis and looked at me. "**You are going to create ice figures.**" He told me plainly. Great, so I was going to be an ice sculpture creator? Well, okay then.

**Well, here we are. I know it's short and everything, but I told you earlier that they would be… GOMENASAI! But I just can't have that it all happens in the same chapter, with crazy time skips that skips months, it's too much in the middle of a chapter… Well, that's what I think anyway.**

**Thank you clairedamoon, Maiannaise, BecauseIamSoBored, mjb379, Guest, OtakuLover43, Nicole (Guest), Guest, digi-assassin, Alaina Kuski, Guest, KatieKat666, Tatsuyoshi Tsubasa, 00halfblood, Chicacrazy838, Darkverger1, ICEsher, Jennosaur, maskedgirl16, MoonStar1312, cellum95 (Guest), Stormymyth, Guest, hitsuuo, aristofthemind, Princesslostsoul, BloodCrescent1373, shiki ryuusaki, Neonkill, The19thRenegade, Guest, xsnowhopex, QueenFandom, DarkGlintingEmerald, gabiey, Guest, kim969696, Portaalipentu, slender mane, bunnygirl425, DesolationDeath, Kitsune179, Guest and everyone else for following, favoriting, reviewing and of course, reading!**

**Surprisingly many reviews, I think there were eleven in a row – meaning without followers or favoriters in between – that's just crazy! Maybe it's because of the rising number of Guests… Or just in general the rising number… Just look at that box above! It's gigantic! .-. To think when I first began it was at the size of this one…**

**~Line464d**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**I know that these chapters aren't really the **_**most**_** exciting chapters you've ever read, but I feel that they are necessary. I mentioned in the start of this whole thing that I wouldn't skip the training like so many others do, so – I'm sorry – but you'll have to deal with it. I believe that I will go back and forth between finding a new magic and when they find their Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) and unlock the full extent of their magic with their Dragons, and then in the story let them explain themselves what they've learnt in the duration of the time skips. I don't know how many of this kind of chapters there will be, but… Yeah.**

**I'll begin uploading a little faster, so we can get this over with as fast as possible.**

**Oh, and thank you for being my 400****th**** reviewer DesolationDeath, as well as a kind of Beta-reader! Give him a round of applause guys!**

**And to Ember and Crascaeleo, the Guests: Well, it would certainly make it easier to write chapters faster, but thing is most of you really want these longer chapters. So… Yeah. **

_**SO A QUESTION GUYS, DO YOU WANT SHORTER CHAPTERS OR WHAT? PM ME OR REVIEW! OR WHATEVER YOU FEEL LIKE! Actually… I'll probably make a poll… Yeh. Please go check it out. **_

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke own Fairy tail and its characters. So far anyway… :) **

**At the cave~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I woke up as a shiver crawled its way over my spine. I opened my eyes and looked outside. A thick layer of pure, white snow coated the ground and instead of the mighty crowns of leaves on the trees, the branches were holding a bunch of snow as if they were some kind of bowl.

It was already winter, it had been in a while, we were almost at the end, actually, and it was the perfect conditions for me to train my Ice magic, as it wasn't cold enough to be uncomfortable, but there was still snow and ice decorating the landscape. I had already learned the first four attacks and was looking for my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) now.

I glanced at my right, where I was met with the sight of my mate sleeping soundly, as I heard and felt him take an especially deep breath. I smiled and moved closer to him, pressing my side to his. He put his wing over me instinctively as if it was an arm and pulled me just a little closer. I giggled lowly and snuggled up to him under his wing, to which I got a satisfied grumble.

He had also reached the point where he, just like me, was looking for the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). Apparently he had learned the special attack, which we had begun calling the spell, which didn't come again in the other types of magic, at a time he was extremely pissed at Igneel, who was being a child as always and pissing Acnologia off. It was called 'Kapura Tarakona's Whenunga' (Fire Dragon's Blast) and was, as the name suggested, a big blast or explosion of Fire magic.

Mine was pretty much the same, actually, my special attack with Ice magic. It was called 'Haupa Tarakona's Ãwhã Kino' (Ice Dragon's Blizzard), while it wasn't exploding in the same way Acnologia's did, it was more of a wind rushing over the targets. Although, it wasn't a mild wind. It was a hard wind, which could make you think it was a Sky Dragon's spell, but filled with icicles. It could really hurt if you were hit.

Ice magic was very different from Peace magic; I had to handle it in a whole other way, because it was so much heavier. On the bright side, I also gained a lot of extra physical strength as I trained with it, so all of a sudden, training with Loke and Metallicana turned out to be just a little less difficult.

I still don't exactly know how far I am with those two, but they had said that I took a big leap with it, because I got the additional strength from the Ice magic. I knew I was nothing special on that point though, I was a Holder mage from the beginning after all, we usually don't have much physical strength and wasn't supposed to have it really.

But on the other hand, I was also a Dragon, and Dragons would be Caster mages – had they been mages – so… I was a mix of them both. That could actually, probably be an advantage, because when I'd learned to fight in close combat without my whip, I could change between the two types and confuse the foe.

I broke off my thought-stream and returned to reality. I blinked a pair of times and listened to Acnologia, he was still sleeping. It was getting pretty late too, I didn't want to let Glanasile wait too long. I moved my head back and then leant forward.

I began playing and nibbling on the scales at the back of the fan-like things he had on his head. I knew that was his soft spot. "**Time to wake up, Sweetie**~" I whispered lowly.

Still with closed eyes, he began purring like a big cat and moving the fans in satisfaction. I took that as a sign that he had woken up, so I pulled back, my work being done. Acnologia's eyes opened quickly and he looked at me with those dark, blue eyes of the night sky. "**Don't stop.**" He mumbled sleepily.

I giggled softly and nuzzled the side of his face. "**Come on, it's getting late.**" I said with a smile as I got up and was already on my way out when I was stopped by something heavy having latched onto my tail, although gently. I turned around and saw Acnologia standing with his foot on my tail, preventing me from moving. I sighed and tilted my head, urging him to explain.

He was smirking a little. "**You aren't just leaving without giving me a good-morning-kiss, are you?**" He asked teasingly. 

I laughed and shook my head. "**Okay, then.**" I said and let my Peace magic flow out of my body and envelope me in a soft, silver glow. Just seconds later, I was back in my Human form, and Acnologia wasn't stepping on my tail anymore. I spread my arms out and looked up at him. "I'm, just waiting for you!" I called.

We both preferred kissing in our Human forms, it was weird in the Dragon form. Ae (Yes), we _did_ try it, but honestly, it wasn't any great success.

He changed to his Human form, much faster than I could ever do, and strode towards me. He locked his arms around me, pulling me as close as humanly and Dragonly possible. He quickly caught my lips with his own and kissed me aggressively. We skipped right to the good part and our tongues fought a war of domination, which Acnologia won.

My senses went haywire, all I could see was blackness – as I had closed eyes - all I could smell was my sexy mate, all I could hear was his and my heartbeat beating in the same rhythm, all I could taste was the taste of him and all I could feel was his black hair in my hands and his lips and tongue against mine.

And it was wonderful. Better than anything in the world.

When we pulled back from each other we were for one completely and utterly out of breath and second, we were completely and utterly running late.

I gave him a short hug and a kiss on the cheek, then skipped out of the cave and changed to my Dragon form, flying off towards the river.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

After looking into space, where she had flown away, for a few minutes, I tore out of my mind and changed to my own Dragon form as well. I quickly took off and flew in the direction of the clearing.

Soon enough, I arrived in the clearing, where Igneel was waiting for me. And he didn't look like the happy and cheery Dragon he usually took pride in being. It seemed he had changed into his more… Serious mode. He had already spotted me, of course, and was glaring – very un-Igneellike – at me.

I slowly and carefully landed, like a little boy who knew he had done something bad and was about to be scolded by his parents.

When the air calmed down, he finally spoke, instead of just glaring at me. "**So, would you like to explain why you are so late, Acnologia?**" He asked – demanded – to know.

I sweat dropped and laughed a little. "**Well, you see… Lucy and I, we**-"

"**Oh, so you and Lucy had a busy morning, I see**~" Igneel interrupted with a softened expression and a smirk on his face. He leaned forward just a little. "**So how was it?**" He asked curiously.

I looked weirdly at him. Why did he want to know how it felt to kiss Lucy, all of a sudden? "**It felt like any other time we've done it…**" I said carefully, eyeing his reaction.

Igneel whistled and raised his nonexistent eyebrow. "**Oh, I see.**" He smirked again. "**And here I thought Lucy was still a virgin all this time. You sly bastard, Acnologia.**" He said and wiggled his still nonexistent eyebrows at me.

If I had been in my Human form, my head would be as red as that Dragon's scales. "**Th-th-th-tha-t-t w-wa-was n-not w-wh-wh-what-t I-I m-m-mea-meant!**" I quickly stammered out. Igneel looked weirdly at me this time. "**W-w-we hav-haven't h-had s-s-s-se-se-**" I just couldn't get myself to say that word right now, vivid images of my mate moaning under me had taken over my brain.

_There we have it again, your vivid imagination. It's quite entertaining. _My Dragon commented with an amused voice. _Uhh, that was a bad one! _He whistled as an especially heated image appeared in my mind. _Seriously, Mini-me, where did you get it?_ He asked. _Are you a pervert or something?_

I shook my head furiously to get my Dragon out, answering his question and clearing my head. I looked back at Igneel again, who was just standing there, looking. "**Well, you should get to it then, you two've been mates in several months now.**" He looked me up and down. "**And you seriously need to get some if you act that way at the pure mention of sex, boy.**" He told me with a reproachful glance. You wouldn't think this Dragon was the one which usually acted childishly.

I shook my head again, not as violently this time. Káo (no), I couldn't just do it like that. It needed to be… Well, I would have to sound cheesy here – it needed to be special in some way.

I looked at the Fire Dragon with a determined gaze. "**That's none of your business. Now, if you don't mind, I will find my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).**" I said and turned my back to him as I changed to my Human form, that was the one it was easiest to find it with, I had learned.

I closed my eyes and focused on myself and my surroundings, pushing Igneel away in the meantime, and breathed out slowly. My body began moving by itself as it pulled my arms up. "Kapura Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Ngaru Pukaka O Vulcan! (Fire Dragon's Secret Art: Raging Inferno of Vulcan)" I yelled as I swung my arms down in a vertical line.

In front of me, in the clearing, a big – and I mean _really_ big – explosion blast out of nowhere, as if a meteor had suddenly fallen and exploded. The whole area, which had been filled with snow when I landed, was now set on fire. The trees, the 'frozen' grass – as it was meant to be – and the bushes all around us, everything was drowning in flames.

Well, it wasn't anything we hadn't experienced before, I mean, every time Igneel thought we should train his way, some of the trees around us all burnt to a crisp, so the clearing had widened, but it had never been as much as it was now.

What if it spread? All out to Lucy and the other Dragon Clans and burnt them down, killing them in the process? Okay, that _was _taking it to the extremes, but still, what if it actually happened?

Before I could do anything, all the Fire disappeared in a vortex into the Fire Head Dragon's mouth. His belly grew the more he swallowed and I could do nothing but stare as he did it. I was actually amazed he could swallow so much of my magic at once, although I wouldn't tell him. In the end, he was actually just a big ball with four feet and a pair of wings, where none of them fit at all.

Somehow, I can't explain it, he.. Kind of… Digested the fire and he shrunk to his original size. I looked around at the clearing. Everything was black and burnt, the trees, which seemed like they would turn into ashes if you touched them, the grass, which wasn't grass, but in fact ashes. Notice I didn't mention the bushes? Yeah, well, they don't exist any longer. A breeze of cold wind flew by, and just as I had expected, the trees crumbled into dust.

The only positive thing I could find in this was that the clearing had been widened and I had discovered my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). I looked to Igneel for an explanation.

He smiled at me. "**Acnologia! That was a fantastic meal! You make some delicious flames**~" He said with an already dreamy expression. He quickly snapped out of it though. "**As you can see, this is a quite destructive Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).**" Igneel said and looked around. Thank you for stating the obvious. All of these Fire-spells were, actually… "**These flames, from the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), they will burn whatever's caught on fire till it's turned into ash, as you can see on the trees, and nothing can stop them, apart from yourself, of course. The flames I sucked up were merely for show.**" He explained with a happy face.

I looked at him with my mouth hanging wide open. How could he say that with a happy face?!

His expression turned even happier when he said; "**I'll go get Metallicana**~" And flew away.

**At the field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I was training with Metallicana and Loke as usual, when I glanced at the river, as a fish jumped out of the water and flailed a little in the air. Metallicana, who I was sparring against right at the moment, took the opportunity and liberty to use this opening and punched me – quite hard – in the stomach.

I doubled over, holding my arms over my stomach, as he had hit a weak point, and tried catching my breath. "OW!" I heard him yell. I was the one being punched, why the hell is he yelling 'ow'? I glanced up at him and saw him looking through something in his long hair. "Where the heck did it go?!" He yelled at no one in particular.

I felt to hands on either side of me and looked up at Loke, who was looking down at me with a worried expression. "Are you okay, Princess?" He asked. That dear Lion.

I nodded and smiled reassuringly at him, while I tried to compose myself and straighten my back again. "Ae (Yes), I'm fine, Loke, thank you." I told him with a smile.

I heard a sound of metal from in front of me. "There it is-" Metallicana started, but was cut off by a dark and golden light, how that was possible, you can't ask me.

"GET YOUR DISGUSTING, STICKY FINGERS OFF MY KEY!" A female voice yelled loudly, startling all of us.

In front of stood a beautiful – káo (no) that wasn't the word – a _sexy_ lady with one hand on her hip and the other one poking the Iron Dragon's chest.

She had shoulder-length, coal-black hair, which curled softly and a pair of black cat-ears. She had a bit dark skin and wore a form-fitting crop-top, which shoved off her healthy cleavage. It was a one-shoulder, leaving the left arm completely free and the right had a sleeve, which reached just under her elbow. It reached to the middle of her stomach, just a little above her navel. She wore black leather-leggings, sitting tight to her long legs and reaching just above the high, black stilettos. Just above the edge of her leggings, a long, black tail poked out and swung in the air from right to left. A sure sign she was pissed, if her speech hadn't already told that. The nails on her fingers were longer than average and had black nail-polish, making them look quite deadly. She was snarling at Metallicana and, much to my surprise, two of the teeth at the top of her mouth were just a little longer than the rest and pointier. A little like the Dragon Slayers, but in a more cat-like way. Her eyes seemed completely black, but if you looked long enough, you could see they were actually a dark shade of green.

I widened my eyes; this was one of the Spirit of the Dragon Keys. I already knew who it was, though. Unknowingly to myself, I slowly straightened my back as I looked in wonder at the Spirit in front of me.

Metallicana slowly handed her the key, never breaking eye-contact with her and looking more than a little surprised. With an annoyed sound, the Spirit grabbed the key impatiently and turned around to look at me with her dark green eyes. Her face softened up as she looked at me.

She extended her hand with the key towards me and looked at me with a lopsided smirk. "Here, Mistress, it's yours to keep." She told me.

I pushed myself out of the shock and reached out to take the key. It was golden and the top of it seemed like a cat-face with ears and whiskers and everything, there were two black ovals with slits, which resembled cat-eyes. And at the bottom, it looked like a cat's tail.

Before I could get it, though, she pulled it back again out of my reach. "Oh, I completely forgot! I'm Aelurus, the Feline Spirit of the Dragon Keys, I use Shadow magic." She told me and then handed me the key.

I nodded with a smile. "I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo. I'm looking forward to working with you, Aelurus!" I told her, I was too close to saying 'Heartfilia' I guess it had become some kind of habit. "And please, don't call me Mistress or Master, just Lucy or what you'd like, just not that." I told her.

Aelurus tilted her head, confusion written all over her face. "Why?" She simply asked.

I sighed and smiled even wider. "Because you aren't my Spirit, you're my friend! So please don't call me Mistress." I practically begged of her.

Her face broke into a wide grin and she leaped at me. Before I even knew what was going on, she had thrown her arms around me. "I like you already! Can I call you Lulu-chi? You can call me Aelu-chi!" She said happily and rapidly.

I laughed and hugged her back. "Sure, Aelu-chi! You can call me whatever you want!" I said catching on to her happiness.

Our bonding-moment was broken when I heard heavy breathing next to me. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at my Lion Spirit. Who was drooling and breathing heavily with hearts thumping in his eyes as he looked at Aelu-chi. Káo (no)… He wasn't looking he was staring creepily and didn't have a straight back anymore, if anything, he looked a little like Quasimodo.

I felt Aelu-chi tense in my arms. She slowly and robotically turned her head towards Loke, like it was Satan himself who stood there. "Don't tell me-" She muttered lowly. When she spotted Loke, her eyes widened more than I thought possible. "YOU HAVE LEO!" She screamed. She quickly broke our hug and spun me around to face Loke, using me as a human meat-shield. "Of all Spirits…" She muttered. She glared at the Lion. "Don't come closer, you creep!" She warned him.

Loke looked like a zombie, completely unaffected by her warning. Actually, it was more like the opposite. He took a step forward, his arms dangling lifelessly by his side. "Aelurus…" He drooled with a deep, low, creeper-voice.

I looked confused between the two Spirits. "What's… Happening here?" I asked, mostly to Aelurus since Loke didn't seem to be connected to this world.

"Ahau Pouri (I'm Sorry), Lulu-chi, I'll tell you later." She apologized with a low meow in sad tone. I just nodded slowly, not at all getting what was going on. Loke took a step forward, towards us. "LULU-CHI, PROTECT ME!" She cried.

I nodded. "O-okay, but-" I didn't get to say more, as Loke, with hands pointing out in the air, as if he was sleepwalking, ran towards us, the pink hearts in his eyes thumping even harder.

He ran fast and crashed into me and I crashed into Aelurus, who made a cat-like cry. I pushed Loke back as much as I could, but he kept trying to run forward. "Aelurus! Aelurus!" He cheered in a _very_ creepy way.

I knew I couldn't hold him back much longer, I lacked the physical strength. It bugged me how I couldn't even keep him at a distance after all this training. Wait… Bugging me. I turned my head towards the Iron Dragon, who was laughing his ass off at the – most likely – humorous sight in front of him. Right, our promise! "METALLICANA!" I yelled at him, I had to if I wanted him to hear, Loke was practically screaming by now and so was Aelurus.

Metallicana stopped laughing and looked at me with a smirk. "Yes, what is it, Squirt? I can see you're in a bind, do you really have time to chat?" He mocked me.

I sent him a devils' glare, which could make even Dravola herself crumble in fear. "Loke is _bugging_ me." I told him slowly and clearly, stressing the 'bugging', so I knew he would get the message.

He grinned at me and nodded. "Gihi! I think I can take care of that annoying _bug_, Squirt!" He said with a scary look in his eyes. He reached my side in four long steps and in real Metallicana-fashion, he simply raised his food and kicked Loke so hard he flew away into the Spirit World. Literally. Loke disappeared with a last cry to my new Feline Spirit in a golden light.

I breathed out deeply as Loke disappeared. I had no idea what just happened, but I _needed_ to know. Honestly, the curiosity was overwhelming me fast. I looked back over my shoulder at Aelu-chi, who was panting a little and looked like someone who had just escaped death itself. "Say, Aelu-chi, why did Loke- uh, _Leo_ react like that?" I asked her carefully, not wanting to destroy the bond we had created.

Her dark green, slightly terrified, eyes met mine. "Ahau Pouri (I'm sorry) again, I never thought I would meet him again." She breathed out and straightened her back, composing herself again. "I guess I can tell you, now you own both of us and his… Display of creepiness clearly showed he knew me." Aelu-chi began, but was cut short when something heavy landed with a thump near us.

I looked to see everyone's favorite Fire Dragon. He looked at me with his usual bright smile. "Lucy! Te áheitanga katoa (hello)!" He greeted and before I could respond, he turned to Metallicana, his smile fading into a smirk. "Scrap-Metal, go see Acnologia." He told him.

Metallicana raised an eyebrow. "**He only finished his training with you now? You're hell of a slow teacher, Fire-Breath!**" Metallicana shot back, but turned to take off, having magically transformed to his Dragon form. He looked at me over his shoulder. "**See you tomorrow, Squirt, I gotta take care of your mate.**" He said over his shoulder and took off.

Oh, so Acnologia had finished his Fire magic training already? That was wonderful! "Yeah, see you old man!" I yelled after him as he flew away. I did the same as the Fire Dragon flew off, saying he had some business to take care of.

I turned back to Aelu-chi, looking expectantly at her, hoping for her to continue her story. I was sadly disappointed, because she was looking at me with an interested look in her eyes. "You have a mate?" She asked me curiously.

I nodded. "Yeah… I do." I told her slowly. There were already three people/Dragons/Spirits teasing me with it, I didn't really want another one.

"Interesting…" She muttered with a cat-like smirk. She shook her head, as if to clear her mind. "Okay, so where did we come from?" She asked.

I wasn't sure what I should be feeling with her comment on me having a mate, but decided to ignore it for now. "We came from the start; you hadn't even begun telling anything." I sweat dropped. We had been interrupted by a certain Fire Dragon.

She nodded, her smirk fading away. "Okay, you see, Leo and I met before, long ago, before you or any of your Dragon friends were even born." She started out. Right, Loke and everyone else were _that_ old. I had forgotten for a second. "A human somehow came in possession of my key, he had stolen it from one of the Dragons, probably when they were visiting Earthland or something. At any rate, he got my key and contracted me." She told me. I gasped. Oh, káo (no), he was probably an asshole! Poor Aelu-chi! She shook her head with a smile. "Káo (No), it's not like what you think, this guy was nice and he took care of me." She told me with a laugh. "He owned Leo's key as well as a few others. Leo and I didn't talk much, we didn't especially like each other, but we didn't dislike each other either. But one day, Leo was in trouble, our Master was in a tough fight, that he couldn't win with just Loke." She looked down at me. "You see, Leo couldn't use as much of his magic as he can with you now, his bond with our Summoner wasn't that strong." She explained, before I could say anything. "I never really made a contract with him like that, because I'm a Dragon Key and he didn't get me the 'right' way, so I was pretty free. At any rate, I could use more of my magic than Leo could, but my Master didn't know about this, so he didn't call me out. I became restless as I could feel the battle going on in Earthland, so at last I decided to come out using my own power." She told me. Oh, so that was where Loke got that habit from. "I appeared just in time to save Leo from a fatal blow, which would have killed him for real." She said and looked at me with a serious expression.

I tilted my head. "How is that possible?" I asked her. I knew Celestial Spirits couldn't die, they were immortal beings. That's what Mama and several different books taught me.

Aelu-chi sighed. "This mage, I don't know who he was or what kind of magic he used, but somehow it was able to kill us Spirits." She cut herself short and adopted a sneaky glint in her eye. "Well, for the Earthland Spirits anyway." She said triumphantly. "Dragon Keys are different, we're stronger than your Zodiac keys, the only one who was somewhat at our level was Leo, but that was when he was allowed to use his full power." She explained. I nodded slowly; this was all so hard to understand. "Anyway, after that, he has been madly in love with me. I can't explain it." She ended the story off.

I raised both my eyebrows. "Well, I certainly didn't expect that." I muttered.

Aelu-chi rested one hand on her hip and swished her tail behind her. "Well, I have to go, Lulu-chi, I'll see you some other time, 'Kay?" She said with a wave and was about to disappear back to the Spirit World.

"Wait!" I said loudly. "There's one thing: When can I summon you?" I asked her.

She made a face of realization. "Right, I forgot that too…" She said with a thoughtful expression. "You can summon me anytime, I'm not really busy." She said with a smile and a wave as she disappeared in a bubble of golden and dark light, which was impossible to explain.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Okay, so I was going to figure out what my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for my Ice magic was. Well, let's just say Glanasile had a whole other approach to it than Alodiculis.

The Ice Dragon looked down at me with his icy blue eyes. "**Lucy, you have to feel the coolness of the magic flowing in your veins and understand it. You can only learn your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) that way. Feel it and understand what it's trying to tell you.**" He explained. See? It was nothing like what either I nor Acnologia had ever heard of or seen.

I nodded and rolled my eyes internally. Personally, I really liked Glanasile, but this was just ridiculous. Acnologia discovered his just by trying it out! Maybe I should try his way.

I closed my eyes and acted as if I was focusing on my magic, just to please Glanasile, while I in reality was gathering my magic.

Just as Acnologia had explained, my body began moving on its own. I opened my eyes and held my arms up over my head, palms facing the sky. "Haupa Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Hotoke Te Ao O Skadi! (Ice Dragon's Secret Art: Winter World of Skadi!)" I yelled and tilted my head backwards so I was looking up at the sky. Which had turned a dark grey with clouds. Which began snowing. Which hadn't been there before.

I took my arms down and looked around at the snow-covered field. The snow fell down slowly and moved with the light wind, like feathers, they slowly dropped to the ground. It wasn't just snow, though, there was also a lot of ice. I looked at Glanasile. "What did I do?" I asked him.

He looked sideways at me. "**This is your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), as the name suggests, you create a world of ice and snow. Or more correctly, you cover the ground with snow and ice and make it snow.**" He explained. "**It ups your ability to materialize Ice magic and makes it easier to manipulate.**" He said. "**You can use this and make it snow even in the driest of deserts.**" He told me at last.

I nodded. Well that would most certainly come in handy. I could simply change the weather to whatever I felt like it should be. Well, as long as I watch my magic level. Today I hadn't used so much, so obviously I wouldn't even be winded by it, but if I was to use it in combat, it would probably be much more tiring.

**Okay~ The end of chapter 30! ^_^ Hope you guys liked it, personally I had fun writing it. Especially the scene with Loke and Aelurus!**

**Aaanyway~ Vulcan is Roman religion and myth the God of fire and volcanoes as well as a God of metalworking and forging. He has a lot of counterparts, in Greek mythology, in Egyptian, in Etruscan (Whatever that is?) so yeah… Obvious choice for Fire magic, I guess.**

**Skadi is from the Norse mythology and is the Goddess of winter, bow-hunting, skiing and the mountains. She is the daughter of a murdered God, Pjazi (I believe it's spelled that way?) and was married to Njörd as compensation from other Gods for killing her father. Great way of saying 'I'm sorry', huh? Some places she is said to have split up with Njörd and married Odin instead, afterwards getting tons of children with him. Skadi is responsible for placing the venomous serpent on Loki (The God of mischief, not the Zodiac Leader), which then kills him. At any rate, it was by pure luck I found this gal, so when I read about her I thought: right, she's perfect for the role!**

**And if you were wondering, Quasimodo is the main character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, if you know him. I'm sure you do!**

**TRANSLATIONS**

'**Ngaru' means 'Raging', 'Pukaka' means 'Inferno, 'Hotoke Te' means 'Winter' and 'Ao' means 'World'.**

**Thanks to clairedamoon, cellum95 (Guest), Lucy (Guest), Guest, EllieXDreams, BecauseIamSoBored, clumzybeans, Konan15, Nicole (Guest), aristofthemind, OtakuLover43, 00halfblood, Kimboslice98, LoveBetray, mjb379, Alaina Kuski, Kitsune1797, Amethystfairy1, Darkverger1, DesolationDeath, Happykitcat123, Xx12KatieKat21xX, Shadow D. Princess, gabiey, Ciclone151, NewPorty, Guest, Baclya, TigerLily2214, Serenity5501, Narubi, MizukiCelestial StarZ, Aira0906, Isolationism, Ember (Guest), Crascaeleo (Guest), fairychime-diamond47, A'stories10, .5 and all you other people out there!**

_**AS I SAID ABOVE! PLEASE CHECK OUT MY POLL! IMPORTANT!**_

**~Line464d**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

**So, for now the poll is telling me you guys want me to 'Make them longer!'… So it was only two Guests then? Well, that's interesting… I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is quite stubborn… HE STILL OWNS FAIRY TAIL!**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I would meet my Dragon again! I had waited so long to see her again. She wasn't communicating with me as much as Acnologia's did with him, but when she did, it wasn't as mean as his was. I wondered what kind of things I would be doing with her today.

I closed my eyes and travelled to my mind. I opened my eyes a second later and there I was, in my mind with my two magic's glowing brightly in front of me. The Celestial star glowed brighter, of course, but the Fairy Tail logo wasn't too far behind.

I skipped to my Dragon magic and entered through the silver portal, ending up at the field I had just left moments ago. The grass as emerald green as always, the water in the river, which seemed far away, glinting in the sunlight. The trees standing mightily all around me, blocking my view. The sky was as blue as ever and not a cloud appeared to be present.

Well, it was all very different from the field I had come from, the one I was training on at the moment, was covered in a fine layer of white snow. It wasn't thick enough to make it difficult to train there, it only just covered the grass.

"**Mini-Lucy! It's nice to meet you again!**" My own voice said excitedly from my right. I looked toward it to see my Dragon running towards me. She was smiling a wide, contagious smile. "**I've missed you!**" She said loudly.

I nodded and began running towards her as well. "I've missed you too, Big-Lucy!" I told her as she lowered her head to my height. When we ran into each other, I locked my arms around her muzzle and hugged her. She lifted her head a little, making me lose my connection to the ground and had to hold on to her, so I wouldn't fall down. I did this with a shriek while she giggled at me. "PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed in fear of breaking every bone in my body. Ae (Yes), she was holding her head quite high.

She slowly and carefully let me down on the ground again, so I could catch my breath. "**Mini-Lucy, you're so funny!**" She laughed. We pulled away from each other, smiling like maniacs. I couldn't describe how happy I was that I got so well along with my Dragon. I don't know what I would have done if our relationship wasn't as good as it was. "**So it's Ice magic today, huh?**" She asked excitedly.

I nodded. "Yeah! I can't believe I already came this far! It doesn't seem like it's too long ago I discovered it." I told her. Even though it was some time ago, we were already at the end of winter and in just a week, it would be spring. Well, that didn't mean the weather would agree…

She shook her head. "**Káo (no), neither can I.**" She said with her bright smile. She tilted her head a little. "**Well, should we get started?**" I nodded. "**Okay, first of all, just like last time, you have to summon your magic before we begin.**" She explained.

I nodded again. Alright, I could do this! I would just have to put everything into it, then surely I would be able to blow it out of its natural course.

So that's what I did. I put everything into finding a certain spot where all my magic gathered, at my heart, and the pulled with all my might. When I felt I got a breakthrough, I sent the magic which welled out towards my arm and hand. It did just as I had hoped it would. It appeared as icicles just under my elbow and slowly spread to cover my whole hand.

My Ice magic was like Gray's, it was Static just like his. I couldn't do like Lyon, who had Dynamic Ice Make magic, and make my Ice-creations move. I'm not sure if that was because I was a Dragon or because there actually existed Ice Make Dragons, who worked with it and were born with Dynamic Ice Make magic… I really had _no_ idea at all. But nonetheless, I was grateful for even having it. It was exciting and fun to learn about and use.

I sent some Ice magic to my other hand as well and weighted them. It was much heavier here in the Dragon Realm, it almost made me fall to the ground like a magnet. Luckily I had gotten used to the weight it had in the Dragon Realm, so I _could_ keep myself standing. I had also gotten used to my Ice magic there, so I guess I could at the very least not let it bother me too much here.

"**Great, Mini-Lucy!**" My Dragon cheered for me. I smiled at it and waited for it to tell me what I was supposed to do now. She smiled brightly in return, which for some reason made my stomach turn. There was something behind that smile. "**Now you create a Dragon of ice as big as Metallicana.**" She told me happily.

My mouth gaped wide open and the two gloves of ice fell to the ground and melted. She pushed my jaw up with a sweat drop. "Are.. Are you _serious_?! I can't do that!" I yelled out loud. The biggest thing I had ever created was houses from Earthland, and they weren't small _or_ easy to create! I couldn't make a Metallicana of Ice magic! He was at least two times as big as the houses! _At least_!

My Dragon giggled at me. "**I'm sure you can do it, just try!**" She reassured me. "**And take it one step at a time.**" She added thoughtfully.

I looked skeptically at her. Right, maybe she's nice, but she's also insane. In the end, I turned my attention to a big, empty spot in front of me. I might as well try before I decide anything for sure.

I started with the legs. I first held my hands about waist-height and moved them upwards as if I was lifting weights or pushing something. As I did this, the four legs of the familiar Metal Dragon appeared. I could already feel the drain in my magic. This was going to be hard.

Okay, now for the midsection which connected all four legs to each other… I raised my hands even higher above my head. Even though there physically weren't anything there, it felt as if I was pushing something extremely heavy up. In one final snap of movement, I stretched out my arms way above my head, building the last part of Metallicana's midsection.

Without a neck… Or wings or tail. It actually looked kind of creepy. I shook my head and inhaled deeply, exhaling it slowly afterwards. Okay, there wasn't far again. I just needed to-

I gasped in pain as I tried to call forth my magic. I had almost run out dry! I couldn't use any more Dragon magic than I already had, and I still needed so much! I couldn't believe it, after I came so far, trained so hard and gave it my all… Would it just end here? Wasn't there _something_ I could do?

Ae (yes) there was one thing… Maybe, with the last of my magic I could do it... But it would be very weak…

I straightened my back and closed my eyes. I focused on my last magic and let it leak out of my skin and around me. I could feel the comfortable coolness of the nature of the Dragon magic I had chosen. I let it materialize on my skin. I jammed my eyelids up and stared fiercely at the half creation I had made. "Tarakona Kaha! (Dragon Strength)" I yelled at absolutely nothing.

My Dragon whistled lowly. "**That actually fits you, Mini-Lucy.**" She told me with a 'not bad' expression. I hadn't seen it for myself, how I looked when I used Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength), but I imagined it to be something like Natsu and Gajeel's Dragon Force. Apart from that, I could also feel the coolness of the scales on my skin. They covered my arms as long sleeves and ended at the back of my hand. I also had some at my shin and back, which trailed to the middle of my stomach. I could feel that the sides of my head and my forehead were covered in my magic too.

I looked at my arms, where I could see the magic which stuck to me. It was small icy blue scales; they looked a lot like small, shiny crystals. I had seen them before though, I wasn't surprised. What surprised me was that my transformation wasn't complete.

I looked over the back of myself and laid a hand in my hair above my ear. There was nothing there. Usually I would have had a tail, a pair of wings and two horns, all made of ice. Somehow, my tail and wings would be like Dynamic Ice Make magic in Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength), but only those two things. Not even Glanasile could explain it. I could only enter Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength) when I was in my Human form, because what it basically did was giving me Dragon features and enhance my magical stamina. The reason I didn't have them now was probably because I didn't have enough magic when I entered Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength). Well, there was nothing to do about it.

I glared at the half sculpture I had made. I would finish this and I would finish it _now_. I held my arms out, palms facing the Ice magic Dragon. With a gliding movement, I made the kind of short neck and the head of the Iron Dragon. Down to the smallest detail, even with the scar and everything.

I quickly moved to the tail and did basically the same, where I then created his tail. From the end of the tail, I began creating the small spikes which Metallicana took pride in having, for some reason. I moved over his back, with my hands, and up to his head, creating the small spikes where they were supposed to be.

Without giving myself a break, I quickly moved to begin creating the wings. I quickly threw my arms out to my sides and a little up, making a 'V', which made the wings appear in one swoop, with everything there was supposed to be there.

I fell to my knees, panting heavily and felt my Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength) fade away, leaving me completely emptied of magic. I felt myself begin falling forward and quickly shot my hands out to steady myself on the ground. I did it. I created Metallicana in ice!

"**You did it Lucy!**" My dragon cheered happily. "**Oh, and are you okay?**" She added after a moment of happiness.

I felt a smile tug on my lips. I inhaled deeply and spun around, landing on my butt and letting myself fall so I was lying down on my back. "Ae (yes), I'm fine." I told her, while looking at the cloudless sky.

I felt small earthquakes as my Dragon walked towards me. Her head came into my vision and blocked the sun, making her face look dark in contrast. "**Are you sure you're okay?**" She asked again, concern written all over her face.

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just a little exhausted, you know." I reassured her, while still laughing. I looked at her with a bright smile. "So I have the full power of my Ice magic?" I asked her to change the topic to a happier one.

She nodded energetically. "**Yeah, you do!**" She said with her bright smile. "**You should go back and tell them!**" She smiled.

I nodded and got to my wobbly feet. "Then I will be going now, see you later, Big-Lucy." I smiled and waved. She waved back with her wing and I closed my eyes, only to reopen them in the Dragon Realm.

**At the Clearing**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Training with the old man… Honestly what was the person who set this up thinking?! Was he or she thinking at all!

Clearly, I couldn't work with this guy. I just couldn't. I didn't even need to explain it.

"**Brat, learn to control the damn Iron magic already, it's not supposed to be **_**that**_** difficult.**" Metallicana scolded me. I would bet he found this extremely amusing. "**Not even for you.**" He added in a too amused tone.

I turned around and glared at him. "If I am so horrible, _old man_, why don't you come and help me then?" I asked him. "If you are so much better, then surely you could teach me how to do this." I mocked.

Right now, what I was supposed to do to discover the magic was to create Iron pillars from the ground and hit a few targets he'd hung up in the trees. It wasn't the easiest way to discover the magic, the Iron Bastard told me, but it was supposed to make it easier to control.

Metallicana snorted. "**No way, this is way more fun to watch.**" He declared and planted his gigantic butt on the ground with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him and just kept trying. I had no idea what I was doing, really, I just did something. Focused on the ground and visualized that an Iron pillar would show up. Of course, it didn't work that way. "**You know, it's great that you can visualize the pillars and all, but you need to **_**materialize**_** them too.**" Metallicana mocked me. How he knew I was visualizing the pillars was beyond me.

That pulled the last straw. I whipped around and glared into those big, crimson eyes plastered to that ugly head of his. "Okay you know what? That's it! I give up! This is not worth my time and I will _not_ work with you!" I yelled at him and turned around to stomp further into the forest. I could hear his laughter behind me as the clearing disappeared in a sea of trees. Who needed Iron magic anyway? I would do just fine without it!

I kept walking deeper and deeper into Socubedo forest. I really had no idea where I was going, I just didn't want to be anywhere near that damn old Dragon, who called himself the strongest Iron Dragon.

Suddenly I felt the pressure of a strong magic. It wasn't one I'd encountered before, which was weird considering how enormous it probably was, since I could feel it all out here. It only got stronger the  
deeper I came into the forest. So it would have to be right in front of me.

Curiosity pressed to the forefront of my mind and I began to silently run forward, towards the steadily rising pressure. Soon I reached a familiar sight. The field where my beautiful mate trained every day. And there she was.. In the middle of the field. What was she doing?

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I opened my eyes. This was the second time I went here today, although this was for quite a different cause than the first. You guessed it! I was here to open Loke's Gate! I had found myself really looking forward to this, for some reason. I wondered how Loke got stronger.

Giving myself no more time to wonder, I went through the golden star with the familiar rush and ended up on the other side, with the night sky all around me. Once again, I was taken aback by the beautiful sight of the many stars that dotted this place. The usual meteor went its course and the Lion constellation showed up.

The key slowly and carefully flew to me and landed in my hands. Well, I got nothing to lose and everything to win, so I went for it immediately. "Open, Gate of the Lion!" I said loudly as all my wonderful memories of my Lion Spirit flashed through my mind. When we first met in Fairy Tail, how he flirted with me until he found out I was a Celestial mage, how he saved me, once when Phantom Lord attacked us and when he was almost running out of time. How I had saved him from the Spirit King's judgment and he became my Spirit. How he helped me during the Fantasia event, worked with me to defeat Bickslow. And finally, how he helped me through the betrayal by Fairy Tail and all the times he had helped me with training here in the Dragon Realm. All those memories, I loved them all, and I let my feelings for all the times we had had flow into the little key in my hand. "LEO!" I yelled loudly. There was like an explosion of light and a strong wind, which pushed my hair back. I held my stance though; a little light wouldn't get me down so easily.

It didn't take long before I heard the familiar voice of my Lion Spirit. "Princess~!" Loke said with a smile in his voice – I still couldn't see anything – I felt two strong arms hold me and when the light faded from my eyes and my vision returned, I could see he was holding me the same way he did, when he told me he didn't have long left to live. I smiled and locked my arms around him as well, resting my head at his shoulder. "You did it again." He muttered.

I picked my head up and looked at him as well as I could. "What? I haven't done anything like this before?" I protested, but it came out more as a question. What in the world could he be talking about?

He released me from his embrace and put his hands on my shoulders, keeping me arms' length away, looking at me through those glasses of his. "You outdid my expectations of you yet again." He said affectionately and a little smile.

I raised an eyebrow at him and pouted. "What? Did you have so low expectations of me?" I asked him with a pout. While it was nice that he told me… Now wasn't exactly the time.

He laughed and shook his head. "No, on the contrary, they were actually pretty high." He laughed. I furrowed my eyebrows and tilted my head, urging him to name the two times I 'outdid his expectations'. He smiled widely and pushed his classes up in a cool way. "First time, was when you saved me from death and argued with the Spirit King, you called forth all your Spirits at once. That was seven Spirits, Lucy, it's many." He smiled at me. "Next time was now, I never expected that I would ever tell you about my full magical abilities, but here we are." He smiled even wider and winked at me. "You are something else, Princess, that's for sure." He told me.

I smiled back, tears ready to charge whenever I let them. "Thank you, Loke." I said and hugged him again.

He hugged me back and leaned just a little towards my ear. "Say, Princess… I have a question." Loke muttered. I nodded urging him to keep talking. "I was wondering, why is it you reacted so calmly when Acnologia told you he almost killed the Fairy Tail core members?" Loke asked. I was taken aback by his question and didn't get my act together before he continued. "I know he also told you he loved you and all back then but… Well, I thought you'd react more strongly by it." He added quickly.

I nodded. "Yeah, I thought so too. At first I was also angry, but I think that I am subconsciously just happy that they were locked in time." I slowly said. Loke was just about to say something, but I stopped him before he could begin. "Na-ah! Let me speak out first!" I halfheartedly scolded him. He just nodded and remained silent. "I know it sound crazy but… I just… Don't want them to change too much without me being there. If they change just because I left… When I come back, I want to come back to the loud and rowdy Fairy Tail I had gotten used to, not a depressed Fairy Tail." I looked away to the side. "In the unlikely event that they would ever be depressed because I left." I muttered.

Loke heard it though and he pulled a little back and made eye-contact with me. "Princess, of course they would be sad you left." His lips turned upwards and into a grin. "It's Fairy Tail after all. Even if Team Natsu won't, which I'm sure they will, I _know_ the rest of the guild will. Gajeel, Lily, Wendy, Carla, Juvia and Master. They will miss you a lot." He reassured me.

I nodded with tears falling from my eyes. "Thank you Loke." I told him with a wavering voice. That's right.. Even if Team Natsu didn't I knew 6 other people, who would miss me. That was enough for me.

He nodded with a smile. He reached out and brushed the tears away with a thumb. "You know, you're much prettier when you smile, Princess." He told me.

I looked up at him, now with a bright smile. "I know!" I said as happily as I could in these circumstances.

He looked thoughtful for a while. "Right! I forgot to tell you what I can do now!" He said eagerly. The former topic was dropped as I focused on what my Spirit would tell me. "I never thought I would reveal this to someone again, and honestly, I didn't plan to either, but I can trust you, right Pricess?" He asked me.

I nodded quickly with a serious face. The atmosphere had changed to a more serious one, it was clear whatever he had to tell me was heavy. "Yeah, of course you can!" I reassured him.

He smiled at me. "Of course." He inhaled before he began speaking again. "You see, I have the power to control the other Zodiac Spirits' magic." He said. I widened my eyes and just looked at him. I didn't quite understand. "For example, if we imagine Aquarius throwing an urn-full water at us-" That was actually a very realistic example. "I can control the water and turn it somewhere else. Back at her, even." He told me.

I looked incredulously at him. "So are you telling me that you can control Aquarius' water, which can't be controlled by any other than her?" I asked him skeptically. It seemed like too much. No Spirit was supposed to be so strong.

He nodded seriously. "Yeah. Do you see now why I won't just tell anyone?" He asked me. I nodded. Obviously, if he told the wrong person, like Karen Lillica, then he would have to deal with her wanting to take over the Spirit World or something. He smiled at me. "As long as you don't turn evil, we should be fine. And you being you, won't do that anytime soon." He smiled.

I nodded. "Of course I won't. I'm not like that. If I would have turned evil, it was back when Team Natsu kicked me off the team, and did I turn evil, káo (no) I did not." I told him.

"That's exactly why I chose to tell you." He explained. "Now, I think you should go back." He added and disappeared. He was probably right.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

This was amazing, as far as I could tell, with the big, glowing man and the Celestial Dragon by her side, it was the training with the Spirit King she was doing now. And by the looks of everything, she seemed to have just entered her mind. Which Gate was it she was going to open this time..? She was so excited about it too…

Oh, right, it's the cat-boy's, how could I forget? It was weird, she was much more hyped about opening his Gate than any of the other Spirits. Sure, they had some more emotional history together, but still… I didn't get it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the pressure of her magic changed to a whole new level. The air around me became much heavier and for a second it became hard to breathe. "**Well I guess she opened Leo's Gate now.**" A deep, _deep_ voice said. I guessed it was the Spirit Kings. I couldn't imagine Twilight having such a deep voice.

I looked up at Lucy and was very surprised with what I saw. Four golden pillars of Celestial magic rose from her side and infinitely high into the sky, it was impossible to see where they ended. First they began slowly going around her, but the tempo quickly rose and they began swirling around her at a pace impossible to follow. The four pillars created some kind of wind, and it made Lucy's silver hair whip around her.

I looked with awe at the amazing show of magical capacity my mate showed off right at the moment. I didn't know she had so much magic in her, this was amazing. And it was probably only her Celestial magic. Well, she needed a lot of magic to call creatures and persons from another world, but… This was just crazy!

If my mate was this strong, I would have to get stronger too. I turned around and quickly ran to the clearing, where Metallicana was still waiting for me. He sent me a smirk when he saw me. "**It's amazing, right?**" He asked.

I was confused with what he was meaning. "What is?" I asked him, clever as I am. Note the sarcasm.

He shook his head and laughed his usual laugh. "**Gihi! I knew you were stupid but…**" He looked up at me with an amused glint in his eye. "**I meant the Squirt of course.**" He said. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "**I think the day when I was watching was when she opened that fish lady's Gate… I don't remember her name now-**"

"Aquarius." I cut in.

He nodded. "**Yeah, Aquarius. Apparently it took a lot more time than usual, but she kept that up all the time.**" He told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "The swirling pillars thing?" I asked for clarification. Did she keep that up during the whole thing? I remember her telling me she talked with Aquarius for like a half an hour or something in there. It would be outrageous if she could hold that up for so long.

Metallicana nodded. "**Yeah, exactly that. I didn't stay there the whole time, but that old, glowing guy with the weird beard told me that she never stopped until she closed the Gates of the Spirits in there again.**" He explained. He looked at me with a smirk. "**Not that you'll ever own that much magic, Brat.**" He added.

I felt a vein bulge out at my forehead and without thinking much of it, I shot an Iron bar up from the ground and it connected with his jaw, tipping his head back in a way that could only be painful. "Let's see about that, old man." I told him with a grin. Okay, maybe I wouldn't have the same capacity of magic as she did, but I _could_ make mine fiercer than hers. I had all the right circumstances to do just that.

**And that marks the end of Chapter 31. What did you think?**

**There's been a few of you guys who has asked 'Hey! Why isn't Lucy angrier about the whole Fairy-Tail-almost-got-killed part?' Well, here is you answer if you were wondering, guys! ^_^ **

**Thanks to Guest, Nicole (Guest), o3oAnime, Aira0906, BecauseIamSoBored, mjb379, Alaina Kuski Maiannaise, gabiey, fairychime-diamond47, ExDragon, OtakuLover43, cumzybeans, 707cloud, FT LOVER (Guest), MoonStar1312, Konan15, strawberry Lover 999, waliant, 00halfblood, Amethystfairy1, Xx12KatieKat21xX, sunball530, naru-chanfan, OtakuisOtacool, Darkverger1, Sakura (Guest), Emerillion (Guest), Psychotic Nightmare, Inu-Nek2 and everyone else for continuously following this story, even if it is so boring ^_^ **

**~Line464d**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**Well, the poll tells me you guys want me to write longer chapters ^_^". I will try but as long as it is these training chapters, they might be a little short… When they return I will write longer chapter again, I promise. Would 5000 words be okay with you guys, when they return? I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Slowpokes' Fairy Tail sadly**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I realized today, actually quite randomly, that whenever I return to Earthland, I should write a book about what I've experienced. Well, I wouldn't put my own name in it or the name of any of the people around me, of course. Besides, I would probably also change some events, so it wasn't as obvious to connect to me, but I think it would sell good. Make one of the main persons myself and the other Acnologia, but with fictional names.

I don't know what made me think of that, but I hope I remember it whenever I return to Earthland.

Anyway, just ignoring that other _very_ random topic, Acnologia had already gotten control over his Iron magic and could do exactly what he wanted with it, just like I could with my Ice magic. The two were actually surprisingly similar, although the Iron magic was somewhat heavier than Ice magic and probably also harder to mold. But nevertheless, he had still gotten control over it and was now getting ready to get his full Iron magic with his Dragon. Poor guy…

I hadn't really been doing that much, actually. Well, sure I had been training and all but… Well… Yeah. Although I had opened Aries' and Scorpio's Gates! I was just getting ready to open Gemini's today too. Aries' wool was stronger, softer and she had expanded her magical capacity. The wool could now defend against even Natsu's flames. Scorpio's attacks had gotten stronger and he had more magic to work with, just like Aries. Besides, he could control the sand and ground around him as well as creating it from his tail as well.

I closed my eyes and transported myself to my mind. I looked at the now bright Fairy Tail insignia. It was actually, surprisingly catching up to the Celestial star quite quickly. The star still outshone the silver logo, but it wasn't an as overwhelming difference as it had once been.

I quickly went through the star and ended in the starry room. Soon enough, the meteor did its usual dance between the stars and created the symbol for Gemini. The key hovered into my hands.

I stared at it for a second, then took it in one hand and pointed out in the air with it. "Open Gate of the Twins!" I said loudly to the stars. As usual, I made a slide-show of the many times I had gotten the assistance of those two Spirits. "Gemini!" I yelled. Just as I had expected, a golden light appeared and Gemini soon followed.

"Lu-" Gemi started enthusiastically.

"-cy!" Mini ended for his brother, just as happily. They both flew towards me quickly and tackled me in a hug. They were so small it didn't even make me take a step back in recoil.

"Gemi! Mini! It's nice to see you here!" I said to them and hugged them back with a bright smile.

They looked up at me with those innocent faces of theirs. "Lucy we can remember 10 persons now!" Mini told me with a wide smile.

"And we can transform to people stronger than you, but only use attacks in your range of magic!" Gemi continued. I nodded.

"Also we have some attacks of our own!" Mini finished off.

I smiled and nodded. "That's wonderful guys! I'm looking forward to working with you!" I told them. They disappeared with a nod.

I closed my eyes and went back to the Dragon Realm, where the Spirit King was waiting. Twilight had only really been helping when it was about the Dragon Keys, I guess she had passed on her secrets to the Spirit King already.

I opened my eyes again and was greeted with the Spirit King playing with his beard. "**I see you're done Lucy, that didn't take long.**" He said with a smile.

I nodded. "Yeah, I know, it wasn't so difficult, really." I explained with a smile of my own. "So what are we doing now?" I asked him.

He looked thoughtfully at the sky. Still playing with his beard. "**Hrm~ What about we practice your Urano Metria spell? You should have more than enough magic now…**" He trailed off and looked at me questioningly.

I nodded eagerly. That spell, I had wanted to learn that in ages. "Ae (Yes), let's do that!" I said with a bright smile and almost jumping up and down in excitement.

**In the Clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"You know old man, I never thought we would come this far." I told the big Iron Dragon I had been training with for what felt like ages.

I was just about to meet my jackass of a Dragon, who thought it'd be fun to interrupt me and talk to me while I was concentrating, and get my Iron magic's full potential unlocked.

The Iron Dragon nodded. "**I guess we have, Brat. Now get going.**" He said with a deadpan expression. Which was absolutely impossible to respond to.

So I closed my eyes and traveled to where my Dragon stayed. I opened my eyes to find my Dragon sleeping on the moss of Lucy's and my cave. And he was not sleeping soundlessly either, his snores echoed in the big cave. I sweat dropped. Of course… Of course he would be sleeping when _I_ needed _him_. How is it even possible for him to sleep? If I'm awake, isn't he supposed to be too?

I glared at the Dragon. That damn Dragon, he had even begun playing tricks on me too. I glared at my Dragon. "Would you wake up, asshole?" I asked him as calmly as I could. Inside, I was actually boiling; I really hated that Dragon sometimes. Never mind that, I hated him _all _the time.

The Dragon grunted. "**Nah, just go in here and finish your business here.**" The Dragon grumbled, not even feeling like opening his eyes and looking at me. He thumped his tail once on the ground and a metal-grey mark appeared at the wall longest away from him.

I raised an eyebrow at him, puzzled with the lacking energy from him. I shrugged it off as him being plain bored and went to the metal-looking mark. Without any hesitation I went into the mark. Keyword: into, not _through_. I walked _into_ it and hit my head.

I whipped around and glared at the Dragon, who was now rolling around in laughter. "Oi! What the hell?!" I yelled at him.

I had a feeling it fell on deaf ears though… "**Oh my Mavis! You actually **_**fell **_**for it! And your face!**" He roared in laughter, not at all paying attention to what I said. "**A golden moment, it was a golden moment, I tell you!**" He almost yelled, hysterical with laughter.

Okay.. I guess it was kind of funny, but it couldn't be _that_ funny. Honestly, just how bored was this Dragon? I thought he was having a blast with all those 'vivid images' of my imagination. I shook my head at him. "Just let me go through jackass." I told him exasperatedly. I really didn't want to deal with him now I had Metallicana.

He thumped twice with his tail. "**Fine, fine, Mini-Me. Damn, you gotta use your brain some more!**" He told me, tears of laughter trailing down his eyes. The mark changed from hard metal to a metal-grey-ish glow. "**You'll never pass this one!**" He laughed.

Before I went through it, I – just to be sure – tried touching it. My hand passed through it, just as it was supposed to. I followed my hand and went through the mark.

Instead of the cave, I was now in a scrapyard. There was really nothing more to it. There were big piles of scrap metal, mostly, everywhere, they were all as tall as two trees in Earthland on top of each other. You were able to walk on the ground between these piles, though, it wasn't like the scrap covered the floor too, it was like it created a path for me to walk on. Besides that, it seemed as if it was supposed to be early evening, where it was getting dark.

A man of pure, shining metal stepped out of the big pile of scarp in front of me with a lot of noise. _There, Mini-Me, good luck defeating this one._ The Dragon told me, still with an amused voice.

I just nodded and focused on the man in front of me. I figured he would be like the others and wait for me to do something, so I crouched just a little. I charged my fist with Chaos magic and began running at the Iron man. "Tehepo Tarakona's Maikuku!" (Chaos Dragon's Claw) I yelled just as he came into reach. He didn't move an inch; he just stood there and followed me with non-existent eyes as I came closer.

The magic I had charged my hand, formed to claws at the end of my fingertips and I slashed down at my enemy, aiming to leave five deep wounds diagonally over the Iron man's chest. But, when my magic connected with his chest, nothing happened. The magic was just hit the metal and then faded away.

I jumped back and looked at my hand as if it could tell me what had happened. I looked at the Iron man, who was still just standing there motionlessly. I furrowed my eyebrows. Okay then, I'd just try something else then.

I charged at the Iron man again, fist held high and covered in Chaos magic. I connected my fist with his Iron face. I felt pain shoot through my whole arm at the impact and quickly pulled it back. All there was left in his face was a little dent, which he quickly straightened out. I jumped back again and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Obviously I shouldn't make contact with him; that would hurt me more than him. So I had to shoot from a distance, Like with Haruru (Roar) and stuff… But Chaos magic didn't have any effect on him, and I guessed Iron magic wouldn't either. Fire might.

I straightened my back and breathed in deeply. "Kapura Tarakona's..." (Fire Dragon's) I sucked the air into my lungs and bend just a little back. Then I quickly bend forward and spewed a torrent of Fire magic out of my mouth. "HARURU!" (Roar) I yelled and watched as the magic hit the Iron man head on. I think he had expected another Chaos magic attack, heh, well, I _could_ actually use my brain, no matter what my Dragon thought.

The fire quickly disappeared, leaving a no more than scolded Iron man. I sighed. Okay, I needed to turn up for the heat. And he was probably on guard now he knew I could hurt him.

I created two fireballs the sizes of a basketball in each hand and glared at the Iron man. I had made sure to make these two extra hot, so it would burn him even more. He looked at me, now obviously at guard, crouching just a little, like I was.

We had a short second-long face off, before I threw the first fireball and then rapidly the next following up, I quickly created two new and fired them too. He dodged them all, except the last, which hit his thigh. When I saw he didn't take any real damage, I turned up for the heat and continued firing.

At some point, after we'd done this forever, I shoot, he dodges, I torn up the heat and sends new fire balls flying, he finally got enough and sent a wave of iron magic my way. I quickly leaped backwards out of its reach and landed on a pile of scrap. I almost tripped, but kept my balance and focused on the Iron man again.

It was obvious that even the last ones that had hit didn't have the greatest effect on him. But this was the only thing I could do, right? Káo (no), wait… There was one more thing I could do, which would end the fight pretty quickly. What was it Igneel said?

"_These flames, from the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), they will burn whatever's caught on fire till it's turned into ash, as you can see on the trees, and nothing can stop them, apart from yourself, of course. The flames I sucked up were merely for show."_

That was what he said… The flames of my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) will burn whatever they latch onto till it disappears, unless I stop them. It would end the fight here quickly… Yeah, I'd do it! Why not? It was the ideal way to quickly end this.

I lifted my hands above my head and closed my eyes, gathering my magic. "Kapura Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Ngaru Pukaka O Vulcan! (Fire Dragon's Secret Art: Raging Inferno of Vulcan)" I yelled and swung my arms down to my sides, in a wave-like motion.

Just as with my hands, a wave of fire washed over the scrapyard and exploded in a blast. Most of the fire disappeared soon after, so I could see what I had burnt. Many of the piles of scrap in front of me were set on an unstoppable fire, which continued burning them down, shrinking their size. That wasn't interesting, though. I searched for where my opponent had been just seconds ago, but all I could see was a little lump of something lying on the ground on fire. When I looked closer, it was obvious that it had been the Iron man. He looked a lot like the Fire man, actually.

Well, this was a more short-lived fight. I wasn't really in the mood for it anyway, so it was fine, really. I waited till the fire was completely extinguished before I went down there to check on him. He disappeared before I could even reach the bottom of the pile, so I didn't really get the chance.

I sighed. Well, there was nothing to do about it. "Dragon! Let me out of here!" I yelled at the dark, evening sky.

_WHAT?! You're done already? That's impossible._ The Dragon roared shortly after. I don't know why he would react like that. Hadn't he watched it all? _Damn, and then the day where I'm not watching, you go and beat my creation in no time at all…_ There was my answer. He had probably just been snoozing off. _Fine, fine, I'll create a portal for you to go through. _The Dragon said. And true to his word, the same metal-grey, glowing portal appeared where the Iron man lay just a moment ago.

I went to the portal; a breeze blew softly just before I went through the portal and blew tons of ashes on me. I made an annoyed sign as I returned to the cave with my Dragon and began getting the annoying ashes out of my hair and clothes.

My Dragon looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "**You seem moody today, Mini-Me. Don't tell me you're on your period?**" He mocked me.

I slowly looked at him for added dramatic effect and glared. "OF COURSE NOT!" I yelled. Ae (Yes), I was moody. So what? It was that damn Iron Dragon's fault! He'd been such an asshole all day, I couldn't stand it. I couldn't to get back to the _real_ cave later.

My Dragon then figured out what it was. "**Oh come on now, he can't be worse than me?**" He mocked me. He had taken some kind of pride in being the most annoying existence in my life. I can't explain it and I won't attempt to.

Just moaned in exasperation. "Does it really matter? You're both _extremely_ annoying." I told him impatiently.

The Dragon snorted. "**Of course it does! I'm your greatest annoyance.**" He said proudly and shot his 'chest' forward.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "He wins that one, I'm afraid. Every times he's done with the training with Lucy, which he so kindly leaves to do, rather than training me, not that I hold anything against Lucy, it's the old guy who's the problem. When he returns, he always has her scent hanging around him. It pisses me off!" I told the Dragon. He must be feeling the same thing I did, because, whether I liked the thought of it or not, he was _also_ her mate. In a way.

My Dragon nodded. Now with a serious face. "**Especially because you can't beat him… Well, there's nothing to do about it.**" He said calmly.

My head jolted up and my eyes met his. I narrowed my eyes at him. What kind of Dragon was he? "Does it not bother you at all?" I asked him. It would actually not surprise me if he said káo (no).

He nodded and glared at me. "**Of course it does. But she's practicing **_**close**_** combat with the guy, of course he'd catch some of her scent.**" The dragon reasoned.

I just looked at him with my mouth gaping wide open and wide eyes. He actually said something mature and intelligent. WHAT THE HECK WAS HAPPENING AROUND HERE?

I turned my back to him and sighed. "You know what? I'll see you some other time, jackass." I told him as I got ready to return to the Dragon Realm.

"**Sure, Mini-Me.**" I heard my Dragon reply just as I disappeared and returned to the clearing. Where Metallicana was sleeping. What's with all these sleeping Dragons today?!

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. None at all. How was I going to go around finding my Water magic? The first was when I opened my Second Origin, where it was hidden, and the second was because I was in a situation where I desperately needed to find it. Well, that was what I thought anyway, but it was still the feeling that I _really_ needed it that triggered it. How in the world would I find a situation where I would desperately need my Water magic? We couldn't just set the forest on fire… What if it didn't trigger it?

If we somehow got Igneel to set a fire in the forest, where my Sweetie was training at the moment, and I had to put it out with my Water magic in order to save him… What if I didn't discover it in time and Acnologia burned down to the ground along with the forest? What would I do then?

He was my mate. If he died, I died. In short terms anyway. He would die a painful death and so would I. He would be screaming for someone to put out the fire once it latched onto him, but I wouldn't be able to and I would have to watch him die. Then, the mere thought of his death will cause me eternal pain and I would take my own life just to escape it.

Káo (no), wait… He was partly a Fire Dragon now, right? So he could consume fire now. Okay then, he wouldn't die, he would just eat it… But then.. I heard that some of the Dragon Clans live in this forest, especially the smaller ones. What if… They don't survive then, because they can't put out or consume the fire?

Then I would have killed a lot of people. I don't think I would be able to bear that. It would ruin me completely. I couldn't kill, I just couldn't. I would lose my sanity completely and just turn into an empty shell.

I could feel myself grow more and more depressed as I thought these gruesome thoughts and apparently the gods agreed with me, because it began raining. And not just a little mind you, it was like with Juvia before she met Gray. It rained hard.

"**Well done, Lucy.**" Someone said from behind me. I whipped around with a loud gasp and looked at the person in front of me startled. I hadn't heard anyone sneak up on me like that. It was Amelane who had scared me. She smiled and tilted her head.

I looked up at the sky and back at her. She was probably making it rain. I wondered why. "Say, Amelane, could you make this rain stop? It's getting a little cold out here..." I said carefully, I didn't want to offend her, she was such a nice Dragon.

She giggled softly with her light voice, well, light compared to the fact she was a Dragon anyway. "**Káo (no), Lucy, I can't do that, but you can.**" She said mysteriously. I looked quizzically at her, trying to figure out what she meant with that. She seemed to catch that I didn't understand what she was indicating. "**It's your rain, Lucy. I can't stop it.**" She smiled.

I didn't know what to say for a second, so I just stared at her with a straight face. "M-my rain? Do you mean I discovered my Water magic?" I asked her, my voice getting happier as I spoke.

She nodded. "**Yeah, I think it reflects your mood. I don't know what you were thinking, but you seemed to be deep in thought and with a somewhat depressed expression, so I'm guessing it reacted to that and showed it in the form of rain.**" She explained.

I just nodded slowly. "Yeah, might be something like that!" I said quickly. I wasn't quite sure I got what she was saying, but I was sure hoping I would get it under control. "So can we work on making it stop raining now?" I asked her.

She nodded again and smiled. "**Of course.**" She simply said. And so we began.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I was finished with the training for today and had actually already found out how to control the water and keep it at bay at my will. I had also learned that I could use my Water magic to purify any spell which was cast on me. It was especially effective against dark spells.

I waved to Amelane as I flew home to my and Acnologia's cave. I couldn't wait till I could snuggle up next to him and feel his warmth. Not that I would ever have the problem of freezing ever again, since I had my Ice magic, but I could still feel warmth.

I speeded a little up, knowing it had run out a little late for me today, I couldn't wait to see that handsome mate of mine. Soon enough, I could see the cave and dove down towards it. I landed as silently as I could, that was what I was practicing at the moment, more graceful landings, and walked into the cave.

In the middle of the cave, Acnologia lay on the moss with closed eyes and was sleeping soundlessly. Since he had gotten Metallicana to train with, he had been all out of energy. Those two really didn't socialize so well. Wasn't he supposed to go by his Dragon today too? With his Iron magic? Yeah he did. That must have taken its toll on him as well.

I smiled at my tired mate and decided I would do something for him for once. I began letting my Peace magic flood out of me and travel towards Acnologia. I had learned from Alodiculis that I could do this to make someone relaxed and comfortable. I was guessing Acnologia needed that right now.

I lay down next to him, but made sure not to touch him, I wouldn't want him to wake up. Even if I really wanted to touch him right now. Like… A lot, I kept myself from doing it, he needed this rest.

Well, that was what I thought anyway. I was lying, looking lovingly at his Dragon face, when his mesmerizing eyes opened and looked at me sleepily. "**What are you doing all the way over there, my angel? Come over here with me.**" He said sleepily.

I tilted my head a little. He had never called me 'angel' before, but I liked it. I wondered if it was because he was so tired he said random things.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and went to my now half-awake Dragon and snuggled up to him. He had gotten the habit of using his wing as some kind of replacement of an arm. It was kind of cute, actually. And nice of course. I put my head so close to his they were practically touching. Then I closed my eyes. It had been a good day for me.

**So there we go, the end of chapter 32. As always, I hope you liked it!**

**It was actually finny with Acnologia's mood, at first I was just writing, and then realized he was kind of out of character, but I went with him being a bit moody, just for the heck of it.**

**I wrote all this in one day, my friends. ONE DAY! Damn… .**

**Oh, and have any of you read 'Gakuen Alice', the manga? Or have you just watched the anime? No? Yes? IT'S AWESOME EITHER WAY! Made my heart skip a beat more than once T^T **

**Thank you Guest, BecauseIamSoBored, blaaern, TheStoryTeller567, , An anoymoose (Guest), mjb379, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Inu-Neko2, Alaina Kuski, aristofthemind, ExDragon, Konan15, Nicole (Guest), Guest, FT LOVER (Guest), clairedamoon, TheIcefire, cmjfire14 Don'tPissOfTheFAIRIES, sakura-oneesan, Emerillion (Guest), Aira0906, gabiey, , deth wolf, Mayawong, Darkverger1, HitsukarinLover29, Night-Shadow Child, wheafel, mariaduarda, BrittFredlove, AnimeAndGames4Ever, Shadowfiremage, Verdantia, clumzybeans and all you other wonderful people reading my stories! **

**~Line464d**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**EMERILLION! Make a user this instant and let me discuss Gakuen Alice with you! XD I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I think Slowpoke went on an eternal summer-trip, where he writes his ass off and won't share his writings. With anyone.**

**At the Field~ **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I had lost track of how long I had been training with Amelane already, but it was for a long time. For some reason, mastering my Water magic and getting it under control completely, turned out to be difficult. To think Juvia accomplished that, I can't believe it.

The first day, when I discovered it, I thought I had gotten it under control. I hadn't, káo (no), not at all. The next morning, I was awakened because I could feel the soaked moss. All while I was sleeping, I had lost control of my magic and it poured down on the ground. Luckily or not, the Socubedo moss absorbed all of it, but it left it soaked in water. While Acnologia _could_ dry it, he didn't, because it would just get soaked just as soon as I came home again.

I think we slept on that soaking wet moss for weeks; I really had a hard time getting it to stop raining. But, I had gotten it under control and I'd learned the first three basics and the special, so I was working on finding my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) now.

My special spell was called Wai Tarakona's Totohu (Water Dragon's Whirlpool) and it was basically a tornado of water, in which the foe would be thrown around under water. Although, it wasn't the fiercest of water-tornadoes, it worked more with spinning around quickly, making the opponent dizzy and disoriented as well as hurting at the same time, of course.

Training with Amelane was funny sometimes. She was really a slave to drama, I'd learned. Every morning, she would ask how everything went with Acnologia and if we had gone further than kissing and… Well, if there was anything to gossip about.

Acnologia had progressed a lot in his training already. He'd gotten control over his Iron magic long ago and he had also learned the three basics and the special spell, which was Haeana Tarakona's Karapu (Iron Dragon's Club). Basically, it was the same as Gajeel's Iron Club, but stronger and bigger, how that would ever be possible was beyond me. Besides that, he had also found his Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) and was practicing using it.

Now, I was working with Amelane and Alodiculis to figure out what my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) was. I was told to do this in a quite… Peculiar way.

I looked back over my shoulder at the Water Dragon, who was looking down at me with her dark purple eyes. "How long am I supposed to be doing this?" I asked her. At the moment, I was having my hand in the river-water, just like I did when I was about to discover my Ice magic way back, and crouching at the river-bed, too close to falling in for my own liking. Summer had just about ended and it was slowly going towards fall.

Amelane tilted her head with a smile. "**Until you find your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).**" She told me. If you didn't know her beforehand, you would have thought she was a sadist. "**I already told you it would be easier if you are in contact with water.**" She explained. Once again. Ae (Yes) this wasn't the first time she told me, actually it was more like the 100th.

I nodded with an exasperated sigh, looking back at the crystal water. "Ae (Yes), I know." I agreed. I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of the cold water surrounding my hand and the faint feeling of magic running in it.

I pulled the magic from the water and into my hand, just like Amelane had told me to do so many times before. I led it from my hand and around in the system of my magic, letting my own and the river-magic mix. I tried looking for the words that I should use to release the magic again. I waited and looked for a half a minute, focusing only on the task at hand.

I felt a burst of heat from my right and a golden light lit up my surroundings. I felt a warm arm slung over my shoulders as well as an equally warm chest leaning on half of my back. I could already feel my irritation beginning to move. Of all times, he _had_ to show up when I was trying to focus. Fenix' head showed up at the peripheral of my right eye, while I was staring hard at the water.

The Fire Bird moved his head closer to my ear. "Having a hard time concentrating, Princess?" He mocked me. "Am I really _so_ irresistible?" He continued. I tilted my head down and let my bangs throw a shadow over my eyes. A vein began bulging out at the side of my forehead. Fenix moved his arm, so he had better access to a _specific_ part of my chest. "You know, I am free now and the rest of the day." He muttered lowly.

That was _it_. No more. Nope. I absorbed all the magic I could from the water without making it too obvious for starters, and let it course around in me aggressively. I spread my finger in the water and turned it so it was facing the light streaming. The vein pulsated once more, as I let the shadows of my bangs disappear. I looked at my Fire Spirit with crazy eyes. "You've done it now…" I muttered.

He looked at me with a confused expression, then his face molded into one of realization. Although he probably realized something completely wrong. "Oh, I see, I've aroused you so much you went crazy!" He said excitedly and with a grin of victory.

I shook my head slowly and glared at him. Eight words appeared in my mind, and I quickly uttered them with a scream. "WAI TARAKONA'S NGARO TOI: NGARU WAI O POSEIDON! (Water Dragon's Secret Art: Raging Waters of Poseidon)" I yelled and the stream in the river began to speed up exponentially. If I hadn't been the one to cast the spell, I would have been pulled away with the water. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant tsunami-like wave appeared at the end of the river and quickly washed towards us at a speed none of us could follow.

Before my Spirit could even react to the big wave, it washed over us and pulled him away. Again, because it was my spell, it didn't pull me away with him. I watched with glee as the Spirit disappeared out of my sight. I began cackling evilly. "That should teach him." I said happily and turned around to Amelane, who was looking surprised at the quickly disappearing wave.

She looked back at me and quickly adopted a smile and tilted her head. "**Well, well, it would seem you found it.**" She stated. I nodded, still in maniac-mode and with a big, probably creepy grin. "**Okay, so now you practice it.**" She told me.

I nodded and focused on the river again, which had gone completely calm. Oooh, Fenix would die so many times in my imagination. With that in mind, I worked like a machine and created countless tsunami-waves after each other, which flew by so fast it was hard to tell where one ended and the next began. All the while I was wearing the same manic-grin and cackling by myself.

Behind me, Amelane sweat dropped. "**At some point, you'll be able to do it without the assistance of the river-water.**" She slowly and carefully said, probably trying not to enhance my excitement of crushing my Spirit.

Although… That attempt was in vain. It only served to make me even madder. I began laughing loudly, almost scaring the two adult Dragons behind me. Oh, he would pay, he would pay.

**At the Clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I thought I heard an evil laughter and felt a chill run down my spine. That Dragon was probably right about the lively imagination I seemed to have.

I shrugged it off and focused at the task at hand. Right at the moment, I was getting used to my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). The old man's preferred way of doing this, was by battling, of course. It probably also was the best way of doing this.

The old man also seemed to shudder once, before he looked back at me with his crimson-red eyes. I wondered if that evil laugh wasn't just my imagination.

I had no time to really think it through though, 'cause the old man crouched a little and stayed on his toes, ready for some action. I got ready to use my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).

I focused on sending my magic down in the ground and letting it mix with the tiny reserves of magic there already were there. "Haeana Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Poka Mana O Ogoun!" (Iron Dragon's Secret Art: Piercing Powers of Ogoun) I half yelled, half said loudly. I let the magic I had sent to the ground and made it into big and small spikes underground, ready to shoot up whenever I wanted them to. I looked at my 'Sensei' and smirked. "Ready to dodge?" I asked him.

He did a simple nod. "Hell yeah! When you hit me, we're done training " He told me, almost seeming happy with what he was going to do now. I would never _ever_ get his way of thinking. I really wouldn't.

My smirk grew wider when I, without averting my eyes from the Iron Dragons', let a bigger spike bulge up from underground, right underneath him. He, having already felt it, jumped back just before it would have hit him. I would have spiked his sorry excuse for a butt. After staying a second in the air, it retracted back down in the ground and disappeared.

I was also only supposed to train this attack with Metallicana, because he could feel the Iron magic underground like a magnet, because he was an Iron Dragon himself. If I had been training this with Igneel, he would probably have been hurt badly by now, whereas the old man over there and I had been doing this for days.

I let another, smaller spike shoot up under his ugly foot, but he had already moved his foot away even before it pierced through the ground, showcasing the insane speed he had apparently been hiding somewhere. I quickly let another spike burst from the ground to hit my opponent. He dodged it of course. We kept at it until I was at the end. I let one break up from the ground and he would dodge it. I didn't even come close to hitting him either.

We were both panting, me from the loss of magic and he for the exercise he had gotten. He stood with his hands on his thighs and was looking at me with beads of sweat on his forehead. I was merely panting, I hadn't been doing much physically, so I would have to do a lot more to be so out of energy as Metallicana was.

The old man brushed off sweat with the back of his hand. "Phew, you're getting good Brat, it was actually challenging this time." He told me with a smirk. "Although, you didn't even scratch me, so you'll have to stick with me for the time being." He added, his smirk broadening.

I looked at him with a smirk of my own. "Are you sure about that?" I asked as I let the last spike shoot up and grace his right leg, leaving a small wound. I had cloaked that one spike with the magic in the nature around me, so Metallicana couldn't detect it so easily. It wasn't as strong as the others, maybe, but it did its job. I guided him to where I had hidden it with my spikes and made sure he would be right where I wanted him to be, before I let the last one loose. "I guess I win." I told him.

He looked down at the leg, which had now gotten a scratch with a slightly baffled expression, then up at me with a smirk. "I'll give you, Brat, that was cleverly strategized-" The Dragon praised me, probably against his will. "But, we're not done." He smirked at me.

I groaned exasperatedly and looked at him with a tired look. "What haven't we done yet?" I asked him. Why was I forced to work with this guy? And why was he giving me false hope just to crash them again a moment later? Was it some sick hobby of his?

His smirk only widened at my irritation. "Yeah, now we put it all together and let you get used to using it together in combos and stuff." He told me almost happily. I betted he was enjoying how much I hated the situation.

I face palmed. "Argh! You have _got_ to be kidding me!? Aren't I done with you yet?" I asked no one in particular rhetorically. Metallicana just let out his usual laugh and smirked at me with glee in those crimson-red eyes of his.

**At the Field**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I had calmed down since earlier this day, though I was still pissed at Fenix. He knew I already had a mate, granted, they hadn't met each other yet, but it would come someday, and I honestly didn't think I could stop Acnologia once he got started. Another question would be if I wanted to…

Káo (No), of course I wouldn't let him kill the Fire Bird, but he also needed to be put in place and know I was unavailable. And never would be available, at least not as far as I had planned.

At any rate, the Spirit King had just told me that I would practice opening several Gates at the same time and keeping them open. It was one of the most elemental things, I wondered why we hadn't started with this earlier. I guess I had other things to work on back then.

Now, I was working on it though. Or rather, was about to work on it. We hadn't really started yet. He was looking down at me, playing with his beard as usual. "**Start off with two Silver Gates, Lucy, then we'll see how you do then.**" He told me thoughtfully.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I can open more Gates, you know, when I had just gotten my Second Origin opened, I could open two Zodiac Gates." I told him and thought back to the painful day. I had managed to open both Aquarius' and Scorpio's Gates and keep them open for I don't know how long.

The Spirit King nodded. "**Yes, I know you did, but that was when you had just gotten the Second Origin opened, which meant your magic was on high alert and ready to be used.**" He told me. I looked quizzically at him, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Before I could say anything, though, he elaborated. "**I guess you could kind of compare it to when you use Tarakona Kaha (Dragon Strength), it's as if you get more magic to work with, but in reality, your magic is just ready to be used, and then it takes less energy to push it into action.**" He looked down at me. "**Do you know what I mean?**" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's like when you warm up before running, right? Your muscles are ready and you can run longer, while when you haven't warmed up, you can't run far." I asked for confirmation of my comparison.

He nodded. "**Yeah, it's kind of like that.**" He agreed. He looked into space thoughtfully, before continuing where he left off. "**Anyway, what I was saying is that your magic was ready to be used and therefore you might have had more at your disposal back then, than what you have now. That's why we're starting out easy.**" He explained.

I nodded and picked two random Silver key. It turned out to be Plue and Horologium. I took them out and held them in one hand. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Open Gate of the Clock!" I said kind of loudly and swiped down. "Nikora! Horologium!" I called and the two Spirits appeared in a flash of golden light.

"Why did you call, Lucy-sama?" Horologium asked as the golden light disappeared and revealed him and the little snowman Spirit next to him.

"Pluuuuue~!" Plue simply said and skipped towards me, hugging my leg happily and shakily. I picked the little Spirit up and held him in my arms.

I looked at my clock Spirit. "I'm practicing to open Gates and keep them open, I'm sorry for disturbing you, Horologium." I apologized.

The clock lifted his tiny arm and shook his finger in a grandfatherly way. "No, no, no, you're here to train. We will all be happy to help. I will tell the other Spirits they might be summoned." He told me and disappeared back to the Spirit World. Just as I was about to tell him not to.

I turned around and faced the Spirit King. "I don't feel like I've even done anything." I told him, but then saw the amused face he was wearing.

Then the Spirit King went into a deep laughter which filled up the whole area in a way. "**I just realized that of course you wouldn't feel anything!**" He said still laughing. I furrowed my eyebrows. What in the world was he talking about? Why shouldn't I be feeling anything when I opened the Gates? It didn't make any sense… Oh wait. Of course! "**You got the Gates opened in your mind, didn't you? Then you don't call them out with magic, it's with you love. As cheesy as it sounds.**" He said, still trembling with laughter he was desperately trying to keep in.

I shook my head and laughed with him. "Oh my, now I feel stupid!" I laughed. How could I forget? It was only whenever _they _used their magic that it tapped on mine. Well, then I knew what else I was going to train, because I could summon an unlimited number of Spirits, as long as their Gates had been opened inside my mind and they didn't use any magic. I looked up at the Spirit King, now with a manically creepy expression, which made even the big guy shudder. "I already _have_ a punching-bag." I said and cackled.

Payback-time was here~!

**So, the end of Chapter 33. Hai! I know it's short and all, but I couldn't fit more in, really… ._." **

**Ogoun is a powerful deity of metalwork. He's from a lot of different mythologies and religions, and honestly I don't want to write them down… **

**Poseidon, the almighty god from the Greek mythology, Lord of the Water, having the name Neptune in the Roman religion. I'm sure you all know of him, so I'm not going to write it all down. But obviously, he was the obvious choice for the Water Secret Art.**

**TRANSLATIONS!**

'**Wai' means 'Water', 'Totohu' means 'Whirlpool', 'Haeana' means 'Iron', 'Karapu' means 'Club', 'Ngaru' means 'Raging', 'Poka' means 'Piercing' and 'Mana' means 'Powers'. That would be about it…**

**Thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, cmjfire14, Alaina Kuski, ExDragon, OtakuLover43, BecauseIamSoBored, KanameTwilight, Little Lady Slytherin, Mayawong, An Anonymoose (Guest), clairedamoon, karmena-is-a-fairy, Nicole (Guest), Emerillion (Guest), Flying Star0507, Darkverger1, gabiey, Jessica-Mind-Palace, mjb379, jaggedheart, DesolationDeath, Astroman1000, Inu-Neko2, Laymir, Cookie-chan99, rukiachen434, twodicemen, APeculiarOne, clumzybeans, QueenFandom (Guest), Carnationflower4 and all you other readers for everything~! **

**~Line464d**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

**I know these chapters are boring… .-." GOMENASAI MINNA! **

**I feel so bad for not having noticed this earlier… WE'RE ABOVE 500 REVIEWS AND 400 FOLLOWERS! You guys are absolutely, stunningly, amazingly AWESOME! I can't **_**ever**_** thank you enough for all of the things you have done! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, oh dear Slowpoke, I pray that you will one day share Fairy Tail with me!**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I closed my eyes and sent myself to the realm of my mind, if you could call it that, and opened my eyes to the sight of the golden star and the silver Fairy Tail logo. I was momentarily shocked by how bright the silver logo had gotten. It had been a while since I was here last, so I hadn't seen the progress it had made. It was shining just as bright, maybe brighter, than the golden star when I first saw it so long ago. I had lost track of time completely, we were already at the end of summer again.

Lately, I had been practicing my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) 'with' Fenix. I wasn't – always – as crazy as I was the first time, and honestly, Fenix asked if I he could help me and told me he could just dry himself with his unnatural body heat anyway. Don't ask me why he volunteered to continuously be hit by a tsunami, but that was up to him.

I had also been training doing combo's with two and more Gates opened. In combo, which meant one spell followed up with another rapidly afterwards, not Unison Raids, where you mixed two spells and made a stronger spell. That would come later, that's what the Spirit King told me. I wasn't training that on Fenix, though, that was just on simple logs instead.

Acnologia had also been training his Ngaro Toi, even if he already had hit Metallicana, the two of them kept training. Deep down, very, _very_ deep down, I knew they were actually enjoying that training together. Sometimes they did anyway.

What I was doing here at the moment was that I was about to open the Gate of my latest Zodiac Spirit, Capricorn. He was surprisingly good at close combat, I'd found out once when he popped out during training with Metallicana and Loke. Granted, I didn't have as many memories and experiences with Capri as I had with many of my other Spirits, but the ones I did have were precious.

I stepped forward and through the golden star with a last glance at the silver fairy. After the usual blinding light, I was welcomes with the sight of the beautiful starry, night sky. Before long, the meteor bounced between certain stars and showed me the constellation of the goat.

As usual, the key landed in my hands comfortably warm. I stared at it for a second before I determinedly grabbed the key in one hand and held it out in the familiar stance. "Open Gate of the Goat!" As per usual, the memories, although few, flashed through my memories. The positive emotions I got from the memories were sent to my key and through it appeared a golden light. "Capricorn!" I yelled as I let the golden light widen and fill the whole room as it always had.

And so appeared my newest Zodiac friend. The goat bowed deeply as if he was a servant. It was a wonder his glasses didn't fall off. "Hello Lucy-sama. What do you acquire of me today?" He asked, never looking up even once.

I giggled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him up. "I thought we went over this already, Capricorn. Forget all the formalities and just relax. Okay?" I asked him as he slowly straightened his back and looked at me through his glasses.

He nodded. "Alright, Lucy-sama, I will try to remember." He told me. A silence ruled between the two of us, before Capricorn spoke up. "Lucy-sama, I now possess the ability to use Celestial magic in its purest form and apply it when I fight." He told me.

I nodded with a smile. "That's wonderful!" I said happily. I tilted my head a little. "So how's everything in the Spirit World?" I asked him, genuinely interested.

He looked expressionlessly at me for a second, then pushed his glasses up unnecessarily. "It's become very rowdy with your two new Spirits, but overall, everything is fine." He told me. I sweat dropped. I was guessing Loke was having a hard time trying to deal with Fenix or being beaten up by Aelu-chi, after hunting her. I almost felt sorry for the Lion, but he didn't take first place. Poor Aelu-chi…

I nodded. "Yeah, I bet it's like that now." I agreed. With all those exaggerated personalities – and three perverts – what else _could_ it be?

Capricorn bowed again, much to my displeasure. "I'll take my leave now, Lucy-sama." He said and disappeared in a golden light. Alright now there was only the Dragon keys left. I smiled and placed Capricorns' key next to the others I had already collected in my pouch.

**At the Clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I glared at the old man. Honestly, how long did he want us to be doing this? I was getting tired of continuously trying to spike his disgusting butt. I really hoped I would be discovering the next magic sometime soon, this was getting boring, not to sound bratty or anything. No wonder that was what the Iron Dragon preferred to call me…

The old man smirked. "**Why're you looking at me with that ugly face? I'm helping you here!** **Gihi!**" He laughed at me. We'd been practicing – or rather… _I'd_ been practicing my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for what seemed like forever in our Dragon forms. Just so I got used to using it in both of my forms.

I sighed exasperatedly at him. "**Yeah, sure you are. You're just enjoying showing off, you old man!**" I half growled at him.

He nodded proudly. "**Of course I am!**" He told me, much to my irritation. "**Why wouldn't I be? Besides, it's not necessary to do much before it impresses a brat like you.**" He laughed.

I growled at him. "**Damn old man…!**" I muttered in a low voice. I sighed and got ready to shoot another Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) at the old man, when I felt that my magic was getting a little low. I sighed again and began inhaling the closest thing I could get. I closed my eyes and slurped it all in like one long spaghetti. When I opened my eyes I saw Metallicana looking at me with a weird expression. "**What?**" I asked him.

He shook his head. "**Oh it's nothing.**" He told me. "**You just ate shadows is all.**" He added with a smirk and looked at me amusedly with those red eyes.

I widened my eyes. "**What? Really?**" I asked him doubtfully. Had I really done that? Wouldn't I know if I ate something I hadn't eaten before? Well, apparently not.

He nodded. "**Yeah.**" He looked to the right, in the direction where my sweet angel was training. "**It would seem my training with you is done.**" He told me. He looked back at me. "**I'll get Skyadrum so you can get started.**" He spread his wings and smirked. "**Meanwhile, try to see if you can summon your magic.**" He told me and flew away.

I just glared at him, but did as he told me anyway. I closed my eyes and found my way to the core of my magic-system, which was my heart. I could feel the energetic feeling of my Chaos magic, the heat of my Fire magic, the sturdiness of my Iron magic and then the last one. The new feeling of darkness emitted from it. It could only be my Shadow magic.

I got a hold of the dark magic and sent it to my hands, as I had done so many times before. I opened my eyes and saw my hand was engulfed in darkness, or in this case, shadows. I smiled. So I was ready for the next part of my training.

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I can't believe I had already come to this point already. I guess I had trained with my Water magic a lot lately and had gotten used to it, every move too, but I was already going to see my Dragon again? It was amazing.

I nodded at Amelane with a smile and closed my eyes, sending myself off to my mind for the second time that day. I opened my eyes again and stood facing the Celestial star and the Fairy Tail insignia. Once again, I found myself surprised by how bright the silver logo had gotten. I smiled and went over to it, hesitating for a moment before entering it and passing through to where my Dragon resided.

"**Mini Lucy! Nice meeting you again~**" My Dragon greeted me happily. I opened my eyes and looked at my silver scaled self. She was smiling widely at me, showing her fangs clearly.

I smiled at her. "Big Lucy! I've missed you!" I told her just as excited as she was. I was _so_ overjoyed that I had a Dragon, who liked me as much as I liked her. She also usually helped me during training, giving me input whenever she saw her chance.

She nodded. "**Yeah! Are you ready to unlock your full power?**" She asked excitedly and jumped around like a hyperactive kid.

I laughed. "Yep! So what are we doing today?" I asked her, eager to get started, so I could continue my training and get stronger, so I could get back and show Fairy Tail I wasn't just a pushover! Even if I had to wait till they woke up anyway!

She giggled at me. "**Today is a little different.**" She told me. I looked at her attentively, ready to get started. She looked a bit more serious as well. "**This time, you will stand in the middle of the field-**" She nodded towards the middle of the field. "**Then, I will create creatures of water, and let them attack.**" She looked down at me as I looked mortified up at her. Didn't she say she wouldn't make me battle like Acnologia? Well what is this then?! "**You just have to block or dodge their attacks. You have to block every single one, or we're starting over. You're going to be attacked 10 times, if you fail to either dodge or block one, you start over.**" She told me and then smiled. "**I'm sure you can do it!**" She reassured me.

I nodded slowly. "Okay…" I muttered and looked up at her again. "But that's not where I start, is it? Don't I need to summon my Water magic first?" I asked her. I did that the other times, so today I would have to do it too, right?

And right as I was, she nodded with an apologetic smile. "**Yeah! I almost forgot…**" She spaced out for a second. "**It will be hard if your Water magic isn't available in the next task!**" She laughed a little.

I nodded slowly. The next thing seemed like it would be difficult, according to Big Lucy. I shrugged it off and closed my eyes, trying to find the Water magic in me. It didn't take long before I could feel the faint rippling feeling of my Water magic in me and I immediately began pulling at it.

I drew it out to my hand and lifted it in a bubble above my hand. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as I had expected it to. Maybe it was because of all the training with the heavy Ice magic. I looked up at the Dragon again, having finished the first part of training. "So should I just go to the middle of the field now?" I asked, getting a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it.

The Dragon nodded with an eager smile. "**Ae (Yes), please do!**" She said happily.

I nodded and went to the middle of the field. This would probably be hard, one of the things I hadn't practiced so much was dodging and blocking… I wondered if I would be able to do this. Káo (No) I would do this! I could do this! I wouldn't tolerate failure. No matter how many times they knock me down, I would stand tall and try again. For sure! I looked at my Dragon determinedly. "Show me what you got." I told her with a very out of character smirk.

The Dragon smiled at me. "**Okay, get ready.. Here they come!**" She said and just as she finished, 10 Water figures appeared around me and formed a circle. Every second of them was a Dragon. I looked around at the different magical Water creatures, trying to find out who would be the first to attack.

At the very edge of my vision, I saw one of the human-like figures lift its hands and pointing them at me. A torrent of water shot out of his hands and it rapidly closed in on me. I spun around and swiped my hand up. From the ground rose a Water-shield, looking a little like a wave, which blocked the attack and then disappeared.

Before I got the chance to get ready, one of the Dragons on the opposite side shot a jet of Water at me as well. I just barely dodged, bowing my back in an unnatural way and basically standing on my toes. Literally. I felt the rush when the Water passed by.

Then… I felt my whole right side getting completely soaked as I was hit by a torrent of Water magic. I gasped when I felt how cold the water was, it felt more like they had hit me with ice than with water. When it finally stopped, I was dripping cold drops of water. I turned my head and looked at the man, who had his arms stretched out. He slowly lowered his hand as if he was a machine.

My Dragon giggled. "**Well, Mini Lucy, you're going to have to do better than that.**" She told me. I knew that now. I didn't think they would come so quickly after each other. I looked at the Dragon, catching her eye, and nodded, ready for another round. My Dragon smiled. "**Oh, also. They will come at a random sequence, so you have to be on guard!**" She quickly added.

I moaned internally. Great, of course it would be like this. I sighed and crouched a little in my knees, just like Metallicana and Loke had told me to do countless times, and stayed on my toes, keeping a watchful eye on my opponents.

Somehow, my intuition told me to turn around, so I did. And there I spotted one of the Dragons shooting a beam of water my way. I quickly swiped my hand down. Thin layer of blue, wavy magic appeared and stopped the torrent of water easily, even though it was so thin and seemed to be fragile.

At the edge of my peripheral, I saw one of the Water men raise his hands and let a jet of Water materialize from his hands and it flew towards me. I turned around to face it, but decided against blocking it and dodged instead, simply by turning my side to him and taking a step back. The Water flew right by me and the wind it pulled along made my hair whip up and flail around in the air momentarily.

Right in front of me, a Dragon got ready to send a beam of Water my way. I stared at it, until the water appeared and I let it crash with a beam of Water from myself. They collided and made Water spout all over the area, like rain, and soaked the part of me which wasn't already soaked. The cold water fell down on me rather calmly and the coldness cleared my mind and calmed me down.

I saw one of the men at my right began raising his hands and let Water burst out of his hands and flew at me. I quickly bent down and let it pass over me, swishing my hair furiously once again as it flew by.

I understood now… One Dragon, then a man, then a Dragon, a man, a Dragon and it continued like that. There was a pattern to it.

I looked around at the Dragons, turning around slowly to get those which were behind me as well. Time seemed to have gone into slow motion, where I was the only one who was not slowed down. One Dragon pulled its head back slowly and opened its mouth just as slowly. Water magic charged up in its mouth and formed a ball, which then flew out and hovered momentarily in the air in front of it, just to shoot out towards me at a generous pace.

I raised an eyebrow. This was too easy… Why was it slowed down like this? I paid it no more attention and gave the dodging my undivided attention instead.

I raised a shield of Water again to counter the swirl of Water magic. The shield was clear and transparent, like a window, and when the Water hit it, it looked like what I would imagine a geyser looked like, seen from above. Not Gray's kind of Geyser, the ordinary hot-water one. I have no idea whatsoever how it managed to be so steady.

Coincidentally, the man right next to the Dragon began slowly charging up its own ball of Water magic. This one was different from the others, though. It wasn't a beam like the others; it looked more like a big canon-ball. Its speed was also considerably higher than that of the beams. Now it was actually some kind of challenge to defend myself.

I wanted to try something else this time, I was sure I could do it. It always looked so cool whenever you saw someone else do it. I coated the back of my hand with a thin, _thin_ layer of the same steady Water magic, which reflected my surroundings like a mirror, although with a faint blue hue.

As the ball of Water magic closed in, I got ready, and as soon as it was in my range, I lashed out with my hand and hit the Water ball with the back of my hand. The ball flew off in a different direction entirely and narrowly missed one of the Water creations surrounding me.

I spun around as I felt a tiny flicker in the magic surrounding us. I looked up at a man, which had already charged up a ball of magic between his hands and was just about to shoot it. I didn't have time to make up a magical barrier or anything magical at all, I could only dodge it this time.

So that was what I did. I swung my body to the right and let the ball of water fly past me. I didn't have time to think about the fact that the Water ball only narrowly missed my face, because the Dragon at my right also already had its ball charged up.

I had summoned some of my Water magic as I dodged, knowing I would probably need it. I made a motion as if I pushed something and a wave in human-size appeared and crawled slowly towards the incoming ball and swallowed it, stopping its movement completely.

There was only two more left, a man and a Dragon. I could do this for sure! I turned to the last Water man, readying myself to block this one, as I could charge magic up for the last Dragon.

The man had already fired the ball. I widened my eyes when I turned just to almost get my face splattered in Water and quickly proceeded to bend so much back that I almost lay down on the ground. I never knew I was so flexible, but desperate circumstances called for desperate measures, I guess.

I bounced up again, like a rubber band. Hopefully more elegant than that, but still. The last one! I only needed to block the last one, then I would have unlocked the full extent of my Water magic.

I looked at the last Dragon, as it charged up, ready to use my own magic to counter. I let the water magic pour out of my skin and it crawled around my arm like a snake, ready to be used. It was most for show, I could probably not use it, because there weren't enough to stop the ball that Dragon was charging up.

Time began slowly going at its original pace and I knew, I would have to be on guard, because now I couldn't rely on the slowed down time. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the faceless Dragon. I wouldn't let it get me, I had already come so far, I wouldn't let it beat me, not now.

That was when it had charged up fully and sent the ball at me at lightning-speed. I didn't have time to widen my eyes, I thrust my arm forward and a big torrent of Water magic, bigger than that of the Water creatures earlier, emerged and shot directly at the ball, stopping its course, overwhelming it and at last hitting the Dragon right back. It only grew in size, though.

I had put a little much magic in that last one, but it didn't matter, I had done it!

I turned and smiled at my Dragon as the Water creatures disappeared in the air. She was smiling widely with fangs showing and all. "**Mini Lucy! You did it! It was amazing!**" She praised me cheerfully.

I smiled and nodded. "It was pretty fun! Can we do this another time, Big Lucy?" I asked her.

Her smile faltered for a second, but it was well covered up and she nodded eagerly. "**Ae (Yes) let's do that!**" She smiled. I wondered what had made her smile falter for that second, but when she waved goodbye and made the portal appear, which would send me 'home' again, I couldn't ask after all. I would probably find out at some point.

**Here we go~! I have nothing at all to write here~ Like… Nothing at all ._."**

**Ah well, thank you Maiannaise, Flamestar072, Little Lady Slytherin, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), clumzybeans, ExDragon, gabiey, Xx21KatieKat12xX, AnimeOnCookie, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, Konan15, mjb379, An Anonymoose (Guest), Aira0906, . , Alaina Kuski, aristofthemind, Guest, AnimeOnCupcake (Guest), YukimaraMegumi, Darkverger1, tanithred, fairychime-diamond47, 5, Guest, .galaxies, Animefan (Guest), Cassyfairy, Rilakkuma808, Keyblade132, Queen Ryuu and all you other people out there!**

**~Line464d**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

**Okay… So this chapter will be… Well, different. Just so I won't lose all of you, I'll have this chapter focus on something else than the training, for once. Hope you like it~!**

**Oh, and it would seem I forgot to mention what magic Aelurus has back then, she's using Shadow magic, I thought that fit with a cat, being an animal of the night and all.. **

**Thank you to DesolationDeath for helping me with my story!**

_**Besides, guys, I know they are boring, you don't have to tell me in the reviews. They will return around chapter 45-46, if I write only that from now, and no other stories, like this one. I will leave it up to you to decide whether it should just be pure training until they return or if you want chapters like this one and the next for a change.**_

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke has begun to walk around half-asleep most of the time, that's why he can't make any great decisions. Such as giving me Fairy Tail.**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I looked at the three ladies around me and smiled. I really loved these mornings, it was so much more fun than the ordinary, boring ones, where you took a bath alone.

Grandine looked at me with a thoughtful expression on her beautiful, human face. "Say, Lucy, isn't it your birthday today?" She asked.

I widened my eyes. How in the world did she know that? I clasped my hands together in the water at my thighs, looked down and nodded weakly. "Y-yeah I guess it is." I muttered. Last time I had birthday, I was still at Jude's mansion, and I had absolutely no good memories whatsoever of my birthday. Only the ones back in the day, when Mama was still alive.

Skyadrum looked at me. "What? Really? Why didn't you say so earlier? We can have you take the day off and we girls go shopping in Earthland or something!" She said excitedly, and was already well on her way to get up from the water.

I cringed and shook my head. "Káo (no)…" I looked up when I felt three stares at me. They were all looking at me quizzically, probably trying to figure out what was going on. "I-I don't have any good memories of my birthday, so… When Mama died, I stopped doing anything special that day, gradually." I said lowly as I remembered the day, when I was little. I came into Jude's office with three onigiri I had made for Jude, because it was my birthday. He threw them to the floor. That was when I stopped doing anything at all at my birthday.

Amelane tilted her head. "Your father was too busy, right?" She asked, having figured out what had made it like it was now. Or rather who.

I nodded, feeling the tears already building up. I was such a crybaby, I knew, but this specific topic was very sore for me. I began telling the ladies of that time, when I tried giving the onigiri to Jude and they all looked at me with understanding expressions.

Amelane began brushing my hair with her fingers, as a form for cheering up, I guess. She would occasionally catch a knot. "How old were you then, Lucy?" She asked me with a light voice, which was kind of motherly.

I looked up at her and met those beautiful eyes of hers. "I… 11 years old. It was my 11th birthday." I told her. That was around one year after I had met Acnologia and Kurama.

Skyadrum bend forward and stuck her head closer to mine. "Then we're just going to have to make some new, good memories of it then! A birthday should be a happy day, no exceptions!" She said cheerfully and actually got above the water and to the bank, where her clothes lay. "Let's go to Earthland, just the four of us!" She stated excitedly.

I smiled at her and nodded. "I guess it's about time." I agreed. I'd gone around for 8 years, hating my own birthday. That wasn't right and today we'd change that.

Skyadrum turned around and grinned at me. "Damn right it is!" She told me and laughed. The rest of us soon caught on to it.

For once, we had all brought our clothes here, and so we began putting them on. Today, I had chosen to wear a pair of short jean shorts, which went a pair of inches below my butt. Meaning, 1. They didn't show anything inappropriate and 2. Acnologia accepted them. Somewhat. Ish. He didn't like it, but I _could_ wear them. Then I wore a loose, black over-the-shoulder crop-top, which sat a little lopsided down on the right side, where my shoulder was bared. Once again, this was not acceptable to Acnologia, _unless_ I had a top underneath, like the white one I was wearing. Amelane had stubbornly said she would do my hair, so when she had pulled the water out, she made a French-braid.

I realized my hair had grown longer since I left Earthland, it already reached under my shoulder-blades. I smiled and decided I would let it grow even longer, so long it reached my butt.

Some girls may maybe have thought that Acnologia's possessiveness was exaggerated and annoying, had it been them, but I thought it was cute. The way he wouldn't let any other man – Or Dragon - see as much of me as he was allowed to, decided by himself. I thought it was cute, his possessiveness. The other way around, I wouldn't like it either, if he showed too much of himself to another woman. I wouldn't be happy with it either.

The other three got clothed in their usual clothes. Grandine in her beautiful summer-dress, Skyadrum in her slim lavender-dress and Amelane also wore her usual clothes, which was a light blue dress, the same color as the fins going down her back. The dress went around Amelane's neck, instead of the ordinary straps, and looked more like a big and wide necklace in silver. It was connected to the rest of the dress in between her breasts and the upper part, the part covering Amelane's chest, it sat tight and let everyone see her big chest, right underneath sat a silk belt sewn into the dress, holding it up, in the same deep, purple color as her eyes. From there, it fell freely to her knees. She wore those goddess-like shoes, which wrapped around half of her shins in small threads and in a white color. Her long hair covered the blue drop she had at her neck, but occasionally, it would be revealed by the wind.

I left a note in Ice for Alodiculis, which wouldn't fade before three hours had passed, telling him that I had gone out for the day and that he should tell Metallicana, so the Iron Dragon wouldn't 'venture all the way to the field in vain', as he had already put it many times, when it didn't progress much during training.

We all changed to or Dragon forms, because it was easier and faster to get around that way, and passed through a portal Grandine had made, where she played Dravola and made the rest of us laugh at her imitation.

We ended up on an unknown field right outside a big city. Or, well, not _right_ outside, a little away so the people wouldn't see us as Dragons. We all landed and transformed to our Human forms and began walking toward the unknown city.

I turned to Amelane as a sudden question popped up in my mind. "Say, Amelane, who is your mate?" I asked. She turned to me with a weird expression on her face. She obviously hadn't expected that one. "I know Skyadrum's is Weisslogia and Grandine's is Igneel, but I don't think I've met yours." I told her.

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, you haven't, because-" She was cut off by Grandine.

"How do you know Igneel is my mate?!" She asked with a blush covering her beautiful face. She looked at me just as weirdly as Amelane had moments ago. Didn't she tell me…? Wait káo (no), I figured it out myself when I saw Igneel's tattoo and Grandine's mark looked like each other.

I smiled at her and tilted my head. "Remember the day after Acnologia and I had become mates?" I asked. They all nodded. "Yeah, back then I noticed you had a mark looking like flames near your neck and I remembered when I went to Earthland with Igneel, he had such a tattoo on his arm." I explained. "Then I just put two and two together and figured out that the two of you are mates." I kept smiling. It was really simple as that.

Grandine slowly nodded and then looked forward again, in the direction of the city. I turned to Amelane again, waiting for her to end her sentence.

She looked at me with a smile. "So, as I was saying, you haven't met him, because he is my SIC." She told me. That one actually shocked me. Somehow I just thought that the SIC and the Head never mated, or something, don't ask me why. But here was the proof that they did. "His name is Blewesamot Wai." She told me.

I nodded and smiled back at her. "Oh, alright. Well, I hope I can meet him sometime." I told her politely. Well this was interesting; I was definitely looking forward to see what kind of guy this Blewesamot was to have caught Amelane.

Soon enough we were in front of the gate to the city, it said 'Welcome to Crocus'. I tilted my head. I had been here once with Jude on a business trip, where he wanted to show me off to potential husbands. None of them met his expectations or standards, 'unfortunately', so we went home not long after that. I never thought I would come back to this place.

I turned back to the present and looked around at the women around me. "Where are we going first?" I asked them all. I hoped they could find around in this city, because I couldn't.

Skyadrum grinned at me. "We're going downtown shopping, of course!" She said matter-of-factly, as if that was the most obvious thing. I guess it was. She looked at me again. "Besides, after all that training, you will need some clothes to wear when you return, right? Something without holes and dirt I mean." She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I do, actually." I couldn't just show up at Fairy Tail, or Magnolia even, if I wore tattered clothes with obvious signs of overuse. While I may not be an aristocrat anymore, I still had my standards. Well that and Acnologia probably wouldn't let me…

So with that said, the four of us began walking towards the center of the city, where all the stores lay. Except, none of us knew our way around.

Amelane looked around nervously. "Do any of you know where we are going?" She asked as she spotted an especially dark alley. No one was there, but I was guessing she didn't like being in unknown places.

Skyadrum looked around as well. "Haven't we passed that statue already?" She asked and pointed at a statue of a knight holding a sword with the point resting just above the ground. A statue we had already passed. Several times.

Grandine nodded. "Yeah, I recall seeing that statue too. Although maybe it's just popular and more than one person owns it?" She said in a questioning way. She didn't even believe it herself.

I sighed. "Why don't we just ask someone for directions?" I asked. "It's much simpler." I added and looked around. My eyes landed on three guys around the age of 17, who were very engrossed in their conversation. I looked at the three ladies. "What about those three?" I asked.

The others nodded in agreement after a moment's hesitation, because we as Dragons weren't supposed to socialize with humans, and we went to the three men. Skyadrum tapped one of them on the shoulder, he was blonde and lean. Wore a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans. "Excuse me, can you tell us the way to the center of this city?" She asked.

The blonde one turned around with a pissed expression. "Can't you see that I'm-" Then he looked at the four of us. First he had a deadpan expression, then drool began falling out of his mouth as his eyes widened.

The other two, one with dirty blonde and one with black hair, wearing the same clothes, just with different colored t-shirts, also wore weird expressions. The dirty blonde's jaw literally touched the ground and his whole face just looked stretched out and the brunette was trying desperately not to let blood well out of his nose. I wondered what could be wrong with them.

I tilted my head a little and looked at the three with a worried expression. "Are you alright? You seem a bit… Unwell." I told them. I really didn't know how to explain their conditions.

The three seemed to shake out of their state and the blonde quickly swallowed his drool, the dirty blonde picked up his jaw from the ground and put it in its place and the brunette pulled in his blood as well.

The blonde one, who we had asked for directions, shook his head. "Oh, no, we're quite alright." He smiled and reassured us. "What could the names be of such beautiful _women_?" He then asked politely.

Amelane smiled at him and was about to answer, but before she could say anything; I figured I could use the same tactic as when we bumped into the Trimen in Maletame way back. I stepped forward, so I got the attention. "These are my friends, Atarangi, Wai and Rangi." I gestured to each of the ladies as I gave them their made-up names. "As for me, I am-" I quickly looked through all the names I knew, but could only find one, which fitted. My last name wasn't exactly good to use as a first name as theirs was. "I'm Silvia." I told them with a smile, having chosen my aunts name.

The man smiled widely. "What beautiful names." He complimented. I just smiled in return and waited for him to state his own and his friend's names. "These are my friends; Ryoga-" He gestured towards the dirty blonde, who waved with a nervous smile. "And Kaosu." He gestured towards the brunette, who nodded. "My name is Jaaku. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said and thereby ending the introductions.

Skyadrum nodded. "Yeah. Could you tell us how to get to the center?" She asked rather impatiently. She wasn't the kind of woman to have a lot of patience to go on, and now it was wearing thin.

Jaaku nodded. "Sure, let us take you there, we're going that way anyway." He offered. Skyadrum nodded and he pointed in the direction we were originally headed. "It's just that way and then a little to the right. Follow us." He told us and the three began heading in the direction he had pointed.

Skyadrum and Amelane immediately began following them, while I and Grandine stayed a bit in the back. Grandine turned to me with a smile. "That was really clever of you, using our last names instead." She praised me. "Why did you use Silvia's name, though?" She asked curiously.

I sighed. "I don't know, it was just the name that popped up." I answered. Honestly, I didn't think Silvia would like _I_ used her name, but what she didn't know, she wouldn't hate. I looked up to see Jaaku and his friends as well as Skyadrum and Amelane be having made quite the space between us. "Let's go, Grandine!" I said and began running lightly to catch up.

Kaosu looked back for a second, caught sight of me running, then quickly turned around with his hand over his nose, staring directly at the ground. I furrowed my eyebrows. I know Jaaku said he was fine, but Kaosu never said he was.

So I skipped up next to the man, past my two friends. I fell into his pace and tilted my head forward, so I could get eye-contact with Kaosu. "Are you okay, Kaosu-san?" I asked him, bowing just a little forward so I could see his face.

He looked at me, then a little down, and up again, nodding weakly and inhaling deeply with his nose. It sounded like it was filled with snot. Maybe he had a cold; he just didn't want to admit it, because of that pride men always carried around.

I put my hand on his forehead to take his temperature. At first, his head wasn't warm in any way, but then it warmed up a lot. Like… _A lot._ I pulled my hand away and looked at his face. It was as red as Igneel's scales, maybe even redder.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked him again. He really didn't seem like someone who was okay. It wasn't normal to get _so_ red in the face.

He nodded again soundlessly and held tightly on his nose, still staring at the ground, his sight never wavering upwards at all.

I could see Ryoga looking back at us from the edge of my peripheral. He cleared his throat and I looked up at him and straightened my back. I tilted my head in question. "He's fine... Uh... He just has problems dealing with girls, that's all." He explained and scratched the back of his head.

Kaosu shot up straight and glared at Ryoga. "That's not true! Why did you say that?!" He asked and leaped at Ryoga, an arm locked around the other man's neck.

Ryoga laughed. "Because I thought it would be fun, Kaosu." He told his friend, still laughing. Kaosu began fuming in anger, while Jaaku laughed alongside Ryoga.

I just stared at it wide-eyed, not understanding one bit what was going on. Apparently I had stopped in my tracks, because Skyadrum and Amelane soon stood next to me. "Are you coming, _Silvia_?" Amelane asked, putting extra pressure on my 'name'. Probably just to make a point of the fact that she didn't like the name and probably thought these three wouldn't recognize us if we ever met again anyway.

I nodded and began walking again. Talking with the girls as we walked and the three boys in front of us occasionally as well. Soon enough, we reached the center of the city.

Stores littered the streets on both of our sides. Café's, magic and clothes stores, restaurants, you name it. Everything was here. It was much bigger than the one in Magnolia and Hargeon, from what I remembered anyway.

Jaaku turned around and smiled at us. "So, here we are, at the center of Crocus!" He stated proudly. Don't ask me what part of this was something to be proud of, I don't have an answer. I really don't.

Amelane smiled at the man. "I see we are, thank you very much Jaaku, you were of big help to us." She thanked him politely.

Jaaku smiled and nodded. "It's no problem at all, ladies. I hope I see you around sometime." He told us. I'm afraid that would be very unlikely. He turned around to his two friends. "Come on guys, we need to go to Jacob's." He told them and the three of them began walking off. I guessed 'Jacob's' was some kind of bar or something they visited often.

I turned to the three girls and smiled. "So where do we go first?" I asked them. All of the stores around seemed good, and I honestly had no idea where to start, so I let them decide. It was easier that way.

Skyadrum looked around at the stores. "Hmm… What about that one over there?" She said and pointed at the right side of the street. I turned around and looked at the store she was looking at. 'Fallen Stars' it was called. It seemed to be an ordinary clothes store, where you bought everyday clothes.

Exactly the place I wanted to be. I nodded and was already well on my way towards it. "Let's go, girls!" I said happily. I don't remember when I last did this. I think it was with Erza, when we went to buy some armor for her, somehow we got sidetracked to a lingerie-shop, because she got the feeling people were following us. Obviously no one was, so it was quite awkward to tell the man behind the counter that we just came there because we felt someone was following us, not to look at his wares.

Skyadrum grabbed mine and Amelane's wrists and pulled us with her towards the store. "Come on, we'll start there!" She said excitedly. Behind us, Grandine laughed and followed us to the store, while Amelane and I stumbled off after Skyadrum.

**Later~**

**Grandine's P.O.V**

We had been shopping for I don't know how long and now we were taking a break at a nearby café. We had mainly gotten clothes for Lucy, but we also managed to sneak a few things in for ourselves.

Lucy had been smiling all day while we were walking together. I was happy that we could get her mind off Jude and her earlier birthdays. Jude. He was such a horrible father and husband. Who just brushed off his own daughter like that and used her to be allies with another company. And even worse, the things he made Layla endure. I had no idea what that crazy girl saw in this man. I didn't see a shred of goodness in him.

At any rate, we were sitting at the table, drinking. Lucy had gotten a strawberry smoothie, I had gotten a coffee, Skyadrum a beer, a weird trait she had gotten from Weisslogia, and Amelane had taken a cup of warm cocoa.

Lucy was looking through her bag with furrowed eyebrows, at last she sighed and looked up at the three of us. "It seems I forgot my wallet at the store. I'll just go get it, can you please wait here?" She asked us.

I nodded. "Are you sure you don't want any of us to go with you?" I asked her concerned. We both knew that we shouldn't be using our Dragon magic around here, some people may be able to feel the difference.

Lucy grinned and flexed her muscles. "My training with Loke and Metallicana wasn't for nothing, you know." She told us proudly. "Besides, I also have my Spirits, so I'll be fine." She reassured us and patted the pouch on her belt, which she always wore wherever she went.

I sighed, there was no stopping this girl. "Okay, we'll see you later then." I told her. She nodded and hurried out of the café. I looked at the two other Dragons. "Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked them.

Skyadrum nodded. "Of course she will! I doubt that Lion Spirit would let anyone touch her without his approval." She said and emptied the rest of the beer. "He'd kill them before they came into a radius of one meter." She reassured us.

I nodded. That was true, Leo was quite the protective Spirit.

**With Lucy~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Okay… So I had gotten my wallet in the store, I had left it in one of the dressing rooms, luckily no one had taken anything from it. That was all fine. But now I was lost.

I had gotten caught up in my own thoughts and suddenly I wasn't on the lovely streets of Crocus anymore, instead I was in the slum. I was overly aware of the lecherous ogling of the men around here. They all seemed rather drunk. Occasionally I would walk past couples – if you could even call them that – eating each other up, sharing saliva, even what was worse, here on the streets of the slum. I also evaded a fight, walking in another direction.

The streets seemed awfully dark, even if it was midday and the sun was high in the sky. The smell of this place was excruciatingly rotten and burned my nostrils. Right at that moment, I really wished I wasn't a Dragon with enhanced senses.

I tried looking brave, so there was less of a chance of anyone attacking me. I knew I could beat these guys though, I both had my own physical strength as well as my Spirits.

Now all there was left to do was to find a way out of here. I looked around to see if I could find a way to the streets I was supposed to be on. From where I was, there weren't any signs of a way I could return to the other streets, so I began walking around again to see if I wouldn't eventually find a way to go.

At some point, after some walking I reached a dead end. I sighed exasperatedly. Why in all of the places on Earthland did I have to get lost here, in the slums? Honestly, couldn't it have been a more pleasant place?

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled me out of my thoughts and I whipped around and stared at three men, all shrouded in shadows. How hadn't I noticed this before? I had enhanced hearing and smelling, I should have been able to detect them from far away.

They weren't a problem though; I could do this for sure. I crouched a little, ready to start whenever the three came into my reach. Slowly and carefully, the three came closer. Then the one in front went past a ray of sunlight, which miraculously had found its way here.

My eyes widened when I saw who it was and my shoulders immediately relaxed. I held a hand over my heart and breathed out with a little smile. "Oh my Mavis, Jaaku-san. Don't scare me like that!" I told him. I almost had a heart attack right there.

Jaaku laughed. "I'm sorry, Silvia, I didn't mean to scare you." He said with a deep voice. He slowly walked forward, his two friends, probably Kaosu and Ryoga, following behind.

I looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing?" I asked. Why was he still walking forward? He was getting too close.

He began cackling in a rather creepy way. "We've been waiting for a chance to get one of you alone. Lucky for us you even were as considerate as to walk here, where no one will find us." He said slowly and creepily.

I could feel the atmosphere change completely and I began backing. Something was wrong, _very _wrong. "W-what do you mean?" I stammered. I already knew what he meant, though. And it wasn't good.

He laughed evilly again. "Oh, you know what I mean, honey." He told me. I backed once again and felt my back against the cold wall. Jaaku never stopped moving forward, and neither did the two behind them. I felt like I was the main character in some mafia-movie. Come to think of it, this scene was so extremely cliché it wasn't even funny. "What do you say we have some fun?" Jaaku asked creepily.

I gulped and shook my head, staring at Jaaku with widened eyes. "N-no, don't do this. Please, don't." I begged. I figured the only way I could get out of this was if I could somehow trick him to get closer and then either kick or punch him as a surprise-attack.

Jaaku chuckled and took a threatening step forward. "Oh, but you see, it is actually not your decision." He told me. I almost gagged at the disgusting way he was talking. Had he had these ulterior motives all the time, from the very beginning? He got completely up close, and put up a hand on the wall behind me, near my head. I could feel and smell his disgusting breath on my face. He smelled of alcohol, it didn't surprise me. They really had gone to a bar somewhere.

I dropped my 'damsel in distress' façade and glared at him. "You chose the wrong woman." I told him. He looked confused for a second, but right afterwards, his head shot up painfully as I gave him a full-blown uppercut on his chin.

He grunted out in pain and fell backwards on his butt. The two, Kaosu and Ryoga, gasped in surprise, but otherwise, they didn't move from their spot. Jaaku tilted his head back in the normal position and glared at me. "I see, so that's the way we're going to do it." He turned around and looked at one of his companions. "Ryoga! Do the spell, this one is a fighter!" He called as he got to his feet.

The man he had turned to nodded. "Alright, boss!" He said and began writing in the air. "Dark Écriture: Paralization!" Ryoga yelled and soon, purple runes appeared in the air in front of him. He had the same magic as Freed? Damn! The purple runes flew towards me and touched me.

I immediately fell to the ground, I couldn't stand on my own two feet, they buckled under me and at last gave up. I landed on my butt and almost fell to the side, but managed to use the remaining time I had before the paralization really kicked in.

I glared up at the men in front of me. Oh, how they would be beat up if Acnologia found out.

Káo (no), Acnologia didn't need to find out. He wouldn't ever let me get out of his sight if he knew something like this had happened. He was a protective worry-wart like that. I should at least try to get myself out of this one.

What about my magic? I was paralyzed, but that didn't mean I couldn't use my magic. I closed my eyes, feeling the stares I got from the three men. They talked among themselves and laughed. I looked for my Water magic and soon enough, I found the rippling feeling of my Water magic in my system.

I knew I shouldn't show them that I had Water magic, so instead, I let it course around in my veins, hoping it would lift some of the spell, which had been laid on me. My wishes were fulfilled, I could move my fingers a little now. That was all I would be able to do. Water magic wasn't supposed to lift the curses from oneself, it was meant as a way of helping others getting rid of theirs.

Jaaku laughed at something he had been talking with Ryoga and Kaosu about and turned to me with a smirk. "How does it feel? To be unable to move in a situation like this? You must feel useless. _Weak_. You can't even protect yourself." He snickered and crouched down in my height. "You know, no one is going to save you. They won't find you all the way out here." He told me.

I kept glaring at him. I was _not_ weak! I had fought these many months to get stronger and I would save myself. This was what I had been training for, to be able to save myself from being a damsel in distress in every situation. To prove to Team Natsu, to Fairy Tail and to all the people around me that I didn't need to be saved. I was strong enough to protect and save myself.

I slowly moved my hand towards the pouch on my belt. But I had to be careful, I didn't want to be caught, so it took forever and a day.

Jaaku advanced at me and moved closer. He began moving his head to my neck, at the side where my mark was, and began to kiss it with his big, disgusting, slimy lips, which more than anything else felt like what I imagined being bitten by a maggot felt like. Acnologia's was much different, his kisses were careful and caring, filled with love, but this man, he was demanding and uncaring, his way only showed lust and desperation. He put his hand on my shoulder, right next to his head and pulled down my shirt, top and bra-strap one after another.

I felt my pouch with my fingers and slowly found my way to the keys. Again, I attempted to do it as soundlessly as I could, but that also meant it took a long time. Besides that, it was hard to move with the spell wearing me down and not being able to see what I was doing.

He moved his hand to the edge of my shoulder and released me from his 'kiss'. He locked down at the crook of my neck. "Now what is this?" He asked rhetorically and brushed the mark not too gently. I felt it burn when he touched it and gasped. Why did it do that? What did it mean? Jaaku, having obviously seen my reaction, muttered: "Interesting.." And locked his lips over the mark, beginning to try to bite in it. It began burning even worse, making me gasp in pain in return.

Jaaku probably misunderstood it and thought it was in pleasure, so he sneaked his hand under my clothes and towards my breasts.

Káo (no)! I would only ever allow one person to touch me that way. One person only. And it wasn't Jaaku. I pulled out one of my keys in desperation and held a firm grip on it. "OPEN!" I screamed, as I didn't know which key I had gotten my hands on. I knew Gates would open as soon as I said 'Open' the thing was, they weren't as strong that way.

A golden light with a sizzling sound appeared right next to me and out of the light which had yet to disappear, a hand grabbed Jaaku's wrist, the one which had tried to sneak its way under my clothes. "I would prefer if you let my Mistress be." A deep voice told Jaaku.

The light disappeared and in its stead stood a young man. The first thing I noticed was that he wore a traditional suit, black jacket and pants, with a white shirt underneath. He had long, black hair, which was put in a loose ponytail, kept together with a silver metal ring, and fell to just above his waist. He had intimidating, yellow eyes with slits and a stoic face.

I didn't know who this was, I really didn't. I had never seen him before in my life. Could it be he was one of the Dragon keys?

The Spirit yanked Jaaku off me as a sizzling sound, not unlike the one which was heard when he appeared, came from where their hands connected. "I would like to know what you have done to my Mistress and what your intentions are." He told Jaaku with a straight face.

Jaaku grunted in pain when the grip around his wrist tightened. "I- Ryoga, m-my friend, cast a sp-spell on th-the girl to par-paralyze h-her. We haven't done a-anything!" He told the Spirit. "W-we just wanted to h-have some f-fun." He added.

The Spirit looked at Jaaku with an ever unchanging expression. "You don't think you've done anything? You're sadly mistaken." He said and gave Jaaku a hard punch to the stomach, making the man topple over and falling to his knees, gasping for breath. He turned to the two others and moved to them in a flash of speed, smashing their heads together and making them faint momentarily. He gave Jaaku a last kick to the side and then straightened his clothes, making sure it sat as it should. He looked at me with his yellow eyes and kneeled in front of me. "Are you unharmed, Mistress?" He asked and looked at me with a blank expression.

I nodded. "I-I'm fine. I'm sorry we had to meet like this." I muttered. He and Virgo would be good friends, I was sure of that. "I'm Lucy, please call me something else than 'Mistress' and 'Master', you're my equal, not my underling." I told him.

He nodded. "So you're the summoner Aelurus and Phoenix have contracted. I will call you Miss Lucy, then." He moved to pick me up and held me with one arm under my knees and one around my back. "I am Serpus of the Dragon keys, I am user of Poison magic." He told me. Aah, that made sense, so when that sizzling sound was here, he was actually cauterizing Jaaku's wrist with his Poison. "I'll be available at any day." He said and confirmed the contact between us. "Do you have a Water or Sky Dragon with you?" He asked.

I wondered how he knew. "Ae (Yes), both. They're at the café…" I muttered and then everything blackened for me.

**Ooooh… Cliffhanger..! Kinda… Ish. Yeah. Well, at any rate, I'll continue this in the next chapter. Just thought you guys needed something else, so you won't get too bored.**

**Hope you liked it~ I know I said I wouldn't get any of the training in on this chapter, but honestly, Serpus just **_**had**_** to appear there. He just **_**had **_**to.**

**BONUS INFORMATION: Jaaku actually means evil in Japanese, according to Google Translate, and likewise does Kaosu mean chaos in Japanese. Just thought you guys should know. Ryoga doesn't mean anything as far as I know.**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Guest, Alaina Kuski, Maiannaise, OtauLover43, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Nicole (Guest), ExDragon, Queen Ryuu, AnimeOnCookie, ScreamingMeoldy154, Funvan, ButterTARDIS36, Darkverger1, iAmDaRkErThAnBlAcK, MoonStar1312, Dragoncd, Chrysoberyl, fairychime-diamond47, MysticStarblade, drunkR3ader393, Little Lady Slytherin, Guest, Switch26, Anonymous (Guest), Bl4CK-R0SE, FairyTailNo.1Fan, Nilnna, Yukiko Yui, Passing Fancies, DesolationDeath, PhyreGirl and all you other readers! **

**~ Line464d**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

**Soooo~ This chapter'll explain the burning sensation Lucy had when Jaaku touched her mark. **

**Besides, guys, if you can wait till chapter 39, I'll have a surprise for you~ **

**Okay… I can't keep it a surprise… THE TRAINING'LL BE SKIPPED FROM THERE! Yes, you heard me right, I'll skip the training just three chapters from now! **

**Thank you to DesolationDeath for helping me with my story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke's final decision to make me the owner of Fairy Tail has not yet been made. We're still working on it. I apologize for the inconvenience. **

**In the Dragon Realm~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I shot up from my lying position when I felt a burning sensation at my chest, where my mark was. I quickly pulled off my shirt, but there was nothing to see. The mark was as black as always. I brushed it off as my imagination and grabbed my shirt to put it on, but just as I was getting started, the same burning feeling reappeared, only much stronger. I grunted in pain. What in the hell was going on?!

Suddenly, I just knew that Lucy was in Earthland, and somehow I knew the exact location. I raised an eyebrow. I didn't expect that the day where Skyadrum decided not to show up would be the weirdest day off all.

Which leads me to that Dragon's lack of presence. What was she doing, not showing up like that? Moreover, what was Lucy doing in Earthland? So many unanswered questions…

I turned around when I heard a pair of flapping wings approaching. I could see a silver Dragon in the sky, not far away. And it was definitely not Lucy or Silvia.

Alodiculis landed next to me and looked weirdly at me. "**Acnologia… What are you doing?**" He asked slowly, probably trying to figure out why I was only halfway wearing my shirt.

I looked up at him and decided to answer his question with a question. "Say, Alodiculis, what does it mean if your mating-mark suddenly begins burning?" I asked him. Maybe it meant something, I wouldn't know.

Alodiculis stared at me with a deadpan expression, before his face changed to a mixture of shock and anger. "**Acnologia, where is Lucy?**" He growled through clenched teeth.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at him confused. "She's somewhere in Earthland." I told him. "Why do you ask? Has something happened to her?" I asked him.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. I knew his anger wasn't directed at me though. "**We're heading to Earthland. Immediately.**" He simply told me and took off again, flying in the direction of the Field, where we always made the portal.

I sighed exasperatedly. Why couldn't he just tell me? I quickly put on my shirt properly and changed to my Dragon form, took off and caught up to the Peace Dragon. "**Alodiculis! Please explain!**" I called after him. I was getting anxious, if he wanted to go to Earthland so quickly, then it meant something had happened.

Alodiculis turned and glared at me. "**When your mark burns like that, it means that some other male is touching your mate. I thought you knew.**" He said. I adopted a face of horror and sped up towards the field. THAT BASTARD WAS GOING TO DIE!

I sped off, with Alodiculis following me, I didn't know how far apart we were, but he was on his way. When I reached the field, I saw two ugly figures standing there already. An Iron Dragon and a Fire Dragon. Of all Dragons…

I landed on the ground and ignored the two. I didn't have time for them. They didn't think like I did though. Metallicana smacked Igneel's head with his tail and turned to me. "**Oi! Brat! Where are you going so fast?**" He asked just as Alodiculis landed.

I turned to him with a beyond pissed glare. "**If you must know, Lucy is being touched by another man. I have no time to talk with you morons now.**" I hissed at him, not even bothering to sugar-coat it, and began creating a portal for Alodiculis and I.

Metallicana growled, much to my surprise actually. "**HELL NO! **_**No one**_** and I mean: No. One. Touches Squirt without my permission! I'm going with you Brat, that bastard is going to **_**DIE!**_" Metallicana yelled and marched off into the portal I had just created.

Igneel stomped after him. "**You took the words right out of my mouth.**" He agreed and walked through the portal as well. How in the world did it come to this? I only expected Alodiculis, am I supposed to deal with those two now as well?

I moaned, knowing I could do nothing to stop them now, and gestured for Alodiculis to go through it too. He nodded and went through it with me following close behind.

We appeared at an empty field with a city in the long distance. I could feel that Lucy was there. I changed to my Human form and sped off in the direction of the city.

Seconds later, I heard three sets of footsteps behind me, quickly catching up. I ran faster than I ever recalled running before. Soon enough, we passed the gate to the city and ran directly onto the streets. My weird 6th sense led us to the slum of the big city, which name I didn't catch on my way in.

In the far distance, I saw a shady character holding a lifeless silver-haired girl in his arms.

**Serpus' P.O.V**

I made it out of the dark alleys and onto a bigger street. We were still in the section of the city, which was classified as 'slum'. I looked around from left to right, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go to find this café.

"OI! Shady guy!" Someone called to my left I turned and was met with four sets of eyes glaring at me with pissed expressions. "What have you done to that girl? TELL ME!" One especially ugly one of the four yelled at me and took a threatening step forward, malice flashing in his crimson eyes.

I just raised an eyebrow at him. How assumptive of him. Immediately blaming me for Miss Lucy's state. "I did nothing to harm this 'girl'." I told them plainly.

One with spiky black and blue hair stepped forward and looked even more pissed than the others. "Don't you dare lie to me..!" He hissed. I wondered who these men were to Miss Lucy. Did she know them?

The silver haired guy, who seemed like the most reasonable of the four, put a hand on each of the two men's shoulders. "Acnologia, Metallicana, calm down, this man is not the one we are looking for." He looked at me. "Isn't that right, Serpus of the Dragon keys?" He asked.

As I said, he was the most reasonable of the four. "Ae, (Yes), that is right. I am a Spirit of Miss Lucy's. The ones I'm assuming you're looking for are right down that alley." I told them and gestured to the alley where I had appeared to find a paralyzed Miss Lucy.

The ugly one looked at the guy with flame-hair and a stupid expression. "Stay here Igneel, and keep an eye on the Shrimp." He told him and then ran with the other two.

**With the guys~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I ran into the alley that Spirit had pointed out. I could smell the disgusting smell of the slums, but behind it all, I could just faintly catch Lucy's smell along with it. My favorite scent just didn't fit in here, it only fit in one place, and that was with me. That place only.

My mate's scent only served to agitate me even more. I would beat whoever was at the end of this valley up so much he wouldn't be able to get away from here ever again.

I felt myself speed up just a little. That guy was a waste of space, the faster I got rid of him, the better. The two others followed me, but stayed a bit in the back. I was the one to get the honor of choosing who I would beat first.

Finally we saw three men on the ground, about to get up, looking like they had been beaten down. The smell of alcohol hung on them along with the smell of the slums. But one of them was different, the one farthest away, the blonde one, he didn't just smell of alcohol and slum, he had another scent hanging around him. One that didn't suit him at all. One that made me want to beat him to a pulp. Made me want to kill him.

I almost saw red as I went towards the man, who held his head as if he had a headache. He finally looked at me when I was right next to him. "What is it?" He asked exasperatedly and then looked up at me. His face turned blue and he seemed to be shaking.

I glared down at him with a deadly aura. "That girl… Just a while ago…" I said slowly. He nodded, shaking just as much as Plue. "Don't _ever_ touch her again." I warned him with venom lacing my voice.

He nodded again, shakily. "Y-yes, I w-won't." He told me.

I shook my head. "I don't believe you." I thought about what I could do to make him remember, but I already knew almost before I began. "I know." I said and looked at him. "If I beat you up so much you won't be able to walk, then surely you will remember, right?" I asked rhetorically and stepped closer, rolling my sleeves up. Didn't want them dirty, you know.

The thing crawling on the floor shook his head. "N-no, I-I'll reme-member!" He reassured me, trying to convince me not to beat him up. I had made up my mind long ago, there was no way around it for him.

As his pleas fell on deaf ears, I jabbed my fist forward and connected with his face. I let my fist stay connected with his face for a second before pulling back, I shook my hand, that guy had a pretty hard head. Even though he had, his head was still red where I had hit him and I could literally see where my fist had hit him.

I looked down at him with a deadly glare. "You have a hard head." I told him. My face spread into a grin. "But that will only make it that much more fun." I said. The man seemed to shake even more at this.

I cracked my knuckles. Oh sweet, sweet revenge. He was never going to touch anyone ever again for the rest of his life.

I hardly needed to put anything into this either, he already was beaten up and was weak even before that. I just loomed over him for a second, before I punched him once again, this time in the stomach though.

He breathed out roughly, probably losing all the air he had in his lungs. He gasped for air, trying to regain it again, I didn't give him the opportunity though. I pounded down on him, releasing all my fury on him, just as I had planned to. He even screamed like a little girl.

My vision actually turned red as I kept knocking him around and beating him up, with magic at times too. He deserved it. He deserved it after touching Lucy however he had touched her. No other man was allowed to touch her, carry her scent. No one. No one at all. And most definitely _not_ when she didn't want to.

At some point, the man fell back and I stood over him, making sure he didn't escape. "Will you attack another girl again?! WILL YOU?!" I yelled at him.

He shook his now bloody head. I had already broken his nose, it sat in a very wrong way now. "N-no! I w-won't!" He said back terrified. Well, he better be.

I shook my head and kept beating him down even harder. "I don't believe you." I growled and saw him lose consciousness. "_I don't believe you!_" I growled even louder.

I was just about to give him another in the head, when I felt my arm being held back. I whipped my head around and glared at the ugly man holding my arm. "Brat, you got to stop now, or you'll kill him." The old man told me.

I tried pulling my arm out of his grip, but he held on too tight. I growled at him again. "What do you _think_ I was trying to do?" I snarled at him. I turned around and glared at the man underneath me. "I'll _kill_ him for touching her!" I told him and let my other hand shoot forward.

But that was caught too. This time not by the ugly one though, the one holding the other arm was Alodiculis. He shook his head with a firm expression. "You've got to stop now, Acnologia." He told me.

I looked away and glared at the man lying unconscious on the floor. Blood was flowing from his mouth and especially his nose.

The two men pulled me up and away from whoever that a-hole on the ground was. "Now calm down Brat and go back to your mate." The Iron Dragon told me rather firmly.

**Back with Serpus and Igneel~**

**Serpus' P.O.V**

Stupid turned to me and looked down at Miss Lucy, then back up at me. "What happened?" He asked me. He was looking at me with an expression that told me I'd better tell the truth.

Well, that was what it was supposed to. I decided to tell him, because these four men seemed to be close to Miss Lucy and cared for her. "She was attacked by three men, who tried to rape her." I told him with a deadpan expression.

Stupid looked at me with a weird expression. "Lucy's a strong girl, I can't believe she couldn't defend herself." He muttered to himself.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. "She was unable to do anything, because one of them cast a spell on her to paralyze her. I don't even know how she managed to reach my key." I told him honestly. I figured as soon as I knew of the situation, that I had found myself a strong summoner with a good heart. A rare sight these days.

Stupid looked at me with a shocked expression. "What? Really?" I nodded. "Then it all makes sense…" He looked up at me again. "She's strong though, she managed to fight through her paralysis and grab your key, as well as summoning you." He told me. I knew that already. "That's why she fainted too, right?" He asked and looked at Miss Lucy again.

I nodded. "Ae (yes) I would guess so." I said and thought back to when I first saw her. That disgusting man having his hand halfway down her shirt and doing something with her neck and his mouth. I looked down at Miss Lucy at her neck, where the disgusting man had been especially intimate. A weird symbol shone in a bright blue color. I narrowed my eyes. There was no question about it, that mark was the mate's-mark. She had been touched there, of all places, she must have been through a lot of pain. Probably also another factor in her losing consciousness.

I was cut off from my thoughts when I heard girlish shrieks from the alley I had sent Ugly, Spikey and Reasonable off to. I sighed. I guess I hadn't knocked the three out cold, I simply didn't have time for that. The condition of Miss Lucy was a bit critical at that point, so basically I didn't have time for those three, as the safety of our summoner came first for us Spirits.

The noise I heard from the alley clearly indicated that those three were being beaten up severely. Flashes of silver and red as well as the sounds of metal hitting bodies along with punches and kicks, told me that maybe those three wouldn't survive. I couldn't care less.

Soon after, the three friends of Miss Lucy's appeared from the alley, Reasonable brushing dust off his shoulder. Spikey quickly ran up to me, looked down at Miss Lucy, then back at me. "I'll take her from here." He told me and looked at me with an expression that wanted no resistance.

Somehow, I got the feeling that this one was especially close to Miss Lucy and I gently handed her over to him. I figured that he was her mate, the blue mark in the crook of her neck was the same color as his hair. Miss Lucy's head tilted back and leaned against Spikey's shoulder. I didn't usually have eye for romantic things, but even I could see the two were perfect for each other.

Spikey looked at me with a little smile. "Thank you for saving her, Serpus. I owe you one." He told me and tightened his grip around Miss Lucy. Definitely her mate.

I shook my head lightly. "Káo (no), you don't. It's my duty as her Spirit." I told him. I reached into my jacket and found my key. When Miss Lucy passed out, she couldn't hold on to the key, obviously, so I had put it into my jacket, so I could give it to her when she woke up. That didn't seem to be necessary now. I stuck the key out to him. "Please give this to Miss Lucy when she wakes up." I said. Spikey nodded. "I will take my leave then." I was just about to leave when I remembered something Miss Lucy had said. "I turned and looked at Spikey again. "There should be a Water and a Sky Dragon with Miss Lucy; I would suggest you take her to them." I told them and then disappeared in a golden light.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

When I got Lucy back in my arms, it wasn't her scent which welled over me. Instead, her sweet, natural scent was completely covered in the smell of the slums and that man, whose name I didn't even get. I didn't care his disgusting scent was dirtying my mate right at the moment, but I would change that. Instead, she would smell of me rather than the slums and that man.

I looked at the key Serpus had given me. It was golden and the handle looked like a snake's head and the thinner end was the tongue of the snake, sticking out of its mouth. There were two onyx-black dots at either side of its head, the eyes.

I put it into my pocket and told myself to remember to give it to her when she woke up. I turned to the three other men with me. "Do any of you know where Grandine is?" I asked, wanting to get there immediately.

They shook their heads, none of them knew what had happened. Igneel stepped forward and looked at me with a rather serious expression. "Acnologia, the first one we should find is Amelane." He told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why do we need Amelane?" I asked him. Had Serpus told him something? I asked him exactly that. "Did Serpus tell you what happened?" I asked him.

He tilted his head with a confused expression. "Who's Serpus?" He asked clueless.

I moaned exasperatedly and would have face palmed if I hadn't had Lucy in my arms. "The guy who just disappeared in a golden light." I told him slowly and clearly, as I was speaking with a person with a mind of a child.

His face cleared up in realization. "Oooh… That guy. Yeah he told me what happened." He nodded and stayed silent looking alternately at all of us.

Metallicana whacked the back of Igneel's head with an angry expression. "Tell us goddammit!" He yelled at the Fire Dragon.

Igneel nodded. "He didn't explain it in detail, but I think Lucy may have tried to fight back, but they had a mage on their team, who paralyzed her and somehow she released some of the spell on her, gaining some movement and grabbed a random key in her pouch, which then happened to be Serpus'." Igneel explained. "Well, that would be what I think that happened." He added with a shrug.

I looked down at Lucy. She had fought through a paralysis spell back there. She was strong; she probably waited till he was close enough and then made her move. Had she felt hat burning feeling too, or was it just me?

Metallicana began storming off down a street. "We better find those two, then." He said with gritted teeth and what seemed like barely contained anger. I knew he cared for Lucy, but I never knew it was this much.

Three sets of footsteps approached us from behind. "Find who exactly?" A sharp female voice asked curiously and slightly worried. We turned around in half relief and saw the three ladies we wanted to see. "What are you doi-" Skyadrum stopped up in her tracks when she saw the 'lifeless' form of my mate in my arms. "LUCY!" She screamed and looked like she was about to break down. Amelane and Grandine weren't far behind, wearing the same expression.

Alodiculis quickly interrupted their grief before they dove down too deep. "Wait! Lucy isn't dead, she just passed out." He reassured them.

An expression of relief washed over the ladies' faces. Grandine looked at me with worried look on her face. "Why is she unconscious? What happened?" She asked worriedly, her eyes shifting between me and Lucy alternately.

I glanced shortly at Igneel before answering. "She was attacked by three men, one of them used a spell to paralyze, but somehow she called out a Spirit to help her." I told them. That was the short version, but I didn't see how we could get time for more than this. I looked at Amelane. "Somehow even though the one casting the spell is unconscious, it didn't wear off. So Amelane, we need your help here." I said surprisingly calmly.

I was getting restless myself, I was trying to hide it though. I was going mad worrying about Lucy, I wanted to know if she was okay, if anything had happened and if there was anything I could do. What if those three bastards had touched her places they shouldn't be touching her?

It was only barely Metallicana and Alodiculis could keep me from killing them, especially the one who had Lucy's scent lingering on him. We only beat them unconscious, sadly.

Amelane looked at me with a serious expression. "Please, put her down on the bench over there carefully." She said and pointed at the nearest bench. I nodded and put Lucy down as gently as I could. Amelane kneeled down next to her and worked her magic.

Water magic slowly crawled out of the Water Dragon's hands and lay as a cocoon around Lucy. It was like she was caught in a big bubble. Amelane had closed eyes and a look of concentration on her face. She had slightly furrowed eyebrows.

After a while, which in realty probably just was a few seconds, I was getting impatient. Hadn't I waited long enough already? I glanced at Amelane. "Well? How is she?" I asked, interrupting her work.

Amelane simply raised a finger to silence me and I moaned internally. I got it, 'shut up and wait'. After an eternity, she opened her eyes and the Water retreated back into her palms. She turned and looked at me with a half-smile. "I've gotten rid of the spell, she should wake up soon now." She told us.

Metallicana stepped forward. "And…?" He asked, urging the Water Dragon to tell us of her condition.

Amelane glanced at me, then looked at Metallicana. "And apart from that she is fine. Nothing happened, it would seem, and she's only a bit surprised." Amelane told us. I nodded. Alright, that was good. Now all we needed was for her to wake up, so we could get home, it was getting late too.

I looked down at Lucy. Even though Amelane said she was a _bit_ surprised, I knew that was an understatement. Like, come on, you've been attacked by three men and paralyzed, of course you would be a little more than just a bit surprised. I would get rid of this memory somehow. I would make it worthless, so it wouldn't hurt her. Somehow turn it into something less negative…

I woke up from my thoughts when heard soft moaning somewhere just below me. I looked down at Lucy and saw at the edge of my peripheral that Amelane moved away. I took the place Amelane had filled and kneeled down just like she had. Lucy looked like she was just about to wake up, her face looked a little pained.

I reached out and placed a hand on her cheek and watched as her features turned peaceful again. Her fluttered open and she looked at me with a confused expression. "Acnologia…" She whispered lowly and blinked a couple of times. "Why are you here?" She asked

I smiled and nodded. I dropped my forehead so it rested against hers. "To save you, of course." I whispered in return before I captured her lips in a deep kiss. I faintly believe I heard an 'awww' somewhere behind me, but it seemed so far away. I pulled back again, but only so much that our noses still touched. I felt relief flood through me as I looked into the familiar brown orbs I loved more than anything in the world. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

She nodded lightly, smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just need a bath." She told me with a sigh, looking away with a faint blush on her cheeks. "I must be stinking of that man." She muttered embarrassedly.

I didn't really know how to respond to that, because yeah, that man's stench lingered on her, but I didn't want to make her sad about it all either. So I decided to pull her into a hug instead. That way I could also leave my scent on her.

An ugly grunt broke the silence. "While all this is very 'sweet', could you two lovebirds get a move on so we can get home?" The Iron Dragon complained.

I could hear a smack behind me and when I turned around, I saw Amelane looking up at Metallicana with an uncharacteristic scowl. "You ruined the moment! _Damn you!_" She scolded him. Except, her voice just didn't have the edge to be threatening, so it looked kind of cute instead.

Lucy began giggling at the scene, I smiled too, glad she was okay. Then her features unexpectedly turned more solemn and she looked alternately at the three ladies. "It was the three guys from earlier, the attackers. Jaaku, Ryoga and Kaosu. They were the ones who attacked me." She told them. I furrowed my eyebrows. What in the world was she talking about?

Grandine looked surprised. "Really? Those three nice guys? They didn't seem like that type of guys…" Grandine tailed off, probably blaming herself for not realizing their true intentions earlier.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah." She looked into the alley where she had been attacked. How she knew that was the place was beyond me. "They smelled of alcohol though, so…" She trailed off, then looked back at us. "Well, it doesn't matter." She looked at the ladies again a smile spreading on her lips. "I see we have to go back to that café." She giggled gain.

They all looked around confused, when Skyadrum figured it out and laughed too. "Ah, yeah, we might have forgotten the bags back at the café." She admitted. "We were kind of in a hurry when Grandine felt Igneel nearby and figured something had happened." She explained.

So Grandin had felt Igneel? Well, that would explain how they showed up so fast, I was surprised when they just appeared out of nowhere. If she felt Igneel, then everything makes sense.

Alodiculis turned to Amelane, Grandine and Skyadrum. "Then please lead the way, you three." He told them.

Skyadrum raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you seriously ordering us around, Alodiculis? Us, the Head Dragons? _Your_ bosses." She asked. Alodiculis seemed to realize his mistake and backed away slowly and gulped. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. Skyadrum followed Alodiculis with a finger poking at his chest. "Are _you,_ a mere _Second_ in Command, ordering three _Head_ Dragons around?" She kept asking persistently, Alodiculis seeming even more nervous.

Skyadrum was just about to continue her rant when Amelane began giggling. "Let the poor guy have some peace, Skyadrum. Can't you see he's shaking like a twig?" She said between giggles.

Alodiculis looked alternately at the two with a confused expression. "W-what's going on?" He asked. I actually never thought I would see him like that…

Skyadrum smirked too and flicked his forehead. "Remember who's boss another time, okay?" She ordered him and turned around, waling in the direction where she had come from. Metallicana followed her laughing his ass off.

I helped Lucy off the bench, even though she protested a lot and we began following the others. The only one who hadn't begun moving yet was Alodiculis, I believe he was still embarrassed with that incident. Lucy looked at him over her shoulder. "Aren't you coming, Sensei?" She asked him. Sensei? Some joke between them or something?

Alodiculis looked up and locked gazes with her and nodded with a big, sparkly smile. "Ae (Yes) I'm coming~!" He said happily and skipped towards us surrounded by a pink aura.

I looked down at Lucy for clarification of the situation. She smiled at me and giggled. "When I call him 'Sensei' he takes it as I'm calling him 'Dad'." She explained.

I nodded. "Ahh…" Lucy had told me that she and Alodiculis considered themselves as father and daughter, but that she didn't want to call him father, as that word was connected to someone else.

When Alodiculis had caught up to us, his pink aura faded and he went back to look as he originally did.

Soon enough, Skyadrum, Amelane and Grandine had lead us away from the slums and towards the central part of the city. There were many more people here, whereas there were close to no one in the slums where we were.

What I noticed though was that everyone seemed to be looking at the eight of us. Of course it was so that the men were looking at either Grandine, Amelane, Skyadrum or unfortunately Lucy and the women at either Metallicana - which was weird -, Igneel, Alodiculis or me. None of them with lecherous expressions or anything like that, just checking us out, I'd say. Although, all those men looking at my silver-haired angel weren't just checking her out, they were _ogling_.

I grabbed Lucy's hand and kissed the back of it, partly because I wanted to, but probably more to show everyone that this one was taken. Lucy smiled up at me and didn't seem to notice all the stares we got. Even the other three ladies did and stepped closer to one of the men, even if it weren't their mates.

Grandine went to Igneel, of course, who put an arm around her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. Skyadrum, poor Skyadrum, went to Metallicana, but the two of them didn't kiss or anything, just walked closer to each other, it just wasn't like any of them to hold hands or anything.  
Amelane went to Alodiculis and the two held hands as if they were some kind of couple.

We had been told to do this when we came to Earthland, if we got too much attention. Dravola, the oldest and wisest of us, had explained that we as Dragons usually were more handsome or beautiful than ordinary humans, that was because they once were out prey and we lured them to us that way. Kind of creepy, but there was nothing to do about it. Humans would lose interest if the person was already in a relationship.

And just as Dravola predicted, we weren't looked at with that kind of eyes, well, not as much anyway. Instead, people were looking at us with envious gazes. Okay… That didn't work out as we had expected.

I glanced down at Lucy, she still made no signs or having seen the many looks around her. I leaned down with my mouth near her ear, in turn getting many glares from males all over and Lucy getting just as many glares from females. All of them were annoying. "Haven't you noticed the people are looking at you?" I asked her and pulled back.

She looked at me with a confused expression, then around at the surrounding people. And nodded. "Yeah, I know they're looking, but I usually ignore them." She looked back up at me again with a nostalgic smile. "You attract a lot of attention when you walk with a pink-haired guy setting his fists on fire and with a flying and talking, blue cat around him, a stripper and a lady in armor pulling a wagon with luggage. But you also get used to it and ignore people at some point." She told me.

I sweat dropped and nodded. "Yeah, but this isn't really the same kind of looks, you know." I muttered. She just looked weirdly at me and then shrugged, going back to ignoring her surroundings. Ah well, it probably made everything easier for her, but she wouldn't be on guard then… I would probably have to talk with Metallicana and Loke about that.

**Later, in the Dragon Realm~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Picking up the bags at the café and going back home again took no time at all. Acnologia and I parted ways with everyone after we'd entered the portal and had ended up on the field. Now the two of us were flying back to the cave.

We flew in silence just under the clouds, letting the nature pass by underneath us and before long, we reached the cave. I landed and put down my shopping bags near the entrance and transformed to my Human form. I picked them up again and placed them near my bag. I looked through the bag for some clothes I could wear after I had taken the bath in the river.

I felt disgusting, dirty. I really didn't want Acnologia to touch or kiss me right now. It was as if I had betrayed him. I know it wasn't my fault and that I did the best I could, but even so, I had still let another man kiss and touch me. I didn't deserve someone like Acnologia, he was too good for me.

When I had found my clothes, I walked in a b-line towards the exit of my cave and in the direction of the river. I didn't get far before I felt the too familiar arms lock around me and holding me close. The top of his black and blue hair came into my view at my right, where my mark rested, and I felt his soft lips making contact with my skin.

Oh how I loved his touch. _Craved _it. But it was wrong, it just wasn't right. I whimpered a little, both wanting him to continue, but also desperately wanting him to stop. "P-please…" I whimpered. "S-stop." I finally whispered.

Acnologia immediately pulled back from me. Just goes to show how unworthy I was for him. He always considered what I felt and put that in front, pushing his own back. I closed my eyes as I felt the tears slowly gathering up in my eyes.

He gently turned my head with a hand under my chin. The movement made a tear slip away from the bubble that had been created under my eyes and Acnologia caught it with his thumb. "Lucy, open your eyes." He told me and gently caressed my cheek, where he had just caught my tear. I hesitated to open them, I don't know why but I felt I wasn't allowed to. "Lucy." He called again, more demanding this time.

I opened my eye slowly and felt a tear slip from that eye as well. Acnologia moved his other hand to that cheek and caught that tear too. He looked at me with those concerned eyes, which only added to my guilty conscience.

He noticed that I was about to break down crying and quickly pulled me in for a hug. He pressed my head gently to his chest and locked one arm around my waist and the other one going through my messy, silver hair. "It's alright, Lucy. It's alright." He reassured me, rocking lightly from side to side.

I didn't get why he was still hanging around me. I cried all the time and when I didn't, I let other men touch and kiss me. I was unworthy of anyone. It was just as Natsu said. I'm weak. I'm horribly weak actually. I have trained for months and months again, yet I couldn't even protect myself from three seemingly unexperienced mages. I didn't understand what Acnologia saw in a traitor like me.

I didn't dare hug him back, it would be too wrong. Almost a sinful deed on my behalf. Acnologia tightened his arms around me for a second, before pulling just a little back so he could see my face. Those too mesmerizing, dark blue eyes locked with my brown eyes. "Lucy… Have I done something wrong?" He asked me, much to my surprise.

My eyes widened exponentially as I looked into his rather sad eyes. I quickly and furiously began shaking my head, denying him the blame. What in the world made him think he had done something wrong? What could he have done wrong anyway?

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me with a confused expression. "Then why won't you let me touch you? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

I looked at the man I loved so much with a sad expression and pulled back, out of his embrace. He reached out for me again, but I shook my head. "Káo (no), don't touch me." I told him. He looked at me with a confused expression and dropped his hand by his side. He was just about to say something, when I cut him off. "I'm not worthy." I muttered.

Now it was Acnologia's turn to have wide eyes. "W-wha… Of course you are!" He told me loudly, almost scolding me.

Káo (no) he was wrong. I wasn't worthy, I wasn't! I shook my head again, facing the ground. "I'm not!" I yelled at him desperately. I looked up at him with tears streaming down my face. "Don't you see? I'm dirty, I'm disgusting!" I yelled at him, trying to convince both him and myself of the cold, hard truth.

Acnologia shook his head slowly with a surprised and overwhelmed expression. "W-what are you saying?" He asked half whispering. "Do you even hear what you're saying, Lucy?" He asked me again and stepped closer.

I took a step back in response. "I-I've betrayed you." I told him. This made him stop in his tracks and look at me with hurt in his eyes. "I've let another man touch and kiss me. I-I let him do it!" I muttered the last par, feeling myself crumble to dust inside. "I didn't do anything to stop him, I was paralyzed. I was too weak, I couldn't do it by myself, I called out Serpus to do it for me." I told him, wrapping my arms around myself and bowing down, at last falling to my knees, gripping myself and facing the ground with tears rolling down my eyes.

I heard Acnologia come closer slowly and carefully, but I couldn't see anything through my tears, they clouded my vision completely. My entire body was taken over by sobs.

I inhaled deeply and continued speaking. "I'm not good enough for you, Acnologia." I told him lowly. "I'm dark and I'm sinful and I shouldn't be allowed to cast such a dark shadow over your light." I continued. Nothing good ever happens at my birthday. Nothing ever. Today wasn't any different and next year it won't have changed either. That was just how it was.

I felt a hand on my back, which slowly stroke me. "Lucy, look at me." He demanded. I felt that there was no room for argument here and looked up him, my eyes acting like waterfalls. Acnologia was looking at me with a stern face, which then melted into an expression softer than I had ever seen him wear. He pulled me into a hug again and rested his chin on my head. "When you say something like that, it hurts me." He told me.

I widened my eyes. I had done it again. I had hurt Acnologia again. When would I ever stop? I kept hurting him over and over again. I never stopped. Why couldn't I just stop? Why did I have to continuously hurt him and letting him cheer me up? Why didn't I ever do anything for him?

The man of my dreams squeezed me. "What happened today… It hasn't changed my view on you, Lucy. It hasn't changed anything." He reassured me. "I still love you more than anything on the world. If anything, my love for you has only grown." He told me. I stared at the bright blue color of his t-shirt with widened eyes. "Even though you were paralyzed through a spell, you _still_ fought through it and managed to call out Serpus with your _own_ magic and let him fight those three using _your_ strength and you kept him out even when you were unconscious." He told me.

I didn't understand what he was saying. I wasn't as amazing as he made me out to be. I was weak, I was pathetic and I couldn't fight for myself. Whether it was my Spirits, my fake best friend or my mate, I always needed someone to protect me. I was a damsel in distress, and I would always be.

I felt Acnologia's chin being removed from my head and felt him place a light kiss on my forehead, then resting his own here he had just removed his chin. "You're not weak, Lucy, believe me. I've seen your strength with my own eyes." He told me. I closed my eyes and tried desperately not to cry again. "What happened hasn't made you either dirty or disgusting and you are by _no_ means dark. You are one of the brightest persons I have _ever_ known." He said.

I shook my head. Káo (no), káo (no) what he was saying wasn't true. He was only saying it to cheer me up, to make me happy. It wasn't reality. I wasn't bright, I wasn't strong. I was a traitor, a dirty and disgusting traitor, who had no power to defend myself. I wasn't what Acnologia said. I wasn't.

Acnologia held me tighter, so tight I wasn't able to shake my head. "Lucy, why do you think I call you my angel? It isn't just because it's a nice nickname, it's because you are like an angel." He explained. "You are as bright as the purest light, you're as innocent as a little child and you would do everything in your power to make sure no one is hurt." He said. I felt my tears falling down my cheeks and dripping off from my chin. "You protect your Spirits and fight alongside them, you don't use them as shields. That's why Phoenix, Aelurus and Serpus have chosen you and not someone else to be their Summoner." He reassured me.

I let my forehead rest against his chest and grabbed his t-shirt roughly and clenched my fists. Suddenly his scent welled over me and filled my nostrils. That scent, my favorite scent of all time. The owner of that scent was saying that he still loved me, even if I had let someone else too close. I began trembling as another round of sobs were making their way to the front. And I was once again powerless to stop them.

Acnologia pulled back, leaving me cold as the absence of his embrace was evident and I felt the cold, judgmental wind hit me like a bucket of icy water. He began moving around, but I didn't open my eyes to see. Suddenly I was lifted and placed on the lap of my mate and held even closer than I was before.

He remained silent and kept me close as the sobs wrecked through me. Why was he telling me all this? How could he still love me after what happened?

After a little while, I had calmed down and the crying had finally stopped. Acnologia didn't release me from his hold, though. He pulled just a little back, so he once again could see my face. "Are you alright, my angel?" He asked me, whispering.

I nodded. I guess I was alright, I just felt dirty and like a traitor, even if he told me I wasn't.

Acnologia sighed. "I know this incident scared you and made you doubt yourself, but don't let it get further than it has come now." He told me. His grip on me changed. "Now, let's get the stench of that man off you." He unexpectedly said and leaned down, placing his lips over mine and capturing them in a passionate and deep kiss, even more so than he one he had given me earlier, when I woke up.

I kissed him back after a moment of hesitation, but when I finally gave in, I kissed him back eagerly. I wanted to smell of Acnologia, not Jaaku and the slums. I put my arms around his neck and moved one of my legs, so I had one leg on either side of him and would be able to deepen the kiss.

I stood up on my knees, so I was taller than Acnologia. I was in control of the kiss right now. Acnologia locked his arms around me and pulled me close. This also resulted in him losing balance and falling backwards to the moss-covered floor.

We didn't even break apart to laugh at it, we kept kissing each other deeply and eagerly, only wanting more of each other. We continued kissing until we were out of breath. I fell down and rested on his chest.

I sneaked a peek up at my mate, he was looking down at me as well. "Acnologia?" I called to him.

He raised his head a little and looked down at me. "Ae (yes), what is it Lucy?" He asked with a smile on his lips.

I blushed. What I was about to say was a bit embarrassing. "I…" I trailed off. I closed my eyes, picking myself up, and looked back up at him. "I want you to take it." I told him. There, it was out, I had said it. Now I was blushing so much I probably looked like a tomato.

He lifted himself up on his elbows and looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Take what?" He asked me genuinely confused. Well, I guess my message was a bit cryptic.

I decided it would probably be better to have eye-contact with him, so I pushed myself up and leaned over him, so we were face to face, forcing him down again in the meantime. "Before anyone else takes it…" I whispered, my face burning hotly. I looked at him with a determined look in my eyes. "I want you to take my-" I gulped and gathered the last of my courage. "I-innocence." I whispered embarrassedly and averted my eyes to the ground. This was _so_ embarrassing! I had never experienced anything could exceed my borders as much as this.

I was flipped around with a surprised squeal. Now Acnologia was in control, hovering over me in the air. He looked at me with emotions flashing through his eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lucy?" He asked me. "This isn't something I can give you back, even if I wanted to." He told me.

I nodded. "Ae (yes), I want you to be my first. What happened today made me realize how quickly we could have this moment taken away from us." I told him. I was only a moment away from being raped back there. I raised my head as much as I could and captured his lips in a kiss. "I want you to have all my firsts." I mumbled. I know it was cliché, but the moment just called for it. Besides, it was the truth. I dropped my head to the ground again with a sigh. "Also, I want to get Jaaku's scent away as quickly as I possible. I couldn't find a way better than this one." I told him and smiled.

Acnologia nodded and rested his forehead against mine. "If you're certain about it, then we'll do it." He told me and kissed the edge of my mouth lovingly.

I nodded a little. "If you don't mind…" I whispered and enjoyed the feeling of his lips, which had now moved to my collarbone, where he had placed the mark.

He grunted as some sort of laugh. "Of course I don't. I've been dreaming of this ever since we became mates." He told me straight out. I blushed once again even more than before at his comment. H-he'd wanted to do this all along? Dreaming of it, as he said himself?

Then I would be making it unforgettable for him, for sure.

**Somewhere~**

**Someone's P.O.V**

Three figures came into my room with three men dangling weakly from their grips. The three men were dropped on the ground and the three who held them walked out again.

I looked with disgust at the three of them. They were so horribly weak. I often questioned myself why people like these were even in my guild.

The three slowly came to their feet, with many groans and grunts mixed with it all, and faced me. Then they knelt on the ground with their heads facing the ground. "Master. We apologize for failing our mission to bring Lucy Mau'Te Rongo here. She was stronger than we anticipated." He apologized to me.

I put my elbow on the armrest and rested my head in my hand. "I already knew you three pathetic fools wouldn't be able to take her here. You would be too busy doing unsightly things to her." I snapped at them. "What were you even thinking?! I never asked you to begin raping her! I only told you to bring her here _alive._" I calmed myself down again and sighed. "But I was well aware that you would not be able to bring her here." I told them.

The three looked up at me with surprised expressions. "W-what?" The one in the middle stammered. "Why did you send us then?" He asked.

I slammed my hand down and glared at them. Just how stupid were they? "To measure her strength, of course." I told them. Obviously that was what I had been doing. I needed her to be strong when I got hold of her. If she was anything like her mother, I knew she would agree to do what I was planning to do, or in the very least consider it. "She's already strong enough to relieve a spell slightly with her Water magic. She's growing steadily." I muttered mostly to myself.

The three nodded. "Yes, Master." The agreed.

I looked down at them. "Jaaku, Ryoga, Kaosu. Go fetch Ivan for me, I need to speak with him." I told them and they quickly hurried out.

I needed to discuss the details of legalizing our guild. I knew it would take a while, but I also knew it was possible.

**Oh look at that. We meet the good old Grand Master of all Mysterious Things here again. Surprised it was all his doing? It would seem he somehow knew of Layla too…**

**And probably more importantly, I would seem Acnologia and Lucy became serious. I am sorry if some of you expected a lemon there, but I never intended to write any of that kind of scenes when I started the story, and I still don't. If you want that kind of romance, I'm afraid you're going to have to look somewhere else for it.**

**Well, to be on the safe side, I - with advise from DesolationDeath - decided to put this story on the M ranking. Better safe than sorry, you know.**

**This turned out to be a surprisingly long chapter though… Over 8 600 words. Not bad, definitely not bad. Please, give me some applause or something in your chair XD**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Little Lay Slytherin, Alaina Kuski, Maiannaise, Mayawong, Guest, ExDragon, ButterTARDIS36, clairedamoon, Naluorothing, aristofthemind, Cara KnightWalker, BlyWildcat, Nicole (Guest), dashort12, FairyTail555, julez1225, purplegurl14lusu, mjb379, shadowheartfilia20, Dark Meow Meow Kitten of Doom, Darkverger1, xdtyr8, Lil'OldNarsissticMe, OtakuLover43, Emerillion (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, FairyTailLuvr29, clumzybeans, DesolationDeath, twilightamanda, Musi2k, BustNjust9, Snakequeen2345, tanakaL and all you other wonderful people for reading, reviewing, favoriting and of course following! **

**~ Line464d**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**Okay, so we're back to training again! Only two more chapters, and there'll be no more training! It'll be just after/during Christmas too! Depending on where you're from, of course. It will officially be my (Late?) Christmas present for you guys! Even if you don't have Christmas where you are! XD**

**Thank you to DesolationDeath for helping me with my story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: 'Eeeeyyyyy guys! Slowpoke finally decided to let me get Fairy Tail! - snore-bobble bursts - Wha? Oh.. It was just a dream? Awww….**

**In the cave~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I felt something warm and soft pressed against my bare chest, my arm was holding that warm and soft thing in front of me. I opened my eyes to see the back of a head with beautiful, messy, silver hair. The sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries filled the air around my mate and I.

I pushed myself up on one elbow and brushed some of my angel's hair away, revealing her beautiful, sleeping face. After the… Events of last night, we had both fallen asleep still in our Human forms. I guessed it was only a sign of the progress in our training, that made it so we didn't suddenly change to our Dragons forms while we slept.

Last night… It was as wonderful as I had expected. Absolutely perfect. There was nothing more to say. She was beautiful through it all with a bright, red blush covering her cheeks.

I broke out of my thoughts and pulled Lucy closer. Might as well just wait till she wakes up and enjoy the closeness. I closed my eyes again and soon, I went away into dreamland once again.

**Later at the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I looked down at the ground decorated with the emerald-green grass. Then I looked up at Dravola again. "What, seriously?" I asked her incredulously. "You want me to make a plant grow here? Just out of nothing?" I asked her. She simply nodded in response. "How am I supposed to do that?" I muttered to myself.

Dravola sighed. "**Just like you discovered your other magic, this one will also show up.**" She looked down at me with her hard, brown eyes. "**You just have to actually look for it, girl.**" She told me.

I nodded, still trying to figure out how in the world I was supposed to find this magic. I decided to try to attempt to discover it in an entirely different way. I knelt down and put my hand on the ground, closing my eyes. I focused on the seeds underground, which were sure to be there.

It took a while figuring out how I was supposed to go about doing it, but when I figured it out, I tuned in on the seed, so it was all I could 'see'. I forced myself to send magic into it, so it would grow. At first, nothing happened. I furrowed my eyebrows and sent even more magic into the seed. It slowly broke out of its case and the plant began sprouting upwards, while at the same time also making roots go downwards.

I felt the plant break the surface and materialize above the grass. I opened my eyes and looked at the steadily growing plant. It wasn't anything special, just a simple, green vine growing up from the ground. When it was just about as tall as my ankle, I stopped and turned to Dravola.

I smiled at her and moved away so she could see the little plant I had made. "There. It wasn't so hard when I first found out how to do it." I told her.

She nodded, not even breaking a smile. "**Okay. That was one part of it. Now for the other part of your Earth magic.**" She told me plainly, as if I was supposed to know what she was talking about.

I looked at her with a confused expression. "The other part? What do you mean?" I asked her, while trying to figure out what it was she wanted me to do.

Dravola nodded. "**Ae (yes). There's another aspect to Earth magic. Like with Water magic, which can cure someone of a spell or curse, Earth magic also has another part of it. Even though it isn't anything like with Water magic.**" She explained and kept a little pause. "**Earth magic isn't just about growing plants, Lucy, it is a strong power which makes you able to make the ground tremble and break apart.**" She explained. I felt my eyes widen as she basically told me I could make earthquakes. She looked down at me. "**I actually think the Wizard Saint you met a while ago, Jura Neekis' magic could be compared to the Dragon Earth magic. It's alike in many ways.**" She told me with a thoughtful expression.

WHAT?! I had a magic which looked like one of the great Wizard Saint's? That was too overpowered. Not that I mind though. While I was progressing this new information in my mind, I just stared at Dravola wide-eyed. I shook my head and brought myself out of the trance. "Okay… So now you want me to move around with the ground?" I asked her skeptically. If she agreed to that…

"**Ae (Yes), that's exactly what I want you to do.**" She agreed with a single nod. I sweat dropped. Of course. "**Just start out with something simple, child. I'm not saying you should cause a big earthquake or anything like that.**" She told me reassuringly.

I breathed out and nodded. Okay.. Just like all the other times, I would do this somehow. I knelt down again and went through the same procedure as before, although with the difference that I wasn't just focusing on a single seed, I was focusing on the ground with seeds and rocks included.

This one was more difficult, I already knew that. I found a spot right in front of me and decided to begin pulling it upwards. If I hadn't had the training with Ice magic, I wasn't sure I would be able to pull this off, this ground was even heavier than Ice magic!

But because I had gone through that training, I was stronger, and that was also a key factor in the cause of the ground moving upwards slowly now. I felt the earth slowly begin rising from its spot. So slowly I almost wasn't sure if it was moving or not. I felt small beads of sweat beginning to form on my forehead. This was harder than I had first anticipated.

I pushed the little select piece of earth up and let it come in contact with the air around it. In other words, I pushed it over the height of the grass.

I opened my eyes once again and saw to my happiness that the piece of earth I had chosen to work with, had grown to be taller than the grass around it and was next to the vine I had sprouted just a second ago.

I breathed out with a smile. When you really put your all into it, I guess you could accomplish anything you wished for.

**In the clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"**Acnologia, focus!**" Skyadrum snapped at me. I might not be concentrating as much as I should… The reason shouldn't be a surprise. Besides that, my favorite, personal Dragon of all time was making sure to let his presence be known.

_Mini-Me. You. Are. Pathetic._ That jackass told me. _While I really enjoy this slideshow, you need to pick your ass up and get started._ He told me, while probably looking through my mind as he usually entertained himself with.

I sighed and nodded, closing my eyes and focusing on the shadows around me. What I was about to do… It seemed impossible if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes. Right now, right here, I was supposed to disappear into the shadows and let them swallow me - to use Skyadrum's words.

"**Okay, now just focus on the shadows around you and draw them in. Let them merge with your magic and let the mix pour out of you.**" Skyadrum told me for the 100th time that day. "**It's **_**that**_** simple! Even you should be able to figure it out.**" She told me with a rather bitchy tone.

I ignored her comment in the end and kept focusing. I shouldn't let something like that sway my concentration.

I felt the shadows I was surrounded by and tried pulling at them. At first, they didn't budge, but then they slowly began to move. They crept towards me and were absorbed into me, going directly for my Shadow magic and easily merging with it.

When I felt I was filled with the unfamiliar shadows, I let it and my Shadow magic pour out of me. At some point it completely consumed me and I felt a strange sensation.

The silence was broken by Skyadrum. "**There! You got it, Acnologia!**" She said surprisingly happily. I opened my eyes and found myself being very surprised.

Nothing. Nothing at all had changed. I looked down, but I only saw the shadows of the trees. I raised an eyebrow, which probably didn't even exist. I couldn't even see my own toes. They simply vanished into the shadows.

Somehow Skyadrum still looked directly at me with a wide grin. "**You can use this to sneak up on any Dragon, except Shadow Dragons and the Chaos Head Dragons of course.**" She told me, seeming rather proud of that statement. She gestured towards the forest around us. "**Never mind that, you can move between every shadow here freely, as long as they're connected.**" She looked at me with the same grin on her face. "**In other words, this whole forest is your domain now! You can move and be anywhere you want. It is covered in shadows!**" She said excitedly and with her wings spread wide. She was scaring me a little right now… She looked down at me with an ecstatic expression and pointed at the forest behind me. "**Now go explore the wonders of Shadow magic!**" She said and began laughing in a rather crazy way. She turned around, still laughing, transformed to a Dragon and flew away, still laughing.

I turned around slowly and began… Walking? Well, I moved forward in the direction Skyadrum had pointed to. It felt like I had become some kind of cloud, hovering over the ground soundlessly. I kept moving forward, trying out my new-found ability, now my tutor had flown off.

Suddenly I noticed that my surroundings had turned familiar, quite familiar, actually. I just needed to go a bit further until I reached it…

The field where Lucy trained. Right now, it seemed like she was training with the ugly one and the cat. The cat was standing off to the side watching Ugly and Lucy having a light battle of hand-to hand combat. No magic was involved. Cat-boy would occasionally throw in a comment like 'Keep on your toes Princess', 'Higher!', etc., the ugly one even threw in compliments when she did something right.

I stared at it with widened eyes, had I had eyes… Lucy's training environment was quite different from mine. Mine was tougher and looking at it from here, Metallicana was clearly going easy on her. I doubted he did that with me. I smiled, probably. I was glad she seemed to be so loved by even the ugly one, he didn't seem like he particularly wanted to go around punching and kicking her. Well.. I didn't hope he did that.

I looked at Lucy as she defended against Metallicana's hits and hit back when she got an opening. Her fighting style was surprisingly graceful. It wasn't as brutal as Metallicana's was, for example, it was more in flowing motions, which made it seem like what she was doing was easy as pie.

That wasn't the case, though. I knew she had spent many hours dedicated to training her body up and of course also practicing her close combat fighting. I had lost count how long already. The months seemed to flow together, the weather the only thing being different.

Suddenly, Lucy missed a kick and it connected with her stomach. She flew back in slow motion and I was just about to charge out of the shadows to catch her, when a flaming, golden light appeared behind her. A weirdly dressed man - if you could even call it that - appeared and caught Lucy, with a hand on each of her shoulders. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

The Spirit chuckled lightly. "Why're you in such a rush, Princess?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes. Something told me I wouldn't like this guy. He didn't even release her shoulders. "If you want to be in my arms so much, all you have to do is ask." He told Lucy with a smile. Ae (Yes) I really didn't like the guy.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the Spirit and shook herself out of his grip. "Don't get your hopes up, Fenix." She smiled at the guy. Fenix? So that guy was the Fire Bird? "Thanks for catching me." Lucy thanked the Spirit.

A golden and dark light - don't ask me how that's possible - appeared next to Lucy. A black haired cat girl leaped out of the golden light and caught Lucy in a hug. "Lu-chi! Are you okay? I heard you were attacked!" the girl said near panic and seemed to be checking Lucy for injuries.

Fenix nodded with a face of realization. "Oh right, that was what I came here for…" He adopted a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay?" He asked as well. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. I discerned that idea quickly though. He put an arm around Lucy's shoulder and pulled her close. "If you get sad, you can always summon me, Princess." He told her with a smirk.

My blood was already boiling. Why did Lucy let this guy do that? She was probably too kind to tell them off.

Lucy smiled nervously. "I'm sorry to make you worry Aelu-chi, Fenix. I'm fine, nothing happened." She apologized. She looked alternately at the two. "How did you know, though?" She asked them.

'Aelu-chi' nodded. "That's good to hear!" She smiled. A dark aura fell around her, and her tail switched from side to side. "If they had… I would have beaten them to a pulp!" She reassured Lucy. The aura around the cat girl changed back to its original form. "We came here because Serpus-" She was cut off.

The bird pulled Lucy even closer, much to my dismay. "I was gazing at you from the Spirit World and saw you were attacked, so I went immediately, but when I arrived, a day had passed!" He told her dramatically.

'Gazing at her from the Spirit World', huh? Well, then if he was, he _should_ have come and saved her, he would have had time for that. Besides that, he shouldn't even _be_ 'gazing' at her.

Somehow I knew what to do to release myself from the shadows. I absorbed my magic back into my body and let the nature's shadows back.

Metallicana turned his head and looked at me with surprise. "How long have you been creeping over there Brat?" He asked with a grin. I didn't even look in his direction, right at the moment a certain bird needed to spread its wings. The Iron Dragon whistled. "Ooo..! Someone's mad!" He said rather excitedly.

Neither Lucy nor the two Dragon Spirits had noticed me and didn't before I was less than two meters away from them. Lucy turned, smiled and was probably about to greet me, but I went straight for the bird.

I grabbed the arm he held around Lucy roughly and yanked it away. I moved my hand to his throat and squeezed it lightly, knowing Lucy would never forgive me if I hurt one of her Spirits, this was more of a warning. I glared right into his flame-colored eyes with a glare. "_Don't_ touch my mate so casually, Bird." I threatened him. "You will regret advancing on her any more than you already have." I told him and released my grip on his throat. "You would do well to remember that." I ended off.

I felt familiar warmth from a pair of slender, yet strong arms holding my arm close. I looked down at Lucy, who was looking up at me with a little smile. "That was kind of cool, Acnologia, I'd give you that. But please don't hurt Fenix any more than this, he can't help it." Lucy said.

I sweat dropped. "What do you mean 'kind of'? I thought I was pretty cool." I said with a smile and tilted her head back softly with a hand under her chin. "Don't you think so too?" I asked her and gave her a light kiss.

She smiled teasingly. "If it makes you sleep well at night." She mocked me.

I heard someone making sounds as if gagging. "Urgh, I actually begin to feel bad watching you two love-birds." Metallicana said in mock sickness. Lucy's sweet laugh rang like bells and I couldn't help being affected by her laugh, so I laughed right alongside her.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Dravola turned around and looked at me with her expressionless face. "**That reminds me, I have something to tell you Lucy.**" She said.

I looked up and stopped what I was doing, putting my attention on Dravola fully. "Yeah? What is it?" I asked her, getting curious. What could my practicing control remind her of, which could be so important she felt I should be interrupted, so she could tell me.

She looked down at me. "**Lately, whenever we've heard something about your former guild, it was only about how it has been losing popularity and money.**" She stated. I nodded. Yeah, I'd heard too. I wondered what kind of Fairy Tail I would return to, when the time came for that… "**And so we decided to send someone to keep an eye on them, report back and in worst case protect them if anything came up.**" She told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? But.. Fairy tail doesn't need protection." I told her Fairy Tail always pulled through, always fought and won. That as what characterized Fairy Tail and its members.

Dravola sighed. "**The Fairy Tail you knew from back then doesn't exist. Because their core members 'died', they have lost their will to fight and the remaining members aren't strong either way. So ae (yes), they **_**do**_** need protection.**" She told me.

I nodded slowly. It was hard to understand, actually. For Fairy Tail to lose their will to fight. It was unrealistic in my eyes. But I guess… Natsu always seemed to be the one pulling everyone with him and pumped the will to fight to its maximum. That and their strength left with the core members… I guess it wasn't so unrealistic after all.

I looked up at Dravola with a half-smile. "Okay, I see you point." I agreed. "Who did you send?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Dravola nodded. "**She's one of the Shadow Dragons and goes by the codename Line-464.**" Dravola told me. "**We have a division here in the Dragon Realm, where we have this kind of… Agents, you could say, who goes out and scouts in Earthland whenever some trouble arises. Especially if it is about us Dragons, they'll be the ones we send.**" Dravola explained. "**They're usually Shadow Dragons, because they're the most qualified for the tasks they'll be put up to, which is mainly infiltration of some kind.**" She told me.

I looked at her with widened eyes. "Say what?" I asked her incredulously. "Are you telling me you have some sort of organization with agents?" I asked her. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"**Because it is supposed to be kept a secret, child.**" Dravola said. "**464, as we usually call her, will infiltrate Fairy Tail and act as one of them.**" Dravola explained expressionlessly.

I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Basically you're telling me she'll be joining Fairy Tail?" I asked just as incredulously.

Dravola nodded. "**Ae (Yes), that's exactly what I'm saying.**" She confirmed. "**She'll be watching out for Fairy Tail and report back to us if something unusual happens.**" Dravola told me.

Alright… This was definitely interesting.

**In Magnolia, Earthland~**

**Line-464's P.O.V**

What was this? I was told I was supposed to go to a big building with a Dragon-like logo, but this was just and old, worn out windmill with a few decorations here and there.

No matter. My work was simply to infiltrate this 'guild' and report back to the Head whenever something unusual occurred.

I began walking towards the entrance, when a little boy stormed out with a determined expression. An old man came running after him. "Romeo! Come back here!" He yelled, but the boy, Romeo apparently, kept running. The old man stopped up when he spotted me. "Oh, I haven't seen you before, can I help you with something?" He asked me with a kind, but worn out smile. I wondered if he was the same age as this ancient windmill.

I nodded. "Yes, I have come to join Fairy Tail." I told him plainly. Not saying 'Ae' (Yes), wasn't as hard for me as it was for many others. I had infiltrated Earthland more than once after all.

The man looked at me with a shocked expression. "What? Really?" He asked. I nodded. "Well come in, come in." The man said and gestured for the door. Inside was… So silent. You could cut the tense atmosphere with a spoon. "Kinana! Get the stamp, we've got a new member!" He told a purple haired maid, who quickly went into the back to get something. The old man turned to me and held his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Macao Conbolt, I'm the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail, it's a pleasure to have you with us miss…?" He asked.

Shit. I had to make up a name now… What should it be? Something ordinary… "Akane." I told him. "Akane Atarangi." I took his hand and shook it.

He smiled like an old grandpa. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Akane." He greeted me.

I knew, just by the look of everything, this would be some dull years.

**My half-Beta DesolationDeath gave me the idea to add myself to the story, so credits to him. What did'cha think?**

**And the face-off between our favorite Chaos Dragon and the Fire Bird has finally been settled too. Hope it's satisfactory! ^_^**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Anomnomnomnom, Meadow Melody, Maiannaise, Kimboslice98, clumzybeans, ExDragon, mjb379, Nicole (Guest), clairedamoon, Gaia'sRevenge4life, Guest, anime-fan72, FT LOVER (Guest), Deneja, aristofthemind, Darkverger1, Alaina Kuski, twilightamanda, WCDragonS. , ButterTARDIS36, BustNjust9, Rainbow Bullet, Etric, FairyTailLuvr29, ShioriErz, Sherlock'sScarf17, Little Lady Slytherin, fairychime-diamond47, Kkat999 and all you other favoriters, followers, reviewers and of course readers! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**~ Line464d**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

**Okay, second last training chapter, guys! Only one more! AND WE REACHED 600 REVIEWS GUYS! Thank you SO much!**

**Thank you to DesolationDeath for helping me with my story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke has been ignoring me and my wishes to own Fairy Tail, I'm still waiting patiently for his reply**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I had already been training and practicing for months and months again with my Earth magic, and that was both sides to it. I had long since gotten control of it. Now I could make thick vines and mighty trees whenever I'd wish for it, but with the limit of my own magic capacity. I could make the earth tremble, but not break, and I could make it rise or fall at my bidding. But it took some time, it wasn't just from one moment to the other.

Besides that, I had also mastered the first three basic moves and the special one too. Actually, there were six basics and two specials, because basically I was learning two different magic at once. That also resulted in getting control over them took way longer than with the other magic.

Back to topic though, the special spell for the plant-part of my Dragon magic was "Oene Tarakona's Heu" (Earth Dragon's Razors). What it did was sending a torrent of razor-sharp leaves at the target. They cut stones like it was butter.

The special spell for the more ground-related part was 'Oene Tarakona's Pou' (Earth Dragon's Pillars), which made pillars and likewise much easier to create and control. They could reach much higher heights and hit much harder.

Acnologia had gotten his Shadow Transformation, as he preferred to call it, under control and mastered it completely. Apparently, he was supposed to unlock his full Shadow magic today. He told me Skyadrum was a little hard on him sometimes, that didn't surprise me. He wasn't the only one though, Dravola wasn't gentle either.

Now I was trying to find my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for both sides of my Earth magic. I had found out why Glanasile did as he did… "**Lucy, feel the magic in the earth around you. Pull it in and mix it with your own. Find the words inside you and utter them as you let all the magic out of your system at once.**" Dravola told me.

I sweat dropped. So Glanasile wanted to be like Dravola? Was that it? I doubted it was the other way around, so it had to. Oh, Glanasile, Glanasile, Glanasile… You have a long way to go~

I nodded, but decided I would do it the same way I did with Glanasile. Completely disobey orders and just do it. So I closed my eyes and called my magic forth. When I felt it ready at my disposal, I summoned a more and more and more. And more, of course. So much I knew it was definitely enough for a Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).

I let it all burst out of me in an inferno of magic as I opened my eyes. Vines grew from the ground and thick trees writhed around each other, going up in swirls. The land rose as well or made deep craters, destroying the once beautiful field.

But no words left my mouth.

I widened my eyes. W-what had I done? I had destroyed this place… Now it looked like it had been exposed to radioactivity or something. It looked like it was from another dimension altogether.

I heard someone sigh behind me, and just knew it was Dravola. "**Well, I figured it would end out like this..**" She admitted. I turned around and looked quizzically at her. How did she know? As far as I knew she couldn't see the future. Actually… Thinking about it, it wouldn't surprise me if she could… She looked down at me with a hard expression in her eyes. "**Even though Glanasile told you to feel the nature and the ice around you, just like you should now, you didn't. Somehow you still found your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), so we let it slide.**" She told me. My eyes widened again. They knew? "**I believe it's because Ice magic isn't as dependent on nature, but Earth magic is. So you have to use the magic in the earth too, you can't just use your own.**" She scolded me. Well, it felt like she did.

I nodded and looked down shamefully. "Ae (Yes) Dravola, I'm sorry." I apologized.

Dravola looked me up from down. "**Well, besides that, they're separate, the two Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), one for each side of the Earth magic.**" She told me. I face palmed internally. Honestly, why hadn't I figured that out faster? Damn I was slow… Everything else was separated as well, why wouldn't this be too? Dravola walked past me and looked at the field all around us. "**Well, I guess I'd better fix this..**" She muttered.

Suddenly, I felt a strong feeling of magic close by, and when I looked up, I saw the feeling of a strong magic oozed from Dravola. She had closed eyes and seemed to be focusing. You could literally see the magic in a green aura around her.

The pressure of her magic skyrocketed in a sudden burst. Dravola's magic visibly flowed calmly through her feet and down into the ground. The magic moved in transparent, but still visible, waves through the ground and up the plants and the risen or lowered ground. The nature reverted back to its original state slowly, as she continued letting out her magic.

It looked unbelievably amazing as the plants and ground shone a faint green before moving slowly back to what it originally was.

I looked up at Dravola again. The magical aura around her shone brighter than before, while the magical pressure hadn't changed. The green magic flowed off of her in big waves, amplifying the speed the nature retracted back.

It didn't take long before the field had returned to how I remembered it, even the emerald grass had grown back. Dravola looked at me over her shoulder. "**You will be able to do this too, when you've unlocked your full power with you Dragon, child.**" She told me and went back to sit next to Alodiculis again.

Alodiculis sweat dropped. "**Well, Dravola, you know she won't be able to master it as well as you have.**" He said. I turned around and glared at him. Why would a sensei say something like that to his student? They wouldn't, because it would dampen the pupil's spirit, which was to be avoided. Alodiculis didn't seem to mind my glare though. "**After all, you've dedicated your whole life to your Earth magic, so much so I doubt anyone else would do the same.**" Alodiculis said and thereby explained what he was thinking when he said the very discouraging comment before.

So that was how it all hung together… Dravola, who was over 400 years old, had used all this time to use her magic and get to know it in ways I wouldn't. That was amazing. Then it didn't surprise me with the amount of skill she showe just before. She had an advantage of 400 years on me, I wouldn't catch up to that, I didn't think I would be able to put myself together to practice my Earth magic, or any magic at all, to that length.

Dravola sighed. "**I-it's not all that amazing.**" She said. I and Alodiculis both looked at Dravola with beyond surprised expressions. S-she had _stammered_! Dravola doesn't stammer, like… Ever. Dravola sighed again and looked at me with her usual hard expression. "**Now, Lucy. Find your Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).**" She said and lay down, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the sun's rays on her scales. Alodiculis and I shared a grin. We had just witnessed a rare, golden moment, which we were likely never to witness again.

Okay, this time I had to do as Dravola had told me to. Feel the nature and its magic, pull the magic into me and mix with my own and then let them both out. Seemed fairly simple in theory. I hoped it was easy in practice too.

I closed my eyes and focused on trying to feel the nature, just as Dravola had told me to. I searched for the magic in the earth, just as I started with doing, when I learned the basic spells for my Earth magic long ago.

The one of the sides I had the easiest getting under control and using was the plant-side, so I started with looking for the magic related to the plants, to find that Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) first.

It didn't take long to find the magic I was searching for as I had already practiced doing that many times. I pulled it out of the ground and into myself, letting it mix with my own magic. I kept pulling magic in until I couldn't harbor any more.

Right. I would do this for sure! I shot my eyes open and glared at the ground in front of me. I chose my target to be a rock in the middle of the field as I focused on it. Like so many other times, the words I was supposed to use popped up in my mind. "Oene Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Ururua O Medeina!" (Earth Dragon's Secret Art: Overgrowth of Medeina) I said loudly as I let my magic burst out.

Just like my magic, vines burst through the ground and up in the air, where it swung from side to side, as if dancing. Then they shot out at a high speed and towards the rock. They hit spot on and the rock exploded in small pieces everywhere.

I heard the sound of a tail thumping the ground behind me and looked back to see Dravola and Alodiculis looking at me. Alodiculis with a smile and Dravola with an expressionless face, as always. Alodiculis nodded. "**Well done, Lucy!**" He praised me happily.

Before I got the chance to respond, Dravola got to her feet. **"****That Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) is rather rare, child.**" She told me. "**When you've picked out a target, it'll pursue it until it hits, with no exceptions.**" She explained. "**Well, it's getting late. ****We'll continue looking for the other Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) at the end of the day.**" She said and took off, flying away.

I looked after her as she flew, sighing. She would never change, would she? I waved goodbye to Alodiculis as he too took off.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The Spirit King nodded. "**Yeah, go off with you and open the Gate of that Fire Bird.**" He told me with a wide smile.

I smiled and nodded in return. At the moment, I was about to open Fenix' Gate in the Celestial star. I hadn't talked with him since the incident with Acnologia, so in a way, I was kind of looking forward to seeing how he would react when I called him out there.

I closed my eyes shortly so I could go to my mind, where I could enter the star. I ended up in the dark abyss as I expected. The Celestial star shone bright as ever, and I believe the Fairy Tail logo wasn't far behind. Although, the Celestial star still outshone the silver insignia.

I walked through the star and ended up in the starry place. As per usual, the meteor went its course on the night sky and created the symbol for the Phoenix constellation of the Dragon Realm. The golden key flew to me and landed in my open hands.

I held the key in one hand in the air. "Open Gate of the Fire Bird." I told the nothingness, as I let the fewer memories, but just as precious as any. I looked them through from start till end and relived them all as I did so. "Phoenix!" I said loudly.

The key began warming up and a golden light - including the usual flames, which were burning faintly - appeared in front of me. Gradually, as the light became brighter - and the flames along with it - the key got warmer and warmer at an alarming rate. In the end it was so hot it just about burned my hand, I grunted as I resisted the heat. But I had to keep on, or else I would lose what I had built up until now.

Just as I was about to scream out and release the key, not being able to take the pain any longer, the Fire Bird appeared out of the light and flames. When I saw he was here, I fell to my knees as I dropped the key and grabbed my now injured hand's wrist. I looked down at the hand I had held the key in. It was burnt and the skin was an angry red.

Fenix' seemed to notice me, and looked down at me. "Oh, te áheitanga katoa (hello) Princess. What are you-" He began a sentence but cut himself off. He quickly kneeled in front of me and pried the 'good' hand away from the 'bad' one's wrist and grabbed it himself. He looked at me with a horrified expression. "What happened? Why is your hand burnt?" He asked worriedly.

I shook my head. "I'm alright, it's nothing." I told him off. I didn't want him to be feeling bad because his key burned me, when _I_ decided to call him out.

He shook his head. "Káo (no), it's not okay, you're clearly hurting Princess!" He told me. And right as he were, my hand _was_ throbbing painfully at the moment. He first now realized where we were as he looked around, then at the key lying on the floor. "Don't tell me…" He muttered lowly.

I looked at him through my silver bangs. "It's nothing, Fenix. It was my choice to call you out here. It had to be done at some point either way." I reassured him and straightened my back, so I was more convincing. "I promise, it's not all that bad." I told him.

He looked at me with an expression that told me he didn't quite believe what I was saying. He decided to try once again. "Lucy, you've burnt your hand, you're not okay." He insisted.

I sighed. "Okay, it hurts a little, but it will disappear as soon as I return to the Dragon Realm." I told him in a last try.

He looked at me with a sudden hope lighting up in his eyes. "Really?" He asked. I nodded. He smiled widely. "Well, then. All you need to know is what changed, right?" I nodded again. "Well, I'm stronger, just like everyone else, but I can also transform to a _real_ Phoenix." He told me. I widened my eyes. What? So he could be a bird now? He nodded. "Ae (Yes) I can be a bird, a big bird. Now go back to the Dragon Realm." He ordered me and disappeared in a flash of gold and flames.

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright, Mr. Bird." I muttered and closed my eyes, returning to the Dragon Realm, where my hand wouldn't throb in pain.

**In the clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V **

I looked up at Skyadrum. "Do I really have to?" I asked her. I was only a second away from falling to my knees and beg, but my pride as a man and a Head Dragon kept me back.

She nodded. "**Ae (Yes). You do**." She told me exasperatedly. She looked down at me with a rather annoyed expression. "**You know that is you don't do this, then you won't progress any further.**" She said.

I sighed and nodded in defeat. I knew. I knew I had to go to my Dragon an unlock the full capacity of my Shadow magic, I wouldn't be able to go any further with my Shadow magic, and I would need to do that.

I closed my eyes and sent myself to the place in the Dragon Realm I despised the most. I opened my face and looked right up into my own. "**What took you so long, Mini-Me? Here I was waiting **_**eagerly**_** for your return and then you keep me waiting for so long? Oh you little bad boy.**" My Dragon mocked me.

I glared at him. "Very funny Jackass." I 'praised' him. I didn't back down as we glared right into each other's eyes. I wouldn't lose this little battle of dominance, not to him. "Would you just get on with it already?" I snarled at him.

He smirked. "**Right, right, Mini-Me.**" He said amusedly. He thumped his tail on the ground twice and the usual mark in a pitch-black color appeared. He moved his head away from me, but kept looking into my eyes. "**Go on then, go and be beaten down.**" He told me happily.

I glared at him and kept looking into his eyes as I went towards the pitch-black mark. When I stood right in front of it, the Dragon finally averted his eyes and looked forward, cracking his neck as if it had been uncomfortable turning his head all the way around like that. I looked straight forward at the mark. It seemed like the shadows were oozing off the mark.

Remembering what happened when I unlocked my Iron magic, I first touched it with my hand, when it passed through as it was supposed to, I entered it and passed through.

For once, the blinding light didn't appear, all there was, was blackness. And that didn't change even after I knew I wasn't travelling through the portal. It kept being jet black no matter where I looked. I blinked a few times, but still, nothing happened.

Maybe I could light it up? I made a ball with my Fire magic and let it hover above my hand. But it was too dark for even that to have any effect whatsoever. It was dark and it remained dark, no matter how much Fire I produced.

I groaned. "What are you up to now, asshole?" I asked the Dragon I knew was watching me amusedly.

As usual, he was having a blast, you could hear it in his voice when he spoke. _Not used to the dark, are we?_ He asked mockingly. I waited patiently for him to continue. The Dragon laughed again. _Well, then Mini-Me. This one'll be different from the other times, as I'm sure you noticed._ The Dragon said sounding _very _bored. _You'll have to fight off my creation, which is already with you now, without using you sight._ The Dragon explained.

I looked around. What? My opponent was already here? How was I supposed to fight something I couldn't see? That was impossible, I couldn't do that. You can't fight without being able to see your foe. "I can't fight without being able to see who I'm fighting! It's impossible!" I yelled at him.

My Dragon snarled at me, much to my surprise. _Of course you can! You have to! Use your goddamn senses, idiot!_ He growled and calmed down. _Looks can be deceiving. Don't ever forget that. But hearing, smelling, feeling. They never betray you. _He told me, changing character completely. I realized he was actually giving me a lesson, an important lesson at that too. _People may play tricks with your sight and what you see, they might even make you hear things. But they can never make you smell things that aren't there or feel things that can't be felt. They can play with your head, but not your senses._ He told me. I stayed silent, wondering how in the world that Jackass I knew suddenly changed to sound almost wise. How could a person - or Dragon - change his character and personality so fast and so much. _Mini-Me, if you want to survive in this world and in the future, you will need to fight without relying on your sight. _He told me.

I nodded. His explanation made a lot of sense, it really did. But I still couldn't see how I was supposed to fight without seeing. I looked around, but I still couldn't find the creation my Dragon had created.

My Dragon sighed exasperatedly. _Mini-Me. You're stupid, very stupid. _He told me matter-of-factly. _You have to _feel_ the shadows. _Hear _my creation. _Smell_ its presence. You have to be able to do all this in order to beat it._ He told me.

I looked down. Well, he wouldn't budge, that much was clear. I would have to focus. Now more than ever before.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply and slowly. I opened my eyes again, but tuned in on my hearing. I knew that creation of his didn't move right now, so it wouldn't make any sounds. But I could smell it. Its scent wasn't comparable to anything I had smelled before, it was dark. Somehow, the scent was dark. That was all I could say.

He was a few meters in front of me, standing completely still. I looked in the direction where I knew he was standing, but I couldn't see him. I crouched. Now I could smell him, I could fight him.

Just as with any other of my Dragon's creations, it wouldn't move until I did. So I charged the man with my fist held high. I breathed in once again to be sure he hadn't moved from his spot. He hadn't, luckily, so I sped up and got ready.

When I knew I was close to where the man stood, I jumped up and struck down with my fist, aiming for the spot where I could smell the man was. I kept going down, I kept on a little too far. I hadn't hit him. Why hadn't I? I had smelled he would be right here, why hadn't I-

I was cut off, when I felt something strikingly similar to an elbow hitting my back and slamming me down on the black ground. I hit the ground with a grunt. I quickly got on my feet and put some distance between me and where I had been smacked down.

My back throbbed a little in pain, but then stopped. I glared at the darkness in front of me. He hadn't hit me hard, only just enough to knock me down. He was playing with me.

I wasn't fast enough, that was what I did wrong. I was too slow, I needed to be faster. I closed my eyes and inhaled air through my nose, once again trying to smell where the Shadow man was. I found him a little to my right.

I opened my eyes and turned to his direction. Still, I couldn't see him. I would try again, speed up, run faster and hit him. So I did as I had decided and ran as fast as my legs allowed me to. I ran all the way to the Shadow man, so close I stopped up suddenly and spun, sticking my foot out, aiming to hit the side of the Shadow man's head

My foot was stopped by a single, cold hand before it hit. I felt my other foot lose ground and I fell back on my back with yet another grunt. The Shadow man released the foot he held and let it drop to the ground. I could hear him step back and away.

I got to my feet and backed away once again. Maybe I wasn't fast enough? Or could he guess my moves, was I too obvious? That was probably it, I was too obvious in the way I moved about. I showed the enemy what I would do even before I had done it.

This time… I would run up to him and do whatever came to mind. I wouldn't have a plan beforehand; I would just go on pure instinct.

So, going with that plan, I once again sniffed out the Shadow man and quickly charged at him. For the third time already. When I knew he was in range, I began delivering punches and kicks. None of them hit. Some were blocked, others didn't even graze him. In the end, he pushed me away with a punch to the gut.

This didn't work out. I hadn't even landed a single hit on him yet, and all he had done was knocking me around. I had to figure out what to do, this couldn't continue.

My Dragon laughed at me. _Idiot! You're still relying on sight!_ He mocked me amusedly. _Besides, smell is only good to track something and figuring out where it is _at the moment_. My creations move, Mini-Me, they don't stand still. You can't use your smelling for much here. It won't track its movements._ He told me.

I growled. I knew that already. But what was I supposed to do? I could hear it and smell them. I couldn't see it. How was I supposed to figure out where it would hit me? What was the last thing he mentioned? Hearing, smelling and…

Feeling. Feeling and sensing. I had to figure out where the Shadow man was and what he would do by feeling the shadows around me. Skyadrum had taught me this, to feel the shadows around me and what moved in them.

I could pin-point him easily with smelling, then I would just as easily feel him with my shadow magic. I was using my eyes too much too? Then the simple solution would be to just close my eyes.

So I closed my eyes. I sniffed the Shadow creation out once again and I quickly found him in front of me, but a little away. Then I focused on the Shadow world I had entered. I tuned in on the place where I knew the Shadow man was and I felt him. Felt everything about him, every little twitch.

I nodded silently to myself. Now I could do it. I could defeat him and I would defeat him.

I once again charged at him, this time more aware of him and how he moved. I had my fist held high, just as I had started out. I chose to not leap into the air this time, not wanting to copy earlier moves completely.

I ran up close to him and began lashing out with my fist. I let it shoot forward, aiming for the Shadow man's stomach. I felt him twisting to the side to dodge me, so I quickly spun around with my foot out and my foot connected with his stomach. The Shadow man took a step back from the hit and then another, with an arm over his stomach and his back bent, as if he could actually be hurting.

I landed safely on the ground with the other foot falling back as I ended in a crouched stance. This way I could also easily pounce on him again.

I jumped into the air and struck down at him, while he was still trying to catch his 'breath', I jabbed my fist forward when I had him in my range and hit his back where he had hit me earlier, although not with an elbow like he had.

I pushed off from him, which in return made him collapse with the added weight. I landed gently on my feet and stared down into the darkness, where the Shadow man was.

I knew he wasn't done yet, he still had a lot to go on, he was stronger than that. I let him rise to his feet and stand facing me again.

This time I wasn't the one to charge, he was. Which was unusual. None of the others did that. Anyhow, I felt his feet pound on the shadowy ground and knew exactly where he was.

He seemed to be copying me, with a fist held high, ready to strike. The only way I could think of to keep him away right here and now was to kick him somehow. And there was one kick above them all I preferred the most, so when he was in my ranged. I jabbed my foot out in a powerful roundhouse kick, which hit him right underneath his chin and sent him flying upwards. I even felt the recoil going all the way down from my foot and to the end of my leg.

I took one step to build some kind of speed, then shot off from the ground in a jump much higher than the ones I had jumped earlier. I soared high in the air above my opponent, made a somersault, sticking my foot out as I spun around, and landing a vigorous hit in his stomach, making him shoot down into the ground underneath.

I felt the crash in the shadows when he landed, he wouldn't get up after this. I landed with my knees bent and one hand on the ground to steady myself. I finally opened my eyes and looked at the place where I could feel the Shadow man lying. Slowly, just like with all the other, I felt him vanish into thin air.

I got on my feet once again and looked up at the 'sky'. "There! Let me out now!" I yelled at the Dragon, panting a little in exhaustion. While the fight was short, it wasn't easy. It was surprisingly exhausting actually.

_Sure, just go through the portal._ He told me. I narrowed my eyes. He was unusually bored with this. I ignored his weirdness and looked around after the portal. I couldn't see it anywhere around me. I was just about to ask where it was, when my Dragon broke out roaring in laughter. _When you find it that is. _He said amusedly.

I growled under my breath. "Oh you…!" I growled at the Jackass. He had made the portal all black on purpose, so I wouldn't be able to see it. Well, fine then, I would just use my other senses, as he had just taught me.

He laughed once again. _Well, you know. Funny thing about this portal is that you can't see it, as it blends in with the surroundings. You can't hear it, because it doesn't make a sound. You can't smell it, because it doesn't have a scent. And you can't feel it, because the magic in it is the same as the one in the room around you._ He mocked me while laughing his ass off.

I would kill that guy one day. I would kill him for sure.

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I opened my eyes and saw I had returned to the Dragon Realm. I looked down at my palm, which had been a burning red just a second ago. Now, just as expected, there was nothing to see.

"**So, how did it go, Lucy?**" The Spirit King asked. I looked up at him. He was sitting on the ground with crossed legs, not at all looking like the King of the Spirits.

I beamed up at him. "It went good!" I told him happily. "Did you know Fenix could actually transform to a Phoenix?" I asked him rhetorically. Before he even got the chance to reply, I pulled out the Fire Bird's key from the pouch. "Open Gate of the Fire Bird! Phoenix!" I said loudly and swiped down with the key.

A golden light with flames appeared and summoned Fenix. He looked around to figure out where he was, then spotted me holding the key in the hand which was burnt before. He rushed to my side and grabbed my wrist once again and pulling the key out of my grip. He looked down at the perfectly normal hand then back at me. "Don't do that again, Princess. Please don't." He begged me.

I nodded with a smile. "Sure! Next time I'll let you get burnt!" I told him happily. Now, it wasn't because I was as sadist I said this. Káo (no), it was as simple as just being because he couldn't burn as a _Fire _Bird.

He laughed and nodded. "That's fine with me." He agreed. "Why did you summon me, though?" He asked. He looked like he already knew the answer.

I smiled at him. "I think you already know." I told him. He just grinned. "Please show me~" I begged him. I really wanted to see this Bird form of his.

He grinned. "If that is what you wish, Princess." He said and bowed in a mocking way. He erupted into flames for a split second and instead of a man, stood a red bird proudly on its two feet.

He reached just above my waist in height, standing up. His feathers were the same as the ones he had as a 'human'. A burning red color fading to a dark orange. He had a long, pointy beak in a bright, orange color, the same color as his feet as a bird. He had three long tail-feathers, sticking up into the air. I just got to see his wings when he played with his feathers under one of them, as birds always do. They were longer than me, with my hands above my head. In other words, _very_ long. At the back of his head, a few feathers stuck out, making it look like some kind of hair. He had kept his burning eyes, but now with a smaller iris. When he moved around, his feathers seemed to be on fire.

He skipped towards me and looked up at me with what could be called a smile. "What do you think, Princess?" He squawked.

I almost laughed at how high his voice suddenly had become, instead of his usual, deep voice, but kept it reigned in for his pride's sake. "I think you look awesome." I reassured him.

This seemed to make him proud and he blew his chest up and stood tall as an eagle. His three back-feathers strutted up in the air and he made sure his wings sat as they should. I giggled a little at him. It was kind of cute of him.

He spread his wings widely, showing off their amazing size. He sent me a last look, then took off into the air and showed me what he could do in the sky.

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

After Fenix was done showing off his skills at flying, he had left to go back to the Spirit World and thanked me for the opportunity to finally use that form once again. Apparently it had been several decades since he had used it last.

It was a while ago, though. Now I was practicing both of my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). Ae (yes), _both_. It didn't take long to find the other one when I had already discovered the first. Funny thing was, they were very similar.

I lifted my hands in a swoop. "Oene Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Matakoma Whenua O Medeina!" (Earth Dragon's Secret Art: Bulging Land of Medeina) I said loudly as pillars rose from the ground and quickly hit the wooden target I had picked out.

Yeah, they were that alike. Exactly the same, except one being plants and the other ground. They would both pursue the target until they hit.

Now all I had to do was practice them so much it wasn't necessary to use as much of the ground's magic as I did at the moment.

**Okay then, this turned out to be a bit of a longer chapter. Be proud of me, why don'cha?**

**I imagine Phoenix in his bird form to look a little like Swellow from Pokémon, just red, longer beak, three tail-feathers not two, and bigger wings as well. Okay… Maybe I was inspired by Swellow at first sight… But I it changed a lot, I realize. **

**Anyway, Medeina or Medeiné is a goddess of the Lithuanian mythology. Her name was made from the words tree and forest in Lithuanian (Medis - tree and medé - forest). She is the ruler of forests, trees and animals. Yeah, I never her of her and thought it would be interesting to add her for no reason at all. **

**TRANSLATIONS:  
****'Ururua' means 'Overgrowth', 'Matakoma' means 'bulge' ('Bulging' only gave me a single 'î', and I wanted a longer word, so… I was a little creative), 'Whenua' means 'Land' and 'Oene' means 'Earth', of course. **

**Thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, ButterTARDIS36, Maiannaise, Alaina Kuski, mjb379, Nicole (Guest), clumzybeans, aristofthemind, ExDragon, OtakuLover43, Konan15, BecauseIamSoBored, twilightamanda, LumiMies95, Person (Guest), JassiRabbit, Little Lady Slytherin, koffeejinx, Darkverger1, BustNjust9, Emerillion (Guest), FairyTailNaluFan and all you other people out there! You. Are. AMAZING! If no one else tells you, I will! Over and over again~ **

**~Line464d**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! - although you might, like me, have had it yesterday. Or maybe you will have it tomorrow? Or not at all, of course. Merry Christmas to you guys too! This is my present to you!**

**I realized, that these training chapter really are too boring :/. So basically, I'm going to skip it all, and then in chapter 40 make a big flashback of the most important events, like meeting new Spirits and things like that. Is that acceptable? **

**Well, it also means I'll go back to the regular one chapter a week schedule, because they will probably be longer and more exciting too. All this twice a week is a little tiring ^_^" **

**Thank you to DesolationDeath for helping me with my story! - and telling me training is a bore. This probably makes everything more fun. **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaim: So.. Dearest Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail. There's not much to do, he's simply too slow to understand what I'm asking him and what a good idea it would be. Such a shame.**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"Well, girls, I think it's time for me to get dressed. Dravola will be here in a minute with Alodiculis, and she _hates _to wait." I told them. Dravola truly despised to wait, more than anything in the world.

I got up from the river and went to my clothes, which I had brought with me. I knelt down to pick up my clothes, when I saw something I had not put there. I smiled. I had gotten a new friend.

I picked up the golden object which lay on top of my clothes. It was almost completely round at the top, but with two points sticking out at either side. These two were completely black. Down to the end of the key, it zigzagged like the common picture of lightning.

So it was Consectetuer, the Flash Spirit of Lightning. I wondered what he was like. Arrogant like Laxus or maybe lazy as Simakan? Probably - and hopefully - something else.

I lay it to the side and put on my clothes, while I waved goodbye to the three ladies as they flew away. I picked up the key and held it in my hand as I crossed the river once again. I used my Earth magic to make plants grow from the river bank to the other and stuck close, creating a sort of bridge.

I sat down in the grass and looked at the key for a second before saying the words. "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now!" I swiped the key down as I always did when I summoned my Spirits. "O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!" I called, using my magic to summon this new friend of mine.

A golden light accompanied with the sound of thunder appeared in front of me, it had a faint hint of yellow mixed in with it.

Out of it came a man. A surprisingly low man, I don't think he was much taller than me. He was skinny, but still in a handsome way. His hair was a golden brown color spiked out just a little in the back. He had long bangs just barely avoiding his bright, almost neon blue eyes. He wore a long black coat with white edges and a high collar, reaching above his ears. There was a belt hanging loosely around his waist. He wore a smudged yellow shirt under the coat; it almost looked like it was some kind of green, and black jeans. What surprised me the most with his appearance though, was that in his leather-gloved grip, there was a black and white edged scythe, its blade zigzagged the same way the key did. The long handle on it seemed to be creating small lightning, whenever two of the four wires, which hung loosely from the top, came too close to each other.

He swung his scythe over his shoulder and looked at me with a smirk. "Ah, so you're my new Mistress?" He asked. I couldn't determine if he was disappointed or what he was. He took a few steps forward towards me. "What's your name, Mistress? Mine's Consectetuer, the Flash, and user of Lightning magic." He informed me. Just like with many other of my Spirits, he didn't seem to be feeling natural with this kind of formalities.

I smiled up at him. "Ae (yes), I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo. Please call me something else than 'Mistress' or 'Master', I see us as equals, friends." I told him.

His face brightened up into an even wider grin. "Oh! Don't tell me you're the new Summoner the Bird and the Cat has been talking about? Yeah, even the Snake too!" He asked rather excitedly.

I nodded a little flustered. Had they told all the other Dragon keys? "Y-yeah, that would be me." I confirmed. I looked down on the ground and fiddled with my hands nervously. I hoped Serpus and the others hadn't said any bad things. Like… How I was beaten up by three weak mages.

I felt an arm resting around my shoulder and looked up to see it was Consectetuer's. He smirked down at me with that intimidating scythe of his, resting relaxed against his shoulder and behind him. I couldn't help eyeing it, afraid he would clumsily forget it and cut me.

He grinned widely. "Then I will call you Princess too." He told me. He released the scythe, much to my horror, and stuck his hand out for a shake. "You can just call me Flash!" He told me with that wide grin of his.

I slowly and carefully took his hand and shook it. "Alright. It's a pleasure to have you with me, Flash." I told him, trying to be as relaxed as I could be. I glanced at the scythe once again.

This time Flash noticed. He looked back the way I did and realized it was his scythe I was looking at. He looked back at me with a smirk. He released my hand and grabbed his scythe, held it away from his shoulder and revealing its length.

It wasn't visible when he let it rest over his shoulder as he had done until now, but now it was out in the bright daylight, it was obvious. The scythe was just as long as he was tall, even when it stood on the ground. The blade too was long, the size of his arm at least, probably longer.

He twirled the murderous weapon around. "Is it this one you're afraid of, Princess?" He asked. I nodded against my will. I didn't want to be afraid of a weapon, a single weapon, not after all this time and training. Two of the wires came too close to each other and repelled each other with a burst of blue lightning. Which, by the way, made me cringe noticeably. Flash leaned forward towards me with a grin, holding the scythe still. "This thing-" He spun the scythe so it was pointing at me. "Is here to protect you, Princess, not hurt you." He told me and leaned back.

I nodded again. "Y-yeah. I k-know." I admitted. He was my Spirit and he was not allowed to hurt me in any way, not even if it was coincidental.

I guess I just found out, I'm rather afraid of lightning and scythes. Especially if they're mixed. I never liked it when there was thunder as a child, but I wasn't afraid like that. I wasn't really scared. I wonder what made it like that now.

Wait… I might have an idea. Maybe during the Fantasia Event, when Laxus made that Thunder Palace.. Maybe, because I took down one of those lightning balls, I subconsciously became afraid of it. That was probably it.

I saw a hand waving right in front of my face and flinched in shock. I had been too caught up in my own world to hear what Flash had just said. "Hey, Princess. Are you still here?" He asked and grinned when he saw I was back. "Where did you go?" He asked in a lightly teasing way.

I shook my head lightly and smiled at him. "Sorry, I spaced off." I apologized. "So… When can I summon you? Are there any times where you don't want to be summoned?" I asked him to change the subject.

He faked looking thoughtful with his thumb and index finger brushing his chin. "Hmm, let me see…" He looked down at me with yet another grin. "I don't have any plans, things aren't as lively for us Dragon keys, so you can call me whenever you feel like it." He told me.

I guess that was true, not many owned a Dragon key, not even the Celestial Dragons here in the Dragon Realm owned one, because their Celestial magic was different than the summoning I used. I was a Holder mage, and the Dragons were kind of Casters, if you could even compare them to human mages.

I smiled and nodded. "That's great!" I said happily. Although his scythe was a bit scary with the thundering sound following it, I quite liked the person owning it.

Flash nodded with a grin. "Alright. I'll go back to the Spirit World now." He told me and gripped the handle of his scythe a little harder. "If you get into a fight, call me, I'll fight them off." He told me with a wide, eager grin.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll definitely do that!" I reassured him as he disappeared in a flash of golden light and the sound of thunder following it.

**In the Clearing~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Since I had unlocked the full power I had been training and mastering the usual first four. The special spell was called 'Atarangi Tarakona's Hiku Whiu' (Shadow Dragon's Tail Whip). It was a lot different than any other spell I had practiced so far. Basically what it did was making a Shadow tail, looking like the one I had in my Dragon form, and let me use it as a natural tail for just one attack. Then, it would disappear.

It took a long time mastering it, but I had mastered it and was now about to find the Shadow Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). I hadn't really progressed so far yet.

Skyadrum sighed exasperated. "**For Mavis' sake, Acnologia, please just do as I say.**" She complained.

She wanted me to focus on the shadows of the forest and pull their magic into me, mix it with my own and at last releasing it with a burst. Then the words should appear out of the blue sky. The same way Lucy had been taught to by Dravola. I was supposed to do this because my magic too relied on the magic in the shadows around me.

Well, Skyadrum's Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) did anyway. No one was to say mine did, which I _had_ been trying to explain to her. She had told me that even if that was the case, it would be easier to find out what my Ngaro Toi was with it.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I did exactly as Skyadrum told me and took in the magic which resided in the shadows of the forest. That was exactly as I had done every time I merged with the shadows and moved around in them, so that was easy as pie.

I absorbed the magic and let it mix with my own magic. I kept absorbing and mixing until I felt like I was filled to the brim with both familiar and unfamiliar magic.

I wondered for a second how I was supposed to let it 'burst', but then it came to me out of nothing. I let all the magic out of me at once and collected it all at one point next to me, at the same time, I said the words as if I'd known them my whole life. "Atarangi Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Mura Nei Riri O Tsukuyomi!" (Shadow Dragon's Secret Art: Fierce Rage of Tsukuyomi) I yelled and it all exploded out of me.

The shadows visibly poured out of me and formed a silhouette next to me. The shadows gradually took the form of a human, a very familiar human at that too. The colors of black and blue soon took over the form of that Shadow human. Besides that, the spikey hair was not easily mistaken.

The shadow man standing next to me was in fact myself. Or to be more specific, a clone of me. He looked exactly as I did with black and blue clothes all the way and black hair with blue ends and spikey. Well.. This was a little freaky.

Skyadrum stepped forward and looked alternately at me and my clone, while we were looking at each other. "**Well, this is surprising.**" She mumbled. "**But we can definitely work with it.**" She told me, then turned her back to me and went back to some mumbling and grumbling, probably figuring out what to do next.

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"What, seriously? We're going to work on that?" I asked the Spirit King. He had just suggested that we _finally _work on calling Spirits without saying anything. I had been waiting for this training from day one "Why did it take you so long to decide that?" I asked him, originally in a teasing way.

He took it seriously though and grabbed his beard doing his thing. "**Well, it is simple, really, you simply needed a few different 'kinds' of Spirits, so I waited till you had at least one of the Dragon keys opened in your mind.**" He told me. He looked down at me. "**It **_**is**_** necessary that you have opened their Gates in your mind, or else it would be impossible to do this. It is the key to summoning them without words.**" He explained.

I guess I hadn't really been thinking, because obviously it would be the key. Back when I hadn't opened the Gates in my mind, the magic lay halfway in the words I said, the incantation, and I could feel they did. But whenever I opened a Gate now, one of those I had already opened in my mind, the words I said weren't as 'strong' as they were before. They wouldn't be necessary for me to open the Gates. I wondered how wasn't able to piece two and two together.

I nodded. "Alright, I understand." I told him. I gripped my pouch, where my keys were, lightly, ready to pull one out. I looked up at the Spirit King. "Where do I start?" I asked him.

He smiled widely at me. "**We'll start out with one of your Silver keys.**" He told me and I pulled one out. It was Plue. The Spirit King nodded approvingly. "**Now comes the more difficult part.**" He warned me. "**You have to close your eyes and imagine opening the Gate in your mind, but you must not say any words.**" He told me.

I nodded and closed my eyes, gripping Plue's key a little tighter. I imagined a big, silver Gate in front of me. His constellation-symbol sat above the Gate and revealed that it was his. The doors made a picture of his Human form holding his original form in his lap.

I imagined I went to the Gate and began pushing the doors. They didn't budge at all, so I pushed harder and harder, still it didn't move. I pushed as hard as I could, put everything into pushing that one Gate. Finally the Gate slowly cracked opened and revealed a bright, white light. As they opened wider, it was as if the light charged at me and I found myself back at the Field, where I started.

I felt small, shaking arms around my legs. I looked down and saw my little, white friend shaking and looking up at me with big, black eyes. I smiled and picked Plue up in my arms. I looked up at the Spirit King and tilted my head.

He nodded. "**That's great, now we know you can do it with your Silver keys. All there's left is for you to do it with your two different types of Gold keys too.**" He told me. I nodded. He grabbed his beard once again with a grin. "**Well, after that we will make sure it comes naturally to you.**" He added with an underlying tone of amusement.

I froze on the spot and almost fell back. What?! With this too?!

**Later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It was that time of the training again! I was to go meet my Dragon again! I was really looking forward to it. I always loved going to train with her and unlocking my full magical power. I wondered what I was supposed to do this time.

I closed my eyes and once again went to the star and the Fairy Tail insignia. I smiled as I saw how bright my Dragon magic had gotten. It was literally almost as bright as the Celestial star. I skipped towards it and went through it.

I ended up right in the face of my Dragon. She was lying… Standing… like a playful dog, with her head low and her butt high in the air, wagging her way too long tail. All there was needed was for the tongue to poke out of her mouth. Káo (no), wait, there it was. Her eyes also shone in happiness.

For a second, I was scared she would charge forward and push her head into my stomach - it wouldn't be the first time - but surprisingly she didn't do that, instead, much to my dismay, she gave me a gigantic lick. Luckily, her tongue was rough like a cat's, not covered slobber like a dog's, so I came out dry on the other side.

I glared at her playfully. I could never glare at that Dragon and mean it, she was too kawaii. And she knew it. "Do you think you're a dog or something?" I asked her. I shook my head lightly. "You're a Dragon. A _Dragon_." I explained to her.

She nodded. "**I know, but this is fun!**" She told me. "**You should try it!**" She added excitedly.

I sweat dropped and shook my head. "Káo, káo (no, no) it's fine." I reassured her with a hand waving in the air. "I'll let you be the dog of the two of us." I added. No way was I doing what she just did.

She got up in her normal stance, instead of looking like a cute idiot. She grunted at me. "**Well, if you're going to be that boring, then let's just do what you came here to do**." She said with a wink and a grin.

I nodded with a smile. "Ae (Yes), let's do that." I agreed. I hoped what she would have me do wasn't too challenging. I looked up at her. "Should we just start with summoning magic, as usual?" I asked, figuring I would start with that.

She looked at me as if I was stupid. "Of course. I didn't even think I needed to mention that." She told me with a deadpan expression.

I sweat dropped. "Right." I muttered. I closed my eyes and focused on my magic. First, I felt the calm feeling of my Peace magic, the icy cold feeling of my Ice magic, the feeling of being hit by a bucket of water, which could only be my Water magic and at last the steady and somehow ancient feeling of my Earth magic.

That was the one. I tugged at it and pulled it out of course and sent it to my arm. This was something I had learned not too long ago, actually. It was hard to learn and it was _really_ uncomfortable in the start. Now, after practicing a bit more with it, it wasn't as weird as it usually was.

I let my magic work with my skin and made a vine grow out and twist around my arm until it reached my palm, where the skin then released the vine of its hold at my arm. I could only do that with the plant-side of my Earth magic, not the ground-based one.

I held the other hand out with my palm facing the ground. I spread my fingers wide and sent my magic from my palm and into the ground. I let a stone at the size of a Dragon's claw rise from the ground.

I opened my eyes and looked up at Big Lucy. "There, I've summoned them." I tilted my head a little. "What do you have in mind I should do now?" I asked her.

She smiled and nodded. "**Now you go to the middle of the field, a little like last time**." She instructed. As she spoke, I began moving towards the middle of the field as she had told me to. "**Then, I'll send a weak creation at you**." I whipped around stared at her. She had promised not to make me fight one of those! Before I could say anything though, she spoke again. "**It's not strong, not at all. You can beat it for sure!**" She reassured me.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?" I asked her, hardly believing what she told me. Even Acnologia had a hard time beating those things, why wouldn't I? If anything, I would probably have it even harder than he did.

She nodded. "**Ae (yes), really**." She said and waved at me with her wing. "**Go to the middle of the field already, you boring person**." She told me.

I sighed and nodded. "Okay, then." I began walking towards the middle again and when I was there I turned around and looked at my Dragon. "Just know you'll die with me if I die here." I reminded her. We were the same person after all.

She laughed and shook her head lightly. "**Yeah, I know. But you won't.**" She looked at me with a more serious expression. "**Just relax and believe in yourself, you can do it**." She reassured me.

I nodded. Right. I wasn't weak, I could do this for sure. When I said I could, then I could. I could and I would.

I gestured for her to send the creature I was supposed to beat. She nodded and a man rose from the ground in only a second's time. He was put together of lumps of earth, while vines were keeping them all together, twisting around the human-like Earth creation. They actually kind of reminded me of muscles in a way. Although they didn't sit everywhere, just… Some places.

Remembering Acnologia's stories of how he fought these things, or just generally fought people. First he crouches a little, to be able to move around faster, so that's what I would start with too. Then he told me that they never make the first move, so you'd have to charge them yourself. Then everything would just… Run smoothly I guess.

I started with crouching, while glaring at the Earth creation. Much to my surprise though, it didn't just stand still, it actually, and very surprisingly charged at me before I could at it.

It ran forward in a rather clumsy way, due to its size. I stared at it, having not expected this at all and never been in a _real_ hand-to-hand battle.

Wait… Káo (no), no one said it _had_ to be hand-to-hand. Besides, wouldn't he be too hard to punch or kick anyhow?

I would do something else, something… Less dependent on touching. I quickly pushed upwards with one hand, and just as it went upwards, so did the ground just underneath this Earth creation, just as quickly too. This caused the creation to fly up in the air with a 'whoosh'.

It landed on its back a little away. It didn't seem to be hindered by the probably not so hard hit at all. It simply got to its feet once again and faced me. He slowly began running towards me again, gradually building speed as he ran.

I breathed in deeply, so deeply I almost felt like my lungs were going to explode. "Oene Tarakona's Haruru!" (Earth Dragon's Roar) I yelled as I leant forward and let the torrent of earth, stones and likewise burst out of my mouth and towards the Earth creation, which hit spot on.

It stood as if it was trying to hold the Haruru (Roar) in its arms somehow. It actually stood like that for a surprisingly long time before the Haruru (Roar) finally pushed it back. It still held its ground though, it only pushed it back, not making it fall.

In the end I had no more air or magic in my lungs I could use and the spell ended off, the creation still standing. He stood still and seemed to be waiting for me to do something, for once.

I caught my breath quickly and just as quickly made my favorite vines sprout from the ground. They shot up and caught his arms, crawling higher and higher until they covered his arm all the way to his elbow. At the same time, two more vines sprouted near his feet and twisted around his legs, keeping him where he was.

I smiled. He wouldn't be able to move out of this one. I began running at him. I charged my magic at my hand and sent it to my fingers. Five sharp claw-like stones emerged from the tips of my fingers. I cringed just for a second at the weird feeling I got from doing that. I hadn't quite gotten used to the feeling of stones forming on my skin yet.

This little setback gave the Earth creation enough time to break out of the vines holding its arms. I didn't see this before I was already all the way over the field, near it, so when I called: "Oene Tarakona's Maikuku" (Earth Dragon's Claws) and hit him with the five claws I only barely scratched it at its chest. The only reason I hit it at all was because the vines still held its feet and making it impossible for it to move around.

On the other hand, it had its hands free, so it went for my stomach. I saw it just in time and blocked him, grabbing its fist and then using it to swing myself around and landing on my feet right behind it. Instead of him hitting me, I decided I would try to hit him instead.

I gathered my magic at my forearms and let it pour out of my skin, producing a sort of wing of vines from it. But it wasn't just any wing, this one was a sharp one. "Oene Tarakona's Parirau Huaki!" I yelled and slashed forward with the vine-wing.

It cut through the creation's back like butter and it fell down on the ground in two pieces completely still. I released the magic in my arms and the wings pulled back again. I looked down at the Earth creation once again as it disappeared into the ground once again as if he was absorbed back by it.

Well… That was that, now I had the full power of my Earth magic.

Line464d, not the girl sent to Earthland to watch over Fairy Tail, steps into the scene. Imagine everything freezing completely behind her. She locks her arms behind her back and looks at you guys. "Guys. I know you might not read the A/N's I put up, therefore I will tell you here." She says and sighs. "Honestly though, A/N's are important." She comments. "At any rate, this is the last actual training chapter. Next one, chapter 40, will explain what you guys missed, but only kinda briefly, even though it will fill up the whole chapter. And believe me, I'm sorry about that. But on the bright side, this'll all be over. So just one week +/- a few, they'll return. Thank you to you guys who's been reading it all, and I'm sorry!" Line464d salutes. "That was all for now! Have an absolutely amazing Christmas/New Year!" Disappears in a puff of smoke.

**There you go guys! The last training chapter. Isn't it a relief?**

**I found out that the place where I stopped actually fit quite well. Lucy just finished her Earth magic and Acnologia finished his Shadow. Now all Lucy needs is Sky and Light and Acnologia Lightning and Poison, but I'll cover all that and more in the next chapter. **

**FTLover… I really, really, really love you and the support you've given me through you review! I'm overjoyed you get so caught in the story! And that you like the AcLu/LuGia pairing! Make a user already! And that's for all you guests, it drives me nuts not being able to reply!**

**Yes, Emerillion, I know. It only gets worse ._."**

**Thanks luvswolves, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Nicole (Guest), BecauseIamSoBored, WCDragonS. , Maiannaise, mjb379, lucyeucliffe00, Little Lady Slytherin, Alaina Kuski, nikoneko123, ExDragon, sweet midnight kiss, Konan15, OtakuLover43, Flying Star0507, aristofthemind, Darkverger1, FT LOVER (Guest), CelestialLucy (Guest), DesolationDeath, Shadow-Light23, BustNjust9, .Wonderland, me (Guest), allanimefreak73754, Rose (Guest), Emerillion (Guest), slitgirl, fairychime-diamond47, iisuperwomanjj, Sn00pis, vampwere, FTLover, ShioriEz, zhgolfer, VortexisDragon, Shii and Fro, Anime-Niakz, backupplan33 and all you other people out there!**

**Oh.. And I'm a bit busy at the moment, so answering PM's might be a little behind~ Or reviews, for that matter**

**~ Line464d**


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

**So, here we are, This chapter'll explain the part of the training we skipped with some flashbacks here and there. Then at the next one, they're actually going to go to Earthland. **

**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBADY! **

**Thanks to DesolationDeath for helping me with this story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I think Slowpoke is ignoring me. He just doesn't want to give away Fairy Tail. At all.**

**At the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Training was finally over. I couldn't believe I had already spent fourteen Dragon Realm years away from Fairy Tail. I guess the training could be a little monotone, it really was sometimes, but with the trip to Earthland every month and all the different magic I learned and it changing constantly, what I was going to do, it never really became so much of a bore. Besides, I was surrounded by amazing people, so it didn't matter much even if it _did_ get boring. They'd just make it funny.

At any rate I had been working a lot with mastering the different magic after having unlocked my full magical power of the Earth magic. I had already mastered them individually, but when I had to change from one magic to another, it proved to take a lot longer than it was supposed to. So Dravola had helped me for a long time making sure it would only take a split second to change from one magic to another.

Whenever I learned a new magic, and had mastered it itself, I also trained so that it also only took a second to use. All this training with Dravola also meant that generally, whenever I summoned my Dragon magic, it went considerably faster than what it did before we started. Which was handy. Really handy, actually.

The magic I had learned after everything with Dravola was Sky magic, with Grandine. Just like Wendy, I could also heal people, although, while I'm not sure, Wendy's healing powers might be stronger than mine. That was because she only focused on her Sky magic and had always healed a lot of people in the guild, while I only had a few animals to practice on and I focused on more than just one magic.

Apart from that, the special spell of the Sky magic was called 'Rangi Tarakona's Puahio' (Sky Dragon's Tornado) and was, of course, a tornado. It was a very strong tornado too. If you asked me, I thought it could have easily gone for a Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), but it wasn't.

Speaking of the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for Sky magic was special and _very_ powerful, at least for me. I kind of hoped I would never have to use it. What it could do was reviving a single person from death. But only one. And it took a _lot_ of magic. I could only use it once, even when I had all my magic. It was called "Rangi Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Karaihe Roimata O Ra" (Sky Dragon's Secret Art: Crystal Tears of Ra).

With Big Lucy, I had actually, surprisingly practiced the use of my Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). I hadn't practiced it so much with Grandine, because since she was a Sky Dragon with healing abilities, she absolutely couldn't kill _anything_. So, my Dragon made sure she found some dead animals and likewise I could practice it on. In the end I could go when I had revived something successfully.

I never, ever hoped I was forced to use that Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). Ever.

After getting the Sky magic mastered, I went on to my Light magic with Weisslogia. It didn't have a side ability like Sky magic, though.

The special spell was called "Marama Tarakona's Mãramatanga" (Light Dragon's Illumination). And was basically a ball of exploding light. Sometimes I wondered how light could wound people, but on the other hand, so could 'peace', so really… What couldn't?

The Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) for Light magic, "Marama Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Kei Tinihangatia Rama O Amaterasu" (Light Dragon's Secret Art: Blinding Light of Amaterasu) was really beautiful, actually. It was kind of like a big, white sun appeared just above the target, and then it rained down with small rays, like arrows.

With Big Lucy, I was to practice the thing Dravola had taught me with the quick changing of magic. Well, Big Lucy decided that she would send a horde of creations of different magic at me - one at a time luckily - somehow she even managed to get the magic Acnologia was training; Chaos, Fire, Iron, Poison, Lightning and Shadow. Don't ask me how she did it, but she did.

What I was supposed to do was figure out what was most effective against what. Against Chaos magic, Peace magic would be best. Against Fire, Water magic. Against Shadow, Light was best. With Poison, Ice was best. And so on…

She had told me afterwards that every time I had visited her, it served another purpose than just unlocking my full magical power.

The first time I went there with my Peace magic, where I was to hit targets, both moving and still, it made me practice both accuracy and long-distance fighting. While also keeping calm in pressed situation, like the one with the Dragon charging me.

When I went there to unlock my Ice magic, where I created Metallicana in Ice, it also helped me with my endurance and stamina.

When I unlocked my Water magic as the next one, where I blocked against 10 attacks, I practiced being able to quickly react to an incoming attack and protect myself.

When I went there to unlock my Earth magic, where I was to fight a single opponent, I practiced fighting in close-combat with magic.

Then when I unlocked my Sky magic, where I revived an animal from death, it was to practice putting my everything into one single spell.

The last one, the Light magic one, where I fought off weaker creations, I practiced taking a quick and intelligent decision with what magic was most effective against what and just as quickly summoning it and using it.

After that, she had told me something very unexpected. That, back then, was the last time I would see her. When I had unlocked the last of my magic, she would just kind of… Disappear, I guess you could say. She told me that when it came to serious fighting from now, her mind - being superior as she was a Dragon, a creature born to fight - would step in somehow and guide me. I wouldn't notice it when it happened, it was just like when instinct started kicking in.

That was… A bad day for me. It had become a little lonely without her hanging around. And I was sure I wasn't the only one feeling like that. Even if he refused to admit it.

I knew Acnologia missed his Dragon counterpart's constant comments, even though they may not have been the nicest. Their last goodbye was also just as typical them as always. I had been told what had happened between the two. I still wondered if I should laugh at it or cry.

**In Acnologia's mind~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"_What're you trying to say, Jackass?" I asked him. He had been talking in riddles all day, I was honestly getting _very_ annoyed with it. Not that that was surprising. _

_The big moron shook his head, as if he was disappointed or something. "__**Mini-Me. You're stupid aren't you?**__" He asked. I was just about to retort, when he cut me to it. "__**To put it so even **_**you**_** understand: Today is the day I'll final be able to get rid of your ugly face.**__" He told me. _

_I furrowed my eyebrows. What in the world was he trying to say? "Well, aren't you lucky?" I said sarcastically. "Now explain what you mean." I half ordered him._

_The idiot snorted. "__**And I won't have to listen to that anymore either.**__" He muttered to himself. He really needed to do something about his attitude. "__**Mini-Me, I need you to listen really close. Okay? I'm only going to say this once.**__" He told me and looked straight into my eyes. I raised an eyebrow and nodded. Now what was he going on about? "__**You and I will never see each other's faces **_**ever**_** again.**__" He said slowly and clearly._

_I just looked up at him weirdly. Seriously, what was he saying? We wouldn't see each other again? Yeah right. As if he would ever be able to leave me alone for over a day. It was physically impossible. _

_He shook his head again. "__**You don't get it, do you?**__" He asked. He sighed. "__**Good thing I have a lot of patience with you.**__" He muttered and looked down at me with an uncharacteristic serious expression. "__**Mini-Me. After you return, I will disappear.**__" He told me. "__**Disappear forever.**__" He repeated for emphasis._

_Was he serious about this or was he joking? Disappear? Like in… Not existing? Death? Wouldn't I die too if he did? He told me back then that we were one, whenever one experienced something, the other did too. Going by that, it would be impossible for him to just disappear alone. _

_But yet here he was, saying it was possible _and_ that it was going to happen. No more annoying comments from him, interrupting anything. No more being forced to endure the torture of listening to his voice. No more…_

_I looked up at him with a little smile, which felt _really_ out of place. "Well… I guess this is goodbye." I told him._

_He nodded and smiled a rather solemn smile. "__**Ae (Yes). Take god care of dear Lucy, Mini-Me. I'll kill you in your sleep if she even has **_**one**_** strand of her beautiful, silver hair misplaced.**__" He threatened me. "__**Remember that.**__" He added. I was sure that was entirely possible. _

**Back on the Field~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Yeah, that was how he told me it had happened. I knew he hated it, but I thought they were kind of cute. They liked each other, even if they didn't express it too clearly.

Acnologia had finished his training before I did, of course, and had trained battling in his Dragon form a lot. He was much better than me at that, both because he had practiced it for a longer time, but also because he was considerably bigger than me in size. That really had something to say if you fought another Dragon in your Dragon form.

Before that though, he had trained both Lightning and Poison magic as the last two. The first one after finishing the Shadow magic was Lightning. It was a wonder he even finished it, Simakan didn't show up half of the time.

The special spell he had learned was called Uira Tarakona's Whatiri (Lightning Dragon's Thunder Storm). As the name suggested, it brought forth a lightning storm. There wasn't much else to say, really. It just made a big, black cloud appear and let it produce lightning.

The Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), Uira Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Pupuhi Hama O Thor (Lightning Dragon's Secret Art: Shooting Hammer of Thor), was surprisingly similar to his special spell, except the cloud was darker, the lightning was much stronger and every single strike of lightning hit the target, as if it was a lightning rod. That simple detail made the spell much stronger.

Where there actually was a chance - although small - that you evade the lightning in the special spell, there was no escape in the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).

The last magic he learned was the Poison magic. It was probably the most deadly magic he owned. With just a little magic mixed with your blood, you _could_ die, if that was what Acnologia chose for you. He wouldn't though, he told me he wouldn't decide to let anyone die that way.

Except, of course, if that guy had been flirting with me, he had told me teasingly. I blushed just as red as Igneel's scales. And it made me immensely happy, even if he was a little too possessive. But, I didn't want anyone to go around flirting with me anymore either. At least, not in the same way I did before.

The special spell linked to the Poison magic, Paihana Tarakona's Purakau (Poison Dragon's Fangs), was where four torrents of Poison magic came from every side, just like how it probably was to have a set of gigantic fangs crashing down on you.

His Ngaro Toi was called Paihana Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: Paitini Kapua O Manasa (Poison Dragon's Secret Art: Poisonous Clouds of Manasa). It was kind of different from other Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), it made a poisonous cloud appear, just like the name suggested, which covered a big area. The Poison magic in the cloud could make people faint when they inhaled it. The impact it would have was pretty much up to the user, he could chose to just let the target be a little lightheaded or he could even make them die, if he so wished. Although, this particular user didn't wish for anything like that.

Which was one of the many things I liked about him.

At any rate, the training he had been doing with his Dragon also turned out to be like mine, with other things in mind too.

When he unlocked the Chaos magic and fought the Chaos man, they fought close-combat all the way. Obviously, that was to train that. Although as it turned out, he didn't need that at all.

Then, when he unlocked the Fire magic, it was long-range instead. That had demanded a bit more attention, but that was already with his Chaos magic he worked with that, so he was fairly trained in it even before he went into battle.

With the Iron magic, he fought to practice using intelligence in battle. He had to figure out, a little like I had, what would be most effective against the Iron man.

When he unlocked the Shadow magic, where he fought in complete darkness, he practiced fighting without relying on sight and hearing. That would make his awareness higher when he fought normally, and if he was ever to get caught in an illusion, he could fight through it. I kind of wished I had been taught that too, but really, with all the other things I had learned I doubted I would be able to handle much more.

Getting off that sidetrack, when he unlocked his Lightning magic, the Lightning man let his magic fall down quickly, which made it so that Acnologia practiced dodging and blocking quickly.

At last, when he unlocked his Poison magic, he learned to fight through immense pain. He was hit by the Poison man's nasty attacks more than once, and he told me they hurt every time, burnt his skin,

That just goes to show his training was much rougher than mine was. With me, we took it more calmly and one thing at a time - kind of - but with Acnologia, it was tougher and he constantly fought, one way or another.

People tell me I have more magic than Acnologia had, but he was much stronger than me. I would never beat him in a fight. But that was also how it was supposed to be, I'd been told. It would simply hurt his pride as a man and a Dragon to be weaker than his mate.

I think Loke and Metallicana made sure of that somehow, that I got strong enough to fight people off, but then not much more than that. They'd both told me that I, as a girl, never would be able to fight close-combat as well as all the men around me. It would take much longer and crazy dedication to it, but as I did all kinds of other things while also practicing hand-to-hand, it would have to be a much tougher training I'd have to go through.

And they didn't think that fit me, so we didn't do that. Honestly, it was typical those two, but I get it. They didn't want me to get better than them.

With those two I had learned to fight hand-to-hand to some extent - I thought I was good - both in Human and Dragon form, although I found it easier in my Human form. Besides that, Capricorn had helped me too, he was surprisingly good at close-combat, and taught me to use Celestial magic to add to my hits, a little like Dragon magic.

I had opened Aelurus', Serpus' and Consectetuer's Gates already.

Aelurus could transform to a pitch-black panther, with dark, dark green eyes. She was a bit bigger than an ordinary panther, reaching just above my elbow. Her tail was a little long, even compared to her size. She was a greatly fit panther and looked like she could leap high into the sky.

Serpus was of course a snake, but, just like all the others, he was also bigger than an ordinary snake was. Much bigger, actually. He was at the very least the size of Cubelios, Cobra's pet snake, which turned out to be our guild member Kinana, yep at least that big. His scales were dark purple with black spots here and there. And he had the same eyes as he had in his Human form.

Consectetuer was - rather unexpectedly - able to transform to a bat, again a little bigger than the original size for bats. The same golden brown color as his hair too. His wings were wide and you could see the long, thin 'fingers' in the wings and the little, tiny hand where the wing bend. At first I didn't get the connection, but when I remembered how skinny and kind of bony his hands were, it suddenly made just a little more sense.

Also, I had actually gotten two new Spirits, Fortis the Warrior, Iron magic user and Daemon, Demon and user of Chaos magic.

Fortis was the classic warrior, with a great, steel-gray armor, covering him, and a big two-handed sword. There were all the basics of armor, a chest-plate, shoulder-plates, armor covering the whole arm, but it was in smaller pieces, allowing free movement, likewise his feet and legs were also protected with armor. It was a little like Erza's Heart Kreuz armor in its simplicity, but the male-version of course. And then not a Heart Kreuz armor. At the armor near his elbow, it spiked out in a few small spikes. You couldn't see his face, he wore a helmet. It only revealed his face in a 'T' shape, and with a little snip down the bridge of his nose. All I could see were his blue-purple eyes and a few onyx black strands of hair falling down over his eyes.

When I asked him if he could take his helmet off, he shook his head frantically saying that he wouldn't take it off no matter what. He was very loyal to his Summoner, so loyal you couldn't ask him about his opinion on something, he would just immediately agree with me or say he thought the same I did. Even if he had no idea what I thought.

Daemon was like how I imagined a sexy demon to be. Really, it was _almost_ too bad I had Acnologia. But only almost. He had practically white hair, just a little lighter than Mira's. It was a little long and covered his left eye. It spiked out just a bit. His eyes were bright red, not like Metallicana's or Gajeel's, lighter and seemed to be glowing somehow. He had his chest bare and wore baggy pants. They were very similar to Natsu's, except they reached down to his ankles, and there weren't any bows at the end. Besides, the colors were switched, so what was white on Natsu's were black on these and the other way around. Other than that, he also had a long, thin tail with a triangular shape at the end, the traditional demon tail.

I had found he was quite the pessimist. Which could at times be rather funny, actually, but other times it was just kind of depressing. But apart from that, he was extremely strong once he got started. He was also kind of arrogant, which wasn't exactly a positive treat, but it helped spur him on in battles.

He and Angelis were the leaders of the Dragon keys, like Loke was of the Zodiac keys. What was fun about the two though, was that they were siblings, Daemon being the older brother. How in the world those two could be siblings was beyond me. But as far as I knew, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help his sibling in any way.

I had also already unlocked both of their Gates.

Fortis was now able to transform into a rhino. Now, I haven't met a rhino face to face, but I don't think he was any bigger than an ordinary rhino. Also, despite having a tough skin, he also had armor _over_ it. Well… It wasn't full-body as in his Human form, but just a little here and there. He had a big armor over his just as big face, three even bigger pieces over his back and then on his two front feet as well. He still had his purple-blue eyes.

Daemon on the other hand, didn't have a transformation like all the others, well, not in the same way. Instead of a full-body transformation, he adopted a few new features, such as a pair of obsidian black, demonic wins. They weren't so tall in height, they only barely went from his head and to his knees when they were folded up, but their width was impressive. He also grew a pair of dark brown, almost black, horns, which curled around and poked out forward.

Acnologia and I weren't the only ones who had been training though; apparently it turned out that Basuril, Acnologia's kawaii, little cousin, also had been training. He had decided for himself that he would go with Acnologia and I to Earthland tomorrow and had showed up, demanding just that. Deamunas had been helping him out ever since he was done training Acnologia. They had made sure that he still kept his awesome speed, so while he maybe wasn't as strong as, let's say Metallicana, he was a lot faster and could deliver more hits rapidly.

Basuril showed up yesterday and told us he would be accompanying us to Fairy Tail. That was the first time in a long time I had seen him. He had really grown, he was just about the same height as me, but then again, I wasn't the tallest person around.

Tomorrow… Tomorrow we would return to Earthland, to Fairy Tail. I'd finally meet them all again after 14 years for me and 7 for them.

Now.. I was 24 and Acnologia 28. They would still be the same ages, the ones stuck on Tenroujima Island. I wondered if they had come back home yet. Or were they still caught there, the spell still in effect?

I wouldn't know until I returned and saw it for myself. And I would do just that tomorrow. I couldn't believe the time had already come and gone, all this training. It was finally done. I was ready to show off what I could do. I was really looking forward to doing it too.

I turned to my side, holding my head in my hand, and resting my elbow on the ground. I looked down at the black and blue-haired man next to me with closed eyes and his arms behind his head as a kind of pillow. "Are you sure you're okay with going to Fairy Tail? You don't have to, you know." I told him. It wasn't that I didn't want him with me, I wanted that more than anything else, but he should stay here in the Dragon Realm, if that was what he was most comfortable with.

My too handsome mate opened his eyes and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously, Lucy? Of course I'll go with you." He told me and lay on his side the same way I did. "I'm actually looking forward to _really_ meet those friends of yours, and then the three from Team Natsu. So I can beat their asses." He said with a wide grin.

I had long since forgiven the bigger part of Fairy Tail, all there was left was Team Natsu. While I usually quite quickly forgive people, this time, they went over my limits. It would be too much to just expect me to forgive them immediately.

I giggled at him, knowing he only meant it in the best way possible. "Okay then, I believe you." I told him, smiling in return.

Acnologia leaned in and gave me a light kiss on the lips. He broke off too soon, if you asked me. He reached out with his free hand and brushed a stray stand behind my ear. "We should go back to the cave and get some rest, so we're ready for tomorrow." He said.

I leaned into his touch and nodded. "Yeah, we probably should." I agreed.

**Aaaand that would mark the end of training! Next time we'll actually let the two - no, three - go to Earthland and Fairy Tail. I don't know about you guys, but I can hardly wait!**

**Okay, so there are four gods/goddesses today. Quite a lot of research at once, but I quite enjoy it too.**

**Ra is from the Egyptian mythology, he is the ancient solar deity and was said to rule over all the worlds; the sky, the earth and the underworld. But, the reason I chose him for the Sky magic Ngaro Toi (Secret Art), is because he is believed to be the creator of all lifeforms. Humans were said to be created from his tears, therefore 'Crystal Tears'. **

**Amaterasu, the name we know from Japanese mythology (or in some cases, like me, from Naruto ._.") is the goddess of the Sun, her name is derived from Amateru, which means shining in heaven. That was basically why I chose her for the Light Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).**

**Thor.. Really? Do I have to explain him? And 'Shooting Hammer', referring to Mjölnir. Well, if you are unsure of him, he's from the Norse mythology and is a hammer-wielding god, who is associated with thunder, lightning, storms and a lot of other things, actually. His hammer is Mjölnir. And.. Yeah, there's a movie 'bout him. XD**

**Manasa is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is also known of destroyer of poison, and can cure any poison. She is rumored for a bad temper and unhappiness due to rejection from several people. I just now figured out she was the destroyer of poison… But still, she's affiliated with poison, so she's in. **

**So… Extremely many TRANSLATIONS this time…**

'**Rangi' means 'Sky', 'Puahio' means 'Tornado', 'Karaihe' means 'Crystal', 'Roimata' means 'Tears', 'Marama' means 'Light', 'Mãramatanga' means 'Illumination', 'Kei Tinihangatia Rama' means 'Blinding Light', 'Uira' means 'Lightning', 'Whatiri' means 'Thunder Storm', 'Pupuhi' means 'Shooting', 'Hama' means 'Hammer', 'Paihana' means 'Poison', 'Purakau' means 'Fangs', 'Paitini' means 'Poisonous', 'Kapua' means 'Clouds'. Roughly (Google) translated, though. **

**Gais… I have important information for some of you. Maybe.. I just randomly came to stumble upon it, but…. KAMISAMA HAJIMASHITA IS RETURNING WITH A SECOND SEASON THE 5****TH **** JANUARY 2015! - Just thought you should know, I'm definitely going to watch it.**

**You see, that kind of candy is only something you get when you actually read the A/N's. XD**

**Thank you Mayawong, BecauseIamSoBored, ExDragon, Maiannaise, Nilnna, Nicole (Guest), MavisXZeref26 (Guest), Little Lady Slytherin, Darkverger1, mjb379, clumzybeans, OtakuLover43, ButterTARDIS36, BustNjust9, An anonymoose (Guest), ShioriErz, Xx21KatieKat12xX, gregoryromanovsky, MoonStar1312, scorchgreen, KiseKuroko, twilightamanda, (And them a damn lot of PM's XD) and all of you other people out there for having followed this story to this point. I'm amazed you kept reading through the training. This is the last you'll hear of it in this way ;) **

**From now I'll return to once a week, is that alright?**

**~Line464d**


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

**I apologize for the technical difficulties I had when I posted chapter 40. A shout out to the people who helped me getting it back to what it was supposed to be: BecauseIamSoBored, wheafel, madreder19, Misty-Silver-Kitsune-Hanyo1230, Aira0906, ExDragon, ButterTARDIS36, Waternixie, OtakuLover43, mjb379 and clumzybeans, thank you for pointing it out! Such helpful people~ **

**YAAAAASSSS! FINALLY SHE'S RETURNING! - is what you guys are thinking, right? Well, I am too! I'm in a VERY good mood, which will be obvious in my Disclaimer. **

**Thanks to DesolationDeath for helping me with the chapters!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, my dear friend Slowpoke, likes to run around and smoke. Slowpoke owns a famous manga, and he only shares it with his friend Abra. Abra finds the manga horrible, while I think it's wonderful. Yet Slowpoke won't share it with me, but maybe, if I'm a Butterfree. XD**

**Somewhere in the sky of Earthland~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I couldn't control the tears that were streaming down my eyes. Parting with those Dragons in there was more than I could handle. I'd broken down into a garbled mess in front of all of them, until I somehow got a hold of myself and just cried throughout the goodbyes.

Acnologia, Basuril - who was also going with us - were on our way to Magnolia, where my old guild was waiting. And now my tears were a mix of looking forward to reuniting with my old friends and the sorrow of leaving a bunch behind.

Apparently Basuril had been training a lot with Deamunas, while Acnologia and I were training, and had gotten much stronger. As well as much bigger. There were barely any difference between me and him now.

Dravola had even given us a few parting words, telling us what to do and what not to:

**Lucy's memories~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_The Earth Dragon sighed. "__**Well, now you three are going back to Earthland, you will have to obey certain rules.**__" She said. _

_I furrowed my eyebrows a little and concentrated on what Dravola was about to say. The last guidelines we'd be getting from her in a while… _

_Dravola looked alternately at the three of us, making sure we were listening. "__**You, Lucy and Acnologia, already know these first rules, they're mostly directed towards Basuril."**__ She said and gave us a quick glance, before focusing entirely on the now 15 years old boy. Or should I say teenager? "__**Basuril, while I know it's impossible not to talk with the people in this guild you're joining, you're going to have to keep your socializing down to a minimum**__." She told the boy._

_Basuril nodded with a determined expression. He quickly straightened his back, while his hand flew to his head in a salute and the other rested just above his waist behind him. "__**Ae (Yes) Ma'am!**__" He said as if he was a recruit and Dravola his lieutenant. _

_I just caught Dragovin face palming at his son. Some of the other Dragons gathered snickered or giggled at the little Dragon, while Dravola simply raised an eyebrow at the little 'recruit'. "__**Don't stand out too much, blend in with the other guild members.**__" She said._

_I sweat dropped, thinking about how impossible it would be for Basuril to blend in with the guild without the core members. Although, if they were there already, there would be no problem. All their eccentric personalities, fitted just perfectly with the teenager's. _

_Dravola turned her head to look at all of us at once. "__**Now, there's one more rule, which all of you should know.**__" She said and looked directly into our eyes one after another. "__**You can't tell anyone that you're actually Dragons**__." She said. I almost dropped my jaw. While I had expected it, I had really hoped I would be able to at least tell Fairy Tail. Dravola turned and looked at me, knowing I would be the one most likely to tell them. "__**Just think about what consequences it would have if it came out that Dragons still existed and walked amongst them**__." She said. Yeah.. Even though that was only once a month._

_I nodded. I understood. It would be catastrophic if they found out. The Dragon Slayers would demand to meet their - not foster - parents, other people would also want to see a Dragon, because we were supposed to be extinct. And then, of course, there would be those who would want to kill us for the sport of it. Maybe they would sell our horns and wings for high prices. That couldn't happen, there was no chance I would let that happen._

_Dravola nodded too, accepting my nod. "__**Good**__, __**now**__…" She trailed off and pulled our attention towards her again. "__**There's one more thing.**__" She said and looked at Acnologia. "__**Acnologia, you're only allowed to use your Chaos magic in front of others than you three.**__" She told him. He nodded. She went on to Basuril. "__**Of course, you're allowed to use your Chaos magic too**__." She looked back at Acnologia, then down at Basuril again. "__**Tell them that you're Chaos Dragon Slayers, having been taught by Deamunas**__." She told them. _

_I widened my eyes just a little. That old lady… She had thought of everything. None of it was really a lie. The boys both used Chaos magic, they had both trained under Deamunas and they still had faint traces of Dragon Slayer magic in them from their grandfather, Acnologia the savior. Or as the Humans saw him, the Dragon of Apocalypse. They wouldn't lie, if ever it was found out that we're Dragons. That's amazing._

_Dravola turned and looked at me. Her facial expression looked faintly sad. "__**Unfortunately for you, Lucy, you're not allowed to use any of your Dragon magic.**__" She told me. I widened my eyes. Then why in the world had I been training for so long? What had I been doing these last fourteen years, then? Wasted my time? "__**Unless you get in a situation, where you're forced to use it**__." She added. I looked up at her again. Like the one situation at my birthday way back? "__**On the other hand, you're allowed to use the Dragon keys, as long as you refer to them as Elemental keys**__." She told me._

_Once again, I found myself stunned with this elder Dragon's wisdom and strategic mind. In theory, you could also call the Dragon keys 'Elemental keys', since each represented their own element. The way she had thought this through… I wondered how long she had used on this._

_Dravola nodded, knowing it had been registered in my mind and I wouldn't do it, unless necessary. "__**Okay, then. If you're ready to go, please change into your Dragon forms and we'll send you off.**__" She said._

_The moment I had been waiting for so long. Finally I could see my friends again, with the exception of three, that is. The time I could finally show them how much stronger I had become, even without my Dragon magic. I had progressed a lot, I knew I had. _

_Just as we were about to go through the portal Dravola had made, Metallicana called out to Acnologia. "__**Brat!**__" He called and grabbed my mate's attention. "__**You better take care of Squirt, or I'll 'take care' of you.**__" He told him. I felt a smile grow on my face. Even though he hated to be told, I loved that Dragon and I knew it was returned. _

_Acnologia nodded with a grin. "__**Of course, old man. You don't need to worry about that.**__" He reassured the Iron Dragon. I almost blushed at their conversation, but since I was a Dragon, it was pretty much impossible. I could take care of myself now, I didn't need people taking care of me anymore, I could do it myself. Although… If it was Acnologia I guess I wouldn't mind. _

_With one last wave, we raced into the portal, as Dravola had almost snarled for us to get through. Granted, she had also been holding the portal up for a long time._

**In the sky of Earthland~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Ohh, how I would miss all those Dragons. Alodiculis' fatherly presence, Metallicana's rude remarks, Igneel's sweet idiocy, Grandine's kindness, Amelane's love for drama, Skyadrum's awesome and direct personality, Glanasile's genuine smiles… I could go on forever.

But I didn't need to, the tears were already unstoppable at this point.

I had no idea when I'd see them all again. Chance was, even though they would come by Earthland twice every week, I wouldn't see them with long spaces. They couldn't come by every time, after all. And that made me so, so sad.

I could visit them in the Dragon Realm, but how did I explain to Fairy Tail? What if someone suddenly spotted me in my Dragon form? What would I do?

That was why… I couldn't. I had to endure no matter how much it hurt.

I shook my head and rid myself of the thoughts. Even if it was sad, it was something I had to do. I promised them I'd return, and so I would. I could definitely balance both my Dragon and Human family. I'd learn to!

I quickly caught up to the two Chaos Dragons. I remembered there was something quite important we had to take care of, now we were here. "**Acnologia, there's one thing we need to do now we're here in Earthland.**" I told him, remembering an old promise between the two of us.

Acnologia turned around and looked at me, Basuril doing the same, after quickly eyeing what Acnologia would do. Acnologia looked at me with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "**Yeah, what is it, Lucy?**" He asked, obviously aware that the topic was rather heavy.

I looked at him with a little smile. "**We're going to have to find out where the Magic Council has hidden your father and we're going to have to rescue him.**" I reminded him. That was what I promised him the day we reunited, I would help him save his father from that prison.

Acnologia was surprised at first, then his face softened up completely and he smiled warmly at me. "**Yeah, that's right. We're going to save him.**" He nodded.

I smiled in return and was just about to say something, when Basuril cut me to it. "**Then, wouldn't it be fun if we in the disguise of the missions we take in the guild, go around figuring out where uncle is kept? I think it would be **_**awesome**_**!**" Basuril said rather childishly. He may be 15 physically, but his mind hadn't developed much since the time I met him, he was still as childish as ever.

But, that being said, he just had a _very_ bright moment. It would be the perfect cover! "**Basuril…**" The Chaos Dragon looked at me with a quizzical expression. "**You're a genius!**" I told him and spread my wings out wide for emphasis.

Acnologia nodded. "**I'd have to give you that one, it's not a bad idea.**" He agreed.

Basuril looked alternately at the two of us, at last a proud smile found its way to the boy's face. "**I-is it really?**" He asked us. We both nodded at pretty much the same time.

I smiled at the boy swelling with the good kind of pride. "**Okay then, shouldn't we go to Magnolia then?**" I asked.

They both nodded and we all to quickly flew over the clouds, letting them pass by underneath us in a flurry, and flew in the direction of Magnolia. Both Acnologia had been by Magnolia lots of times at the once a month visits. I hadn't really felt ready to go to Magnolia at any point in time. And Dravola and all the other Head Dragons knew that and respected it, therefore making sure I wouldn't have to go there. It was really nice of all of them.

At any rate, Basuril and I followed Acnologia's lead. Magnolia actually lay surprisingly close to the field where we started off, so it didn't take long for us to reach the city. We found an empty space a little away from the city and landed there. We quickly changed to our Human forms and went to the city.

I felt my nervousness build up as the city got closer. What if they wouldn't accept me after all this time? What if they thought I had betrayed them? Would they hate me? And what about Gajeel, Pantherlilly, Wendy, Carla and Juvia? Would they hate me more than the others, because I had left them behind? What…

I was cut off from my doubts when I felt a familiar, warm hand on my shoulder. I looked at the owner of the hand. Acnologia smiled at me. "You have nothing to be worried about, Lucy." He told me.

I nodded. "Yeah." I said. He was probably right, I was most likely overthinking it too much. It was Fairy Tail, of course they would still accept me. They didn't leave anyone behind, and I had promised them to return, so that was what I was going to do.

Soon, we stood at the entrance to the city. I felt a wave of nostalgia rush over me. It hadn't changed one bit since I was here last, which was seven years ago for Earthland. But.. I knew it had changed in one aspect, the guild. I had learned from 464 that Fairy Tail had degraded a _lot_ and lived in a rundown mill, and that another guild, Twilight Ogre, had taken our old guild, and now they demanded Fairy Tail for money. But, we would change that. In time anyway.

I looked at the two boys at each of my sides. "Let's go, boys." I said and began walking in the direction of my old apartment, I wanted to see it once again, before I joined the guild.

**At the guild, Fairy Tail~ **

**Romeo's P.O.V**

I was just about to return to Fairy Tail with Bisca and Alzack, after once again looking at the ocean, ironically enough in the direction of Tenroujima, where Natsu-nii and everyone else disappeared.

I believe the couple behind me were trying to talk to me, but my attention was caught on a noise. It seemed like it was far away, but at the same time, it also seemed like it was approaching. Fast. Suddenly, a big ship flew past us overhead and towards our guild. That was Christina! Blue Pegasus' ship.

I began running in the same direction as the ship just had flown. I heard Bisca and Alzack call out for me from behind. I didn't care though, I had a hunch about what they would have come for.

Miraculously I managed to reach the guild at the same time as the ship. Did they have such a horrible sense of direction? Members from my guild stormed out and looked up as the ship slowed down.

You could just faintly spot a silhouette on top of the Pegasus at the front of the ship. It looked like it was a fat imp with a long mane. "There reeks of sentimental perfume." It said in a disgustingly familiar voice. The person sniffed a pair of times, then he tipped off the head of the Pegasus and began flying down towards the ground. "TOOHH!" He yelled as he fell. Just as he crashed into the ground head first, he yelled. "MEEEENN!" As per usual.

The members outside, including me had so wide eyes, our irises were the only thing visible. "YOU FELL?!" We all yelled in unison, somehow.

Truly, it was the imp I had expected it to be. Ichiya tilted to his side and faced me and my guild mates, as I had moved towards them as the old man fell. He pointed at us with two fingers, while lying on his side. "I'm Ichiya, just for you~" He said with sparkles all around him. I almost began gagging.

We heard a swoosh of air and looked up at the rest of the Trimen slowly coming down, protected by air made by Ren, who stood with his arms out wide.

Eve 'stood' with his hands in his pockets and half smiled down at us. "It's been a long time, everyone." He greeted.

Meanwhile, Ren made the air swoosh just a bit more for show. "I.. Am a user of Air magic." He told us. We already knew.

Hibiki had his hands in his pockets too, but was looking at Ichiya instead. "We understand how you feel Ichiya-sama, but won't you settle down a bit?" He asked of his team leader.

Father looked at the three of them with a surprised expression as they landed safely on the ground. He had most likely not expected them to suddenly just show up. "You…" He muttered.

Eve tilted his head just a little and looked at dad somewhat cutely. "Getting older, Macao-san?" He asked. That was true.. He had gotten older, and it was obvious on his wrinkled face, but he had also become the guild master.

Ren just snorted and looked down at me with a tiny, _tiny_ smile. Hibiki winked at all of us and greeted us with a "Yoo…" Couldn't they just drop their host-act for once? Just for once?

The three quickly surrounded Laki, our Wood Make mage. "Do you mind if I call you 'baby'?" Eve asked her.

"T… Those glasses really suit you." Ren added, seemingly a little red in his face, but it was hard to see with his dark skin color.

Hibiki blushed visibly though, but we all knew it was fake. "You're as beautiful as ever, Laki-san." He complimented her. Laki looked confused and rather flustered at all their comments.

Max seemed like he was going crazy though. "Do something other than flirt!" He yelled at the three. Meanwhile, Droy and Jet asked themselves what in the world Blue Pegasus could be doing at Fairy Tail.

The three Trimen apologized in unison, with a deep bow, to Laki and thereby making her even more flushed. At the same time, Ichiya got on his feet and brushed dirt off his butt, while facing his team members. "Hey! You guys!" He called at the three and pointed at them with two fingers. Once again. "I don't forget the perfume of camaraderie of those I've competed and fought with." He said with sparkled appearing all around him. Again.

Somehow I felt that he was supposed to be pointing at us rather than his team members. Maybe the fall had hurt him more than he let on… Not that there was much up there, which could be destroyed.

Hibiki looked at all of us, letting his bangs cover the eye farthest away from us. "Something matching Christina's movement characteristics that we've recorded in the Information Archives has been detected in Fiore's Eternano reading." Hibiki said.

As he finished speaking. All of our faces adopted an expression of shock. And I just increased when Ichiya took his usual stance, pointing with two fingers and sparkling all over, and elaborated. "In other words, Tenrou Island still exists." He said, sparking hope in all of us.

Natsu-nii.. Everyone.. No, they couldn't be, not after all this time. It was impossible!

Eve looked at all of us with a wide smile. "Of course, we'll lend you our ship, Christina. We can carry eight more people." Eve said.

One of our 'members' stepped forward, right next to me. He had bight blonde hair, almost the same color as Laxus', but lighter, and was about the same style as Hibiki's, but a little longer. He had two dog ears sticking out of his hair, the back of them the same light blonde color as his hair, and the inside was more sand-colored. He wore a loose, white tank-top, which was worm fitting and showed off his broad and muscular chest, which could make just about any man jealous. He also wore a pair of knee-long dark blue jean-shorts. He wore nothing on his feet. He had dark eyes, so dark you couldn't see the color of his iris, but still not as dark as Natsu-nii's. What made him stand out though, was that he had a big, furry tail sticking out of above his pants. It was the same blonde color as his hair and two ears, but had a white tip.

He had a happy glint in his eyes as he looked at the four Trimen. "I'm going~" Canini told them rather happily. I looked up at him. So that was why he was here…

**Later at the ship, Christina~**

**Canini's P.O.V**

We were on the ship of those three men and the dwarf's, me and seven other members. Many of them were discussing the validity of the Pegasus's statement. Apparently, they were unsure of what Eternano was. They also said that even if the island was safe, no one was sure the members were.

Well, that would be except two of them, who were yelling something about meeting a Levy again. Those two were sure that the core members of the guild were still alive.

And they were, I knew they were. My friend had told me they were. My friend had suggested that I help wherever I was needed. So, now I was going to sniff out the core members.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of my thoughts, as the people around me seemed to fall silent. I looked up and around. It was unusual for them to be silent. They all looked at some point in front of us.

I looked the same way they did, and spotted the little black something on top of the water. One rather long-haired male looked at the black spot confused. "What… Is that?" He asked rhetorically.

Another man with weird hair with one spike on top looked just as confused. "A person..?" He asked. "How?! It's on top of the ocean!" He then added, as if to convince himself it couldn't be true.

But they were right, it was a person. A little girl actually. She had long, wavy, blonde hair, reaching to her bare feet with some wingy things on top of her head. Her clothes were some white/pink dress with some blue decorations too or something. Her eyes were an unusual color of green though and she was smiling at us.

"She's… She's standing on the water!" Someone yelled behind me. Apparently, I had moved forward without knowing it.

"Who is it?!" Someone else asked. Just as someone was probably about to answer or something, the girl lifted her hand up, and as she did, an island with an abnormal tree rose from the water in a sphere of golden light with the Fairy Tail insignia on the front, towards us.

"Tenrou Island! It's Tenrou Island!" Someone shouted behind me and there was a round of cheering from the group behind me. Even I flashed a grin. Of course my friend was right.

The girl, who could miraculously stand on the water, turned around and ran off towards the island. A rather obvious indication that we should follow her.

The guy with the weird one-spike haircut pointed at the girl. "That woman! She went to Tenrou Island!" He yelled, switching everyone's attention from the revival of the island and to the girl instead. "After her! Hurry!" He continued. The girl was already standing on the island. "Wait up!" He yelled after her, but still she kept running. "Oi! I said wait!" He called again.

We quickly lowered the anchor of the ship and jumped off. The girl had disappeared, much to everyone's dismay. They seemed to be forgetting something though.

"What's up with that woman?" A green haired lady with a cowgirl hat asked loudly as she ran.

"But she _did_ show us the location of Tenrou Island…" The green haired lady's husband mentioned. "Maybe she'll lead us to where everyone is!" He said.

The weird-haired one looked back at the black haired guy. "That would probably be true… But she ran off!" He said loudly. "We can't see her!"

I sighed. They had forgotten me. I could sniff them out. Instead of saying anything, I raced off, having caught the first scent. It was the scent of flames and ashes. That could only be… I quickly followed the trail.

When I ran past the members of Fairy Tail, they suddenly remembered me and what I could do. "Right! We have Canini! He can sniff them out!" One stated. That was right. Thank you for finally noticing, guy.

I stayed silent as I followed the scent and soon enough, I found the end of the trail. I looked down and saw a guy with pink hair caught under stones and dirt with his face facing down.

The others finally caught up with me and looked down at the fallen guy with shocked expressions. "Natsu…" Someone muttered.

**Back at the guild, Fairy Tail~ **

**Romeo's P.O.V**

I sat at the table reading a book about Dragon History. I had been reading it over and over again in seven years. About Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, the one which had attacked them all back then.

I heard footsteps approaching behind me, but I didn't turn around and look at who it was. "Romeo… Was it really a good idea for you not to come along?" The familiar voice of my father asked behind me.

I didn't look up from my book as I answered my father's question. "Even if Tenrou Island is found, there's no telling whether everyone is alive, right?" I answered with a question.

"Nonsense! We have to believe!" My father told me. The way he said it, it sounded like he was tryig to convince himself of this very thing.

I still didn't look up as I spoke to him again. "There's been no word in over 7 years." I told him with a deadpan expression as I turned the page in my book.

Just as I heard father sigh, the door was kicked in. "Oi!" Someone yelled. And when he didn't get a reaction as fast as he wanted, he repeated his word. "OII!" He yelled much louder. I, along with everyone else, turned around and looked at them. There were five unimaginably ugly people standing in the doorway. "There are a lot fewer people here today…" The most ugly of them all said. "Rather than a guild, what is this? Some sort of friendship club?" He asked. His 'friends' began laughing at this horrible joke. He looked around at the people present at the moment. "And just as we thought, those four aren't here today." He mumbled with a smirk.

Old Wakaba stepped forward. "Teebo! Payment's due next month, isn't it?" He asked the leader of them, the ugly one.

The ugly one, Teebo apparently, stepped forward. "Our Master, well, you see.. He said that simply won't do." He said. "It's a problem if payments are not made on schedule… If Master's said it, then it can't be helped." He slowly said, as if he actually regretted it. But, we all knew he didn't.

I got up from my chair and glared at the men. To hell if I would let these people take our hard earned, but little money we had left again. Now those four weren't here, I was the only one, who could help Fairy Tail. "We don't have any money to pay you guys." I told them determinedly.

"Stop it, Romeo!" My father yelled. No one really listened to him, though.

'Teebo' looked at me with a smirk. "What's up with that attitude, you shitty brat?" He asked.

I continued glaring at the five people, who had entered out guild. "To have been tamed by punks like these.. Father and everyone are cowards.." I said lowly as I gathered my magic in my hand. Suddenly, a flame came to life, hovering just above my hand. "I'm going to fight! If things keep up Fairy Tail's name will be worthless!" I yelled.

The leader, 'Teebo' simply blew at it with his mouth, the fire vanished in a puff of smoke. He drew the sword he had in its sheathe. "The name became worthless a long time ago, no?" He asked.

He began getting ready to swing his sword at me, just then my father stepped forward with a horrified expression on his face. "STOP!" He yelled at 'Teebo'.

Just then, he swung his sword down with a face as a madman. "YOU GUYS WILL NEVER BE ABOVE US AS LONG AS YOU LIVE!" He yelled at me.

When the sword was just a moment away from hitting me, he flew off above me and kept flying until he hit the wall on the other side.

Before anyone could do anything, an abnormally big hand hit one of the grunts, then a sword the other, a pole of iron the third and the last was hit by an explosion of ice. All at the same time. They all fell down on the ground unconscious, simultaneously.

Then I saw the person with the grin I had missed seeing for so long, along with all the other grins I had also been missing. "Everyone! We're back!" Natsu-nii said loudly, the rest of the crowd behind him agreeing with this statement.

Father looked like he was just about to cry. "You… You… You guys…!" He stammered stunned. Everyone were. They were alive. They were really alive.

The silence was kept for a moment, everyone silenced with shock. Suddenly, it was broken as the members began cheering wildly. "So young!" Someone said, everyone with tears falling down their eyes like waterfalls. "They haven't changed at all since 7 years ago!" Someone else yelled. "What happened?" Someone asked.

Lisanna scratched the back of her head. "Umm, well…" She started off.

**Back at Tenrou Island, a few hours back~ **

**Canini's P.O.V**

_I stood back as the people with me ran down to the unconscious pink-haired boy under the rubble. "Natsu!" The guy with orange, pineapple-styled hair yelled. "Wake up, you bastard!" He screamed at the guy. When he didn't react, he began shaking him. "Natsu! Get a hold of yourself!" He yelled. Still, no reaction. "OI!" He yelled again._

_Finally, Natsu woke up. He jolted up in a sitting position with a beyond pissed expression. "WHAT?! SHUT UP!" He yelled at them. _

_Just like that, he was knocked down by the pineapple-guy and the fatty. It was as if an owner had just returned to his two dogs. "Natsu!" _

_Natsu finally noticed the people with him. "What the hell happened?!" He asked. "Why did you guys come here.." Then, he seemed to notice something else too. "And by the way… DID YOU AGE A BIT?!" He freaked out. _

_The rather long haired one had tears running down his face, just like everyone else. "You haven't changed at all!" He said excitedly. No, obviously he wouldn't, he's been stuck here in 7 years,_

_The pink-haired one pointed at fatty. "And Droy got fat…" He said. "We just got hit by Acnologia's attack..!" He held his head in his hands as if he had a headache. "Umm.."_

_Suddenly I caught a scent, it had the same underlying warmth in it as all the others from Fairy Tail. I went towards it and left the others behind. It wasn't far away, just a few meters._

_I could still hear their conversation in the background. "What about everyone else?!" Natsu asked frantically. _

_A flash appeared right beside me, scaring me out of my mind. The little girl appeared out of the light. "Right here." She said with her light voice. _

_I looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Who-?" I was just about to ask who she was, when she cut me off as she let out a wave of magic all emanating from her._

_The remaining guild members appeared behind her along with the forest, surprisingly. And there she stood, proudly in the middle of it all. "My name is Mavis." She told us with her hair suddenly catching a breeze. "Fairy Tail's first Master. Mavis Vermillion." She explained. Fairy Tail's first Master? But shouldn't she be dead then? _

_A first, everyone were surprised, but they quickly snapped out of it and woke everyone up from their deep 7-years-long sleep. While having a lovely reunion with the supposed 'dead' people._

_When everyone were awake, we stood in front of Mavis, who stood up on a big root, high above us. "Back then… I took the strength of everyone's bonds and faith and converted all of it into magical power." She explained to all of us, maybe even those she had taken this magical power from. "All of your thoughts allowed one of the three great Fairy magic, 'Fairy Sphere', to be activated. It is a magic that will protect the guild from any evil; any magic with evil thoughts behind it, an absolute defensive magic." She said and looked around at all of us. _

_We all stayed silent as we listened to what the little girl had to say. 'Any magic with evil thoughts behind it'. Well, it probably was true. _

_She blinked once and began speaking once again. "However.." She drew it out for suspension. "Everyone was sealed in a frozen state, though it's been released, a span of seven years has passed." She explained to the newly awakened guild members, who all looked speechless. _

_The little, old man was the only one to say anything. "What now… So the First protected us, huh?" He asked rhetorically. _

_Mavis shook her head with closed eyes. "No, I'm just an ethereal body. Since I converted everyone's strength into magic, I had to give it my all." She said. She opened her eyes and looked at all of us again. "Unwavering faith and resilient bonds will bring even miracles to your side." She told us. Her face brightened up from the serious atmosphere which had been hanging around. She smiled rather cutely and tilted her head, looking at the little, old one. "It's become a wonderful guild, Third." She told him. _

**Back at the Guild, Fairy Tail~**

**Natsu's P.O.V**

"She said…" Gramps ended the tale of how they had been awakened and what Mavis had told us all. He really hit it spot on too. "Ah well.." He mumbled and crossed his legs and arms.

I got the feeling that someone was looking at me. I looked to my right and a little downwards. And saw a little, black haired boy looking up at me with big, wet eyes. He wore a surprisingly similar outfit as me, although it wasn't entirely the same.

I smiled down at the boy, I knew this one. "You're all grown up, Romeo." I told him. He really was, he was much taller than before, he reached above my waist now!

His face slowly began making producing tears, and when the first one fell, the others followed quickly after. "Welcome back!" He said with a bright smile. "Natsu-nii! Everyone!" He greeted us all.

**Later~ **

**Natsu's P.O.V**

The rest of the day, we held an amazing party. We drank, danced, sang, all as if we were making up for the seven years we had lost.

I was sitting with Romeo who had been wearing a wide smile all evening. I had just made quite the discovery about the boy. "So you use Fire magic too, Romeo?" I asked excitedly.

Happy, my partner, raised his paw just as excitedly. "Looks like things are gonna heat up in the guild again, right?" He asked.

Romeo raised his hand and let magic through it. "I can make Cold flames too." He said just as he created a blue flame, surprising Lily, who stood right next to all of us. The flame didn't radiate any kind of heat. "And I can make a Sticky flame that's purple, just like my dad's. And a Stinky, yellow flame." He showed off as he created each flame with their description.

I had seen those flames before. "Hmm? I've seen this magic somewhere.." I spoke my mind.

"Yeah." Happy agreed.

Romeo leaned in with a smile. "Don't tell my dad, but I've been going to Totomaru-sensei's classes." He said.

I spread out my arms and smiled widely. "Man, this brings me back! I still haven't eaten every color of his flames yet, maybe I should come with you next time!" I said to him.

Romeo shook his head. "Sorry, bringing up anything about Natsu-nii is strictly forbidden." He told me. Why would it be taboo, though?

That reminded me, there was one person I hadn't seen since I returned. Where could she be..?

**With Makarov and Macao~**

**Makarov's P.O.V**

I sat on the table, Macao, or should I say Fourth, sat on a chair right next to me. I looked at him and smiled. "So… You're the fourth Master of Fairy Tail, hmm?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "What are you saying? I'm just filling in! You can have your title back right away!" he told me quickly.

Now it was my turn to shake my head. "No need." I deadpanned. "This might be interesting. Why don't you stay as a Master for a while?" I suggested.

Macao's face changed into absolute shock. "SERIOUSLY?!" He asked me. Then realization seemed to fall over his face. "Well, if that's what the Master wishes, I guess I'll stay for a while." He said proudly.

Wakaba blew out a puff of smoke. "Everyone probably won't say anything, but I'm sure they're all gonna be disappointed." He said with a grin.

I laughed a little. "I know right?" I agreed. Then shook my head and looked at Gildarts, the ace of our guild, who stood next to us and laughed as well. "Nah, I think I have someone else in mind." I hinted and waited till the man himself realized what I was implying.

I watched Macao crying not so manly, having his hopes and dreams torn away from him, and when I looked back at Gildarts, he didn't seem like a person who just got the title as a Master of a guild.

I sighed and got to my feet, standing on the table I had been sitting on. "SILENCE!" I yelled. I might have put a little of my magic into my voice right then… But it did what it should, as the whole guild soon returned to complete silence. "I have something to say." I told all of them. "As you all know, I'm getting old." I said. The people looked confused, but didn't say anything. "Which is why I've decided we need a new Guild Master." I told them.

This made them all rage in disagreement. Gildarts looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Master, what are you doing?" He asked me, just as confused as everyone else.

I placed my hand on his shoulder, thus silencing him. The whole guild was still in disarray at the big news. "The new Guild Master will be-" Everyone went back into silence again. "Gildarts Clive." I said with a satisfied expression. I couldn't find anyone more worthy of the title than him. He knew of all the secrets of the guild and how it worked. Besides, he knew how to do paper-work too.

A complete, pregnant silence filled the guild for a moment, until they all sprang into celebrations and happy faces.

Gildarts looked at me with widened eyes. "I doubt I could do it better than you." He glanced at Macao, who was also celebrating. "Or that old guy, he's been running it in seven years." He said and looked at the guild. "Even though it didn't turn out particularly good." He then mumbled.

Wait… Seven years? Then, if that was true, then surely… I turned to Fourth. "Say, Forth…" I trailed off. Macao looked at me, catching the serious aura around me. He nodded for me to continue. "Has… Has _she_ returned yet?" I asked him, somehow not actually able to say her name.

Macao furrowed his eyebrows. "Who are you talking about, Master?" He asked me.

I wagged my finger form side to side, while also shaking my head. "A-ah. I'm just Makarov, or Third if you will." I told him. I looked up at him again with a serious expression once again. "Lucy, of course." I told him.

He looked like he was just about to answer, when the door was smashed in. Four figures stood as darkened silhouettes against the bright light of the outside. "What's all the commotion about?" A smooth, female voice asked. And it was very familiar too.

**So, bad cliffhanger right there. Who could these four people be, though? **

**I tried following the manga quite closely, there from when we went from Romeo's point of view and throughout it, but with small changes. As, for example Canini, as I'm quite sure you are aware of.**

**I wasn't quite satisfied to the goodbyes to the Dragons, it didn't come out as emotional as I would have liked it to. **

**Thank you** **BecauseIamSoBored, wheafel, madreder19, Misty-Silver-Kitsune-Hanyo1230, Aira0906, ExDragon, ButterTARDIS36, Waternixie, OtakuLover43, mjb379, Nicole (Guest), KiseKuroko, tanithred, Maiannaise, Mayawong, Alaina Kuski, FireDemonSlayer, clairedamoon, Guest, bluejay9534, emobookworm, FT LOVER (Guest), Toolazytologin (Guest), Vanilla Twinkles, SpeaksInRiddles, allanimefreak73754, TheIcefire, Darkverger1, BustNjust9, APeaceOfPie4Everybody011, aristofthemind, kagome22, DesolationDeath, laknight11, ShioriErz, smitherz, oualilehna53, Black Eclipsed Soul, sora lazuli (Guest), drunkR3ader393, eskimo vs ninja, lagi-dragneel, twilightamanda (Guest), Guest, nega saiyan, Guest, Girlcreeper81, nightmare410, Minxlf889, WinterXstarxz, Emerillion (Guest) and everyone else~ For the usual thing too!**

**~Line464d**


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

**Continuing on from chapter 41~ **

**So, to make up for the horrible goodbye I made last chapter, here you got an extra long one!**

**Thanks to DesolationDeath for helping me with this story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I dunno why I still don't own Fairy Tail, honestly. I would be the perfect owner. **

**At the Guild, Fairy Tail~ **

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

No… That person.. It couldn't be. But that voice, that unmistakable voice. It belonged to one person. Bunny-Girl!

I looked towards the door, just like everyone else, and there stood four figures, cast in complete shadow. Three smaller, about the same height, and one taller.

There was a complete silence in the guild as everyone just stared at the door in shock. Some more than others. Suddenly, the silence was broken. "Princess!" Someone yelled and ran to the door. "Don't leave me for so long again!" The same person yelled.

Soon enough, the blonde dog, who had been there to get us with all the others back at Tenrou, ran to Bunny-Girl with his arms spread wide, probably to lock her in a hug as soon as he got close enough. Thing was though, he didn't get close enough.

Just as he came too close, the tall one next to the figure in front stuck out an arm and hit the dog right in the face. "I thought we went over this already, Canini, don't get too close." A deep voice told the dog. The dog stood still with the fist in his face and his tail wagging from side to side.

The silhouette which the dog had originally been running at, giggled. "I hope you did as I told you, Canini, and helped out." She asked the dog. Yeah, there really was no doubt about it. There was really only one person with that giggle and that voice. Only one damn person.

Bisca stepped forward and smiled at the silhouettes. "Yes, Canini was very helpful with finding the members on Tenrou. Thank you for sending him to help us-" It was like everyone inhaled sharply, waiting for the name the green-haired cowgirl would say. "Lucy." She finally said. Just as she finished, the light outside wasn't as overwhelming as it was before, and the shadows not so dark.

And there she was, the girl I- we had been waiting for, for so long. I could hardly recognize her, but when I looked into her dark, brown eyes, it was clear. This _was_ Bunny-Girl. She had changed a lot. Just these seven years, she had changed unimaginably much. She had lost the last puppy-fat she had on her hips and thighs. She looked like a 'real' woman now. She was slender, but you could clearly see the muscles working under her skin, but of course not too much. It was well proportioned and balanced.

But that wasn't what was the biggest change about her. No, the most outstanding difference, was her at least waist-long, silver hair, put up in a different kind of braid… I had no idea what it was called, but it started at the top of her skull and kept being braided down. She wore a black, form-fitting one-shoulder top. The one strap over the right shoulder was thick, filled her whole shoulder, right from the crook of her neck to the end of her shoulder-bone. It was somewhat weird for her not to wear the usual blue color she always wore, but this certainly worked too. Then she wore a half-long, somewhat loose, silver skirt and a pair of black sandals. I glanced down at her hand and saw the Fairy Tail mark resting there in bright pink.

I never thought I would have to think it about anyone ever in my life, but Bunny-Girl had grown to be a beautiful woman. No man could deny that fact.

And of course, a beautiful woman, such as she had become, wasn't available. I _had_ noticed the bright, blue mark just above the strap of her top. The same color as the tips of the hair of the tall man next to her.

And he fitted the description Carla gave of the man Bunny-Girl had met when she left just a few mon- some years back. Black and blue, spiky hair, blue t-shirt, black jeans and a black leather jacket. And deep, deep blue eyes. He was just as tall as the Lightning Rod, but not quite as fit as him.

Beside him, stood a boy almost as tall as Bunny-Girl. He pretty much wore the same outfit as the tall one next to Lucy, except the blue color was darker and no jacket. His hair was different though. It sat flat to his head and was somewhat long, especially in the back. His bangs just barely covered the top of his eyes. Oh yes, then there was his eyes, they were pretty weird. Weird as in yellow. I can't recall ever seeing someone with such yellow eyes.

Then there was the last one, she was again just a tiny bit lower than Bunny-Girl. She wasn't nearly as curvaceous as Lucy, but she wasn't a straight line either. She wore black skinny jeans and a loose, dark gray top. She wore a long, black coat, which reached down to her knees. Besides that, she wore high-heeled boots, in the same dark gray color as her top, and they reached her knees. She had short, curly, dark hair and bright, light blue eyes. It was almost as if they were glowing.

Everyone fell silent, completely silent. Well, except one person, not so surprising to anyone. Natsu's face lit up into a bright smile. "Luce! Where have you been?" He asked happily. "And why do you have silver hair, and look so old..?" He trailed off, confusedly.

I turned my head slowly and glared at him. Why would he be so happy? And how could he be so immensely stupid? Had he completely forgotten what had happened back in time, when he threw Bunny-Girl off the team and all the things he said? It wouldn't surprise me if - of all people - that Fire Idiot would be the one who would forget such a thing. But even so, even he shouldn't forget such a thing. His behavior was different from what it was.. What had changed I wondered?

When Bunny-Girl didn't say anything and just stared at the pink-haired moron, not able to find any way to respond to his weird behavior, he decided to take action himself. So, instead of just waiting, like any other person would in that situation, Natsu ran off, much like the dog had just before. Without anyone realizing it, the dog had moved away from the fist. I would have been surprised if it hadn't. It would be an idiot if it hadn't.

At any rate, Natsu did the very same thing the dog did, except the tall man, I still don't remember the name Carla told us back then, laid more force into his punch this time, and Natsu flew all the way into the wall on the other side, right where Natsu had kicked that other guy when we entered the guild. Ironic, wasn't it?

The guy had his wild bangs lay a shadow across his eyes. "Don't you _ever_ touch her." He threatened him with a growl. Well, just as I had expected. Possessiveness, and a lot of it too. That guy had made Bunny-Girl his and no one was going to take her from him, that much was clear.

Then, someone else - and much faster - charged at Bunny-Girl. "Luuuuushyyyy!" The blue neko said as he charged forward in the air and crashed into her with teary eyes. He looked up at the girl. "I've missed you _so _much!" He told her.

Lucy laid one arm around the cat and patted his head with a smile. "I've missed you too, Happy." She told him. The cat just looked like he would begin weeping instead. Bunny-Girl giggled at him. "You should go make sure your partner isn't dead." She suggested gently.

The cat nodded and flew to his partner. "Natsuuu!" He said, not quite as excitedly as when he flew to Bunny-Girl.

That pulled everyone out of their trance. The first one to react was Wendy. "Lucy-nee!" She yelled and ran at the older lady at full speed.

Bunny-Girl smiled widely and knelt down to Wendy's height and spread her arms out wide for the little girl. "Wendy!" She called back as the girl crashed into her arms and hugged her tightly.

Wendy's sobs rang out in the, for now, silent room. "I-I've m-missed you so-so much!" She managed to get out in between sobs.

Bunny-Girl nodded. "Yeah I've missed you too, Wendy." She looked up and around and finally her eyes settled on the little, white cat. "Carla! Come here!" She called out.

Basically everyone looked at the cat, who seemed to be fighting her tears. She slowly began walking towards her partner and the grown-up. The slow walking gradually became walking, then fast walking and at last, she also ran into the arms of the silver haired woman. "Lucy…" She said lowly, burying her head in Bunny-Girl's shirt.

At the edge of my peripheral, I saw a certain Water woman cover her mouth with her hand, while her deep, blue eyes seemed to be about to overflow with tears. "L-Lucy-sama." She muttered very lowly. It was only because of my Dragon Slayer senses, that I could catch it.

Now, here was the surprise, Bunny-Girl actually looked up at Juvia, as if she had heard what the woman had said. "There's space for one more, Juvia." She told the Rain woman with a warm and welcoming expression.

Juvia seemed to struggle even harder with her tears, as she, not unlike the cat, began slowly walking towards Bunny-Girl, Wendy and the white cat. When she finally reached them, after what felt like ages, she spread her arms out wide and embraced all of them at once.

Bunny-Girl giggled once again at their affection. "I've missed you three." She told them and held them all just a little tighter.

She really hadn't changed much personality-wise. She was still the same Bunny-Girl, from when she left. I couldn't help the grin that began stretching out on my face.

Bunny-girl, Juvia, Wendy and the cat pulled a little away and they chatted happily together about something, which was quickly overwhelmed by the sound of the cheering guild. Well, the cheering was mostly came from us from Tenrou, while the other ones simply welcomed her home. So, she had obviously been here in a while.

Bunny-Girl was attacked from all sides by her friends, many of the girls went straight to hugging her, while the guys relented with a pat on the shoulder or a handshake, funnily enough eyeing the tall guy all the time.

I laughed as I watched the scene unfold. "Gihi!" Well, it was to be expected, really. But I only thought the Dragon Slayers would be affected, but it would seem human males were affected by it too. If it was the dark aura the guy leaked every time a man stepped too close to Bunny-Girl or because they could smell the scent of him all around Bunny-Girl, pushing them away. I guessed it was the first of the two.

All of the four people standing in the doorway looked up at me, all with surprised and confused expressions. The only one who's expression changed was Bunny-Girl's. Instead of confusion, her face softened into amusement and she began laughing out loud. Much to everyone's surprise.

The tall guy looked at Bunny-Girl with a _very_ confused expression. "Lucy..?" He asked slowly. Probably wondering what his girlfriend found so funny, just like all the others of us.

She reached up and patted the guy's shoulder, while she brushed away the tear she had gotten from laughing. "Just forgive me this once." She said and without waiting for a response, she ran away from him and in my direction instead. Her face was spread into a wide grin as she kept running at me. When she reached me, she jumped just a little in the air and locked her arms around my neck. "Gajeel!" She laughed.

I stood quite stunned at the sudden extra weight hanging around my neck and didn't move. My ears caught a low growl, probably only the Dragon Slayers could hear it, and looked in the direction it came from. The man, Lucy's 'boyfriend', was looking - no, _glaring_ at me with evil glints in his eyes.

And that was all I needed. I smirked at the guy and placed my arms around the girl clinging to me. There was nothing I loved more than messing with people. "_Bunny-Girl-_" I put extra pressure on the nickname, knowing it would piss him off even more. "Long time no see." I told her, looking straight at the raging 'boyfriend'.

It was like a storm from hell flew up from underneath him and made his hand stand on end, whirling around in the air. His whole face was covered in a completely black shadow. A creepy, white mouth, stretching too far across his face to ever be human and with too sharp fangs for teeth appeared and his eyes began glowing menacingly in a pair of bright, white lights. He truly looked like a demon. Also with the wings in black and blue sprouting from his back and the long tail, which swished from side to side.

This time… I might have stepped over the line. The magical pressure that guy radiated at the moment, made my breath - along with everyone else's - catch in our throats. Except one person, one person alone.

Bunny-Girl, probably feeling the insane amount of magic that guy was releasing at the moment, let go of me and landed on her feet. She pried my hands away, me being unable to move and all, and turned around to the guy with a sigh. She began walking in the direction of the raging guy, who was not even going the least bit down in anger. He _really_ needed some anger management classes. Jeez.

That wasn't the main concern, though. HOW THE FUCK DID BUNNY-GIRL MOVE?! She shouldn't be able to, not when magic on this magnitude was released. This was crazy. Insane. _Unnatural._

The little guy next to the tall guy shook his head, he wasn't affected by this shit either! "Lucy-nee, I don't think-" He protested. And how in the world did that _kid_ move?!

Bunny-Girl just shushed him and walked to the raging guy. She reached out to him as if nothing at all was happening, that he was just letting off a spark of magic, and cupped his two cheeks. She stood on her toes and gave the mad guy a kiss… On his teeth. No sorry, fangs. That was just wrong. It was messed up.

The guy almost instantly calmed at her touch and laid his arms around her, pulling her closer, as he deepened the kiss.

Meanwhile, the whole guild, with the surprising exception of those four, took a sharp inhale of breath - some people falling to their knees and steadying themselves on the floor - and panted as if they had been running several miles. Without stopping.

Bunny-Girl pulled back from the guy and they took a moment to just look into each other's eyes. Then, Bunny-Girl flicked his forehead with a frown. "I thought I said you should forgive me." She pouted at him.

He smiled at her and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "You aren't the one I don't forgive." He told her and glanced at me with a rather triumphant smirk.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Oh, so he thought he had won, did he? Well, I guess I just had to prove to him who was strongest. Which could possibly prove to be quite the challenge.

Bunny-Girl followed his gaze and looked at me. She looked up at the guy again with yet another pout. "You know what I meant!" She said.

**A little later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I sat at a table with my three Dragon friends, Acnologia, Basuril and 464, or 'Akane', as the guild knew her as. Basically the whole guild, except the Masters and the 'old' members, those who hadn't been revived from Tenrou. Or woken up, if you will.

We were a little late to the party, regrettably, because we had been meeting with the Head Dragons at the usual field.

It had already been a month since, for them, since we had seen each other. The two Chaos Dragons and I had already been in Fairy Tail in two weeks.

The meeting was basically useless, if you didn't count seeing each other again. There weren't really any news on either side, only that I knew Fairy Tail's core members would return.

How did I know that? Well, I remembered the day Acnologia did it, for various reasons, and the girl, Mavis, told him seven years would pass before they woke up. That was today.

I had left Canini, my Canine Spirit, to help the ones going finding the long lost core members.

Well... Maybe meeting with the Head Dragons wasn't the only reason for our late arrival. Maybe I had been quite hesitant to go here again, earlier doubts popping up again. Maybe I considered not showing up at all.

And maybe I had people who convinced me to go and practically pushed and pulled me.

Now I was happy they did. Obviously, they hadn't hated me for leaving, they'd been understanding and forgiving, as Fairy Tail had a reputation for. They'd welcomed me right back with open arms.

Even... Natsu. Gray. Erza. My old team, they all - well mostly Natsu - acted as if what happened back then hadn't happened at all.

He still used the nickname he had given me long ago, as if those days he had ignored me, hadn't talked to me at all, hadn't happened. As if everything would return to normal now.

He was sorely mistaken. Nothing was as it once was. Everything had changed. I had trained, gotten stronger, found someone I loved more than anything, new friends, new nakama, a whole new family, and I had found a new, close-knit team I knew I could trust. We had a secret in common, a big one.

I had pulled Wendy, against her will, up in my lap, I had no idea why, and was patting her head lightly, running my fingers through her long, blue hair. For some reason, I had always wanted to do this. Her hair was as silky as it looked.

At any rate, we were actually going through the introductions, and it was my three Dragon friends' turn. Well, it was only to those who just returned, the rest knew it all already.

I looked at Acnologia, who was the first to introduce himself to the guild. He simply nodded at them, somewhat uncomfortable with the many people and their crazy personalities. He'd get used to it at some point. "It's nice to meet you all." He said. It looked like he was really struggling with introducing himself. He hadn't had to do it before either, people recognized him. Well… Those people were also Dragons. And he looked like one the greatest Dragons in history, even had the same name, so it was kind of obvious why. "I'm Acnologia Te-" He was cut off.

The members surrounding us looked at him with shocked expressions. It was the same as two weeks ago. Elfman was the first to say anything. That or he was the loudest. Probably the latter. "WHAT?! So _you _are the ancient Dragon from 400 years ago? IT'S NOT MANLY TO KILL PEOPLE!" He yelled.

I flinched at the high octave the guy was yelling in, but stood against the roar of the white-haired Strauss, not willing to show I had just as sensitive hearing as the Dragons and the Dragon Slayers. I wasn't supposed to be one.

Meanwhile, Wendy - and every Dragon or Dragon Slayer - got their eardrums blown out and were covering their ears. I could hear a tone in the back of my head, and then the people speaking once again in the background.

I could faintly see Acnologia shake his head with my now blurry sight. "No, I'm not an ancient Dragon from 400 years ago." He said. Shaking his head probably also cleared it. "I'm Acnologia Tehepo, Chaos Dragon Slayer, trained by the Chaos Dragon, Deamunas." He told Elfman - and everyone else too.

Natsu, who had somehow also gotten close and heard Acnologia, almost jumped forward, but Gajeel caught his scarf before he could. I sent Gajeel a thankful smile. Acnologia really, _really_ despised Natsu.

Natsu wasn't aware of that, dense as ever, and was still trying to approach him. He turned around and glared at Gajeel. "Release my scarf Metal-Butt!" He said loudly to the Iron Dragon Slayer. Gajeel shook his head, but that wasn't necessary as Natsu had already turned around and was looking at Acnologia with an eager expression. "What? Really?!" He asked. Acnologia sighed and nodded, already annoyed with the guy. "Did your Dragon also disappear?" He asked. Not even thinking once about how talking about the Dragon could have affected Acnologia, had he actually been a Dragon Slayer.

Acnologia sighed and nodded again. We had figured that Deamunas should also have disappeared then. He would have if he had been training a human. "Yes, he did." He simply said.

Gajeel, also getting tired of Natsu, threw him back behind him and the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer hit the same spot he had earlier, when Acnologia gave him a fist in the face. He looked at Acnologia with furrowed eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

Mira Jane, forever being the matchmaker of Fairy Tail, looked alternately at Acnologia and I with a gleam in her eyes. "So… What's your relationship?" She asked curiously. Many of the girls stepped forward and also looked quite interested, while the boys pretty much looked like they were already bored.

Acnologia looked like he wanted to answer, so I let him. "Well, we're mates." He told them. When he saw the confused expression many of the people around us wore, he elaborated. "It's a trait Dragon Slayers inherited from the Dragons." He said. He smiled at me and took my hand, rubbing circles at the back of it. This didn't go unnoticed by Mira. "It's stronger than a normal human's affection for each other-" He was cut off again, much to his annoyance.

Gajeel, being the only guy who actually seemed remotely interested in it, along with Pantherlily, or Lily as he had asked me to call him, on his head. Both with crossed arms. Gajeel looked at both of us with furrowed eyebrows. I wondered what he was thinking about. "Basically, it is when a _Dragon_ or Dragon Slayer find the person they want to share their life with, the male, whether he's actually human, _Dragon_ or Dragon Slayer claims the female with a sealing bite. They'll be together forever from then on." He explained. Well, I guess Metallicana taught him back then, he seemed rather knowledgeable on the topic.

All attention was on Gajeel as he finished the explanation. Wendy nodded. "Yeah, I remember Grandine telling me that too." What? Grandine had told the girl when she was like 5 years old or something? Wasn't that a bit… Early? Wendy continued where Gajeel left off, though. "The bite is supposed to be just around here." She said and touched the crook of her neck, where the mark I had sat on me. "It will tell other males to stay away from the female, because she has already been claimed." She looked up at Gajeel and Laxus, who surprisingly stood beside him sporting a scowl, with a cute smile. "I'm sure you felt it, Gajeel, Laxus." She glanced at Natsu behind him. "But I'm not so sure he did…" She added.

Gajeel - and Laxus - nodded, then smirked. "He's too dump." He said. "Besides, I bet his Dragon didn't tell him anyway. They're probably both stupid." He said. Well… I couldn't deny him. Igneel _was_ stupid sometimes.

Levy looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and a troubled expression. "Then what's in it for the girl?" She asked confusedly.

I smiled at her. I had wondered that same thing back then, but before I could answer, Mira beat me to it. She stood near Gajeel and Laxus too. She smacked Laxus' chest lightly. "Other than the unconditional love and protection, of course there's also a mark showing _he's_ taken." She said.

I almost dropped my jaw on the floor. Say _what?!_ Mira and Laxus? What in the..? That tattoo Laxus owned, I never thought… And I had never seen Mira with any mark at the crook of her neck. But her hair always covered it, even when she was in her Satan Soul form, the collar was high enough to cover it. Why didn't I know this?

Regardless, I fit my jaw back in place and slowly nodded. "Y-yeah. That's pretty well-covered." I agreed. I couldn't find anything these guys left out. Well… Except the grief-thing, but maybe that was only for Dragons, so I chose not to bring it up.

Mira nodded. "Yep." She agreed and looked at me with hearts suddenly popping up in her eyes and her hands clasped together. She looked like jelly the way she waved around. "Ooooh! Blonde-haired blue-eyed babies and black-haired brown-eyed babies, or-or-or… So many _possibilities!_" She gushed and looked like she went completely into overdrive with all the babies she was imagining. It made me feel somewhat scared of her.

Cana drank the last of a barrel of booze and looked at me with a grin. "So how'd you two lovebirds meet?" She asked curiously.

I realized this probably wasn't the place for that kind of thing. I smiled at her and looked around at the girls, even though I doubted Mira saw anything at the moment. "Let's have a girl-talk later, okay?" I suggested. They all nodded and smiled.

Cana grinned even wider and grabbed another barrel and held it high in the air. "I'll bring the booze!" She exclaimed. "Then let's meet at Fairy Hills later and have a sleep-over!" She said to us all. We all cheered and then that was decided.

We went back to our introductions again. Basuril, who seemed like he was about to fall asleep of pure boredom, woke up again. He looked around at everyone, who was looking at him. Then, in best Basuril-manner, he pulled out his brightest beam. "I'm Basuril Tehepo! Ac-nii-chan's cousin!" He told all of us. Many of the girls looked like they were about to melt on the spot. Oh dear, he was doing it again. That secret weapon of his hadn't disappeared with the age either. "I'm also a Chaos Dragon Slayer and I trained with Acnologia with Deamunas too!" He told them all excitedly. Oh and now the worst part… He was surrounded by a pink aura, a dreamily proud expression and sparkles all over.

At that point, the girls - except 'Akane' and I, who looked away before we melted - were already a puddle, even the boys were melting, except a collect few. Those being Acnologia, who didn't look at the boy, knowing the consequences, Laxus, unable to melt and Gajeel, also unable to be affected by things like that.

Elfman raised a fist. "It's manly to melt!" He exclaimed proudly with tears running down his cheeks. Don't ask me why.

Gajeel looked at him with a frown. "No it's not." He said rudely, making Elfman whine and protest in return.

I shook my head. This guild I tell you… It would never change. And that was why I loved it, even with what had once been done.

Akane - I had decided just to call her that so I wouldn't slip up at some point - deciding everyone had been melting for long enough, began speaking. "I am Akane Atarangi, Shadow Dragon Slayer and I have trained under Noriaki, the Shadow Dragon." She told them robotically.

I had learned that Noriaki was Skyadrum's SIC, and as she was a Head Dragon and he her Second in Command, the two were the ones taking care of that.. Well, I guess you _could_ call it military or force or something, it didn't really have a name. The two trained the recruits, who mostly were Shadow Dragons, because they were most fit for the task.

I looked at Akane and smiled. She was obviously very strategic. She remembered that I had told her I met Skyadrum's Dragon Slayer and that he had joined a guild, which meant we were likely to meet him again, and he would have no recollection of training with him. On the other hand, Noriaki hadn't had any human children or anything, so he would be the perfect choice. Clever choice.

So, now we would have… Seven Dragon Slayers in the guild member's perspective. While the reality was unimaginable, this little 'lie' was also hard to believe, but still more realistic than the truth, where there actually were four Dragon and four Dragon Slayers in the guild.

I had gotten Akane to know a little over these pair of weeks but not much as she was quite introvert and kept to herself. She probably learned not to share too much with Noriaki and Skyadrum and it had just stuck to her. She was mostly silent and you never saw her smile.

But just as with so many others in the guild - Gajeel, Laxus, Freed etc. - she didn't show her affection for people so often, but whenever you needed help of any kind, she was ready to help you. She was surprisingly easy to talk to too, once you got her alone, that was. And maybe it was only with girls she was like that, I wouldn't know.

Suddenly, the doors to our much smaller guild were bust open and five people entered. Five people we could easily recognize too. It was Lamia Scales' three members, the ones sent to assist in taking down Oraciõn Seis and then two more.

Sherry was the first one to say something. "Welcome back everyone!" She welcomed the returned members and waved with a bright smile.

Lyon stood kind of in the front of them all, like some kind of gang-boss. "Looks like it's turned back into a noisy guild again." He commented with what I guess you could call a smirk-smile.

The guy, Yuuka, with outrageous eyebrows stood with his hands behind his back and… Smirked I think. "Pssh… They haven't grown at all in 7 years." He said. I have no idea if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.

Jura stood tall as ever and with his staff in his hand, towering over his friends. "Have you all been well?" He asked with his deep voice.

The last one made some outburst of some kind. I believe, if I remember correct, that his name was Tobi.

Gray turned and looked at the five people with a surprised expression. "You guys!" He said, probably trying to remember what the name of their guild was. "Lamia Scale!?" He finally figured it out. He could be a little slow at times. And I betted 7 years of sleeping didn't make that any faster.

Max looked at Gray and nodded with a smile. "Yeah, when we were searching for Tenrou, Lamia and Pegasus really helped us out." He said.

Gray sweat dropped, a strand of his hair suddenly poking out in mid-air. "Looks like we're in their dept." He muttered. He probably hated this, being indebted to his rival and all.

Lyon shook his head with a smirk and looked at Gray. "Don't worry about it." He told his brother. "Pegasus made it out there first, but we have much more power." He said confidently.

Gray looked like he was more bored than he had ever been. "Who cares?" He muttered. No one heard him though.

Sherry continued where Lyon - kind of - left off. "Well, in the past 7 years, Lamia Scale has climbed up to number two in Fiore." Sherry told us all. She seemed to be looking around for someone, then she realized something and looked down at the floor with half-closed eyes.

Lisanna looked at the five with a confused expression. "So… Does that mean number one is Blue Pegasus?" She asked. I could see how she could maybe think that, but if you really thought about it, was it really realistic that that group of hosts came in as number one? No, it wasn't.

Which Tobi also reacted violently to. A tick mark appeared at his forehead. "OF COURSE NOT! THERE'S NO WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN!" He yelled loudly. This time, I couldn't resist covering my ears. That man could yell _so_ loudly, it was ridiculous.

Yuuka sighed exasperatedly. "Settle down." He told the raging dog-guy next to him. He looked at Lisanna and gently shook his head. "No.. It's not Blue Pegasus.." He told her hesitantly.

Jura stepped kind of forward. "Well, enough about that." He said and caught everyone's attention. "What's important is that everyone's okay." He said, to which Tobi agree non-yelling.

That was when Lyon noticed the blue-haired woman not standing far away from me. He looked right at Juvia with somewhat wide eyes and she looked back at him confusedly. Somehow he teleported to Juvia and held her by the shoulders. "Could this be what they call love at first sight?" He asked rhetorically.

Juvia, now even more confused than before, were also unable to move. "Eh?" She asked intelligently.

I lifted my hand to my mouth and giggled. "He didn't waste a second." I said amusedly. It had been a long time since I had seen anything like this.

Gray looked like he was sweating bullets. "NOT THIS ANNOYING CRAP AGAIN!" He said, obviously forgetting something rather important.

Juvia, having also heard Gray's comment, as if she was still chasing after him, glared at him. "Well, Juvia might just like Lyon." She said, not realizing what impact that could have on the poor white-haired Ice Make mage.

Lyon's eyes transformed into pumping hearts and he pulled Juvia into a too tight embrace. "I promise I will take good care of you, Juvia!" He promised her. "I swear on my pride as a mage!" He added.

Finally, Juvia realized what, what she said had done and began shaking like a leaf, although Lyon didn't allow much room for that. "H-hold on.. Wait, I can't.." She mumbled into the chest of the Ice Make mage. "Juvia…" She whispered.

I glanced at my old team-mate amusedly. This was better than anything I'd seen the last 14 years of my life. Where was my popcorn?

Gray looked confused at first, then his face molded into one of intense anger. I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. Oh really, now? The air around the black haired Ice Make mage began fogging as his cold magic clashed with the rather warm air of the guild.

Gray threw away the coat he had miraculously kept on until now. He glared at Lyon, probably not aware of why he was doing all of this. "Don't you see she doesn't like it, _Lyon_?" He asked his rival/brother, snarling out his name.

He walked all the way up to the two and quite roughly pushed Lyon away with one hand and more gently pulled Juvia closer to himself. Lyon landed on his butt from the force of the push and looked at Gray with a quizzical expression.

Juvia on the other hand soon bumped into Gray's now bare chest. Her eyes widened instantly and she blushed faintly. She jumped away quickly. I leaned forward, still with Wendy on my lap, both of us watching everything with giggled here and there.

Juvia looked at Gray with a red face. Both Ice Make mages looked at Juvia with furrowed eyebrows. Juvia, in a rather pressed situation, quickly got control of her face and crossed her arm, glaring at Gray. "Juvia won't forgive Gray until Lucy-sama does!" She told him determinedly, turned around and went towards me and Wendy, who were giggling like mad-men. Or mad-_wo_men. It wasn't many who had actually watched the whole exchange. The guild was back at its rowdiness, so 'small' things like that were rather common, but those who did laughed. Although it was drowned in the loud background-noise from the whole guild.

Gray raised his hands up in the air. "What did I do?!" He asked. Juvia raised an eyebrow and went behind my chair pointing at me. Then realization hit him… "Oh.. Right.." He muttered and looked away from me.

I looked at Gray, but he never met my eyes. I turned my head and exchanged glance with my mate. I knew he had been watching it all too. He shrugged, not knowing what was going on with the Ice mage either. I turned around and looked at Gray again, the corner of my lip turning a little up. I thought so… It all also seemed so strange back then.

I had just lifted Wendy of my lap to go and talk with Gray, when the doors to the guild slammed open once again. This time three men and an imp came inside. Already then was it obvious who they were. They didn't even need to strike their poses.

They were all welcomed loudly by the whole guild. Ichiya quickly made a B-line for Erza, who had somehow climbed one of the poles, which held the roof in its place, and crawled up, looking down at Ichiya with a frightened expression. At the same time, the other three were looking for 'prey'.

I walked towards the Ice Make mage, who was now avoiding me. He went into the crowd of people and disappeared from my sight. I sighed. I just wanted to talk to him…

I was cut off from what I was thinking, when I was pushed down on a soft and wide couch, which had appeared out of nowhere. I had one host on either side of me and the last behind me. A little like back when we fought Oraciõn Seis.

Eve, the one of the three sitting on my left. Grabbed my hand in two of his gently. He had really grown since I had last seen him. He was actually taller than me now, and he looked more like a man than a boy now.

Ren, the one sitting on the other side of the couch, grabbed my other hand and brought it to his lips surprisingly gracefully.

Hibiki, the one standing behind me, rested his elbows on my shoulders and locked his hands, pulling me into a light hug. He was also the first one to say anything. "Lucy! I didn't know you had returned?" He said. "I see you're as beautiful as expected." He added.

I rolled my eyes, but with a smile. I knew he would say something sappy like that. I nodded. "Yeah, I returned a pair of weeks back." I told him. I tilted my head lightly backwards so I could get eye contact with the person I was speaking to. "And thank you." I smiled at him.

He nodded and smiled back. I felt the grip on my left hand changing and looked at Eve. "Lucy-san, why didn't you tell us you had returned? We were worried about you." He told me.

I smiled at him and giggled. "Oh, Eve. I didn't mean to worry you, I simply didn't want to be all over the media." I told him. I really didn't. There was nothing worse than the media making up unrealistic stories of my love life. And if they learned of Acnologia, they'd raise suspicion about him as his name was the same as the Dragon who attacked Tenrou and the one from 400 years ago. While the one of them actually was him, the other one wasn't him, that wasn't the point though, he would be suspected of a lot of things.

He smiled at me and nodded. I think Ren was about to say something, when Sherry pulled the poor guy up from the couch and away from me. She glared lightly at me. "I don't know who you are, but leave my boyfriend alone!" She warned me.

I sweat dropped. "Oh, but I ha-" I was cut off when Sherry suddenly shrieked.

The two hosts still hanging around also made an outburst of surprise. Eve quickly released my hand and jumped back, off the couch and towards Sherry and Ren. Hibiki glanced behind him - I figured that was what happened - and jumped over the back of the couch and landed near the other three. Hibiki grabbed my hand as he jumped over the back of the couch and was about to pull me with him, but a hand on my shoulder prevented that.

A familiar magical pressure came from the just as familiar hand on my shoulder and the person owning it. "I would prefer if you stayed away from _my_ girlfriend." A familiar voice snarled at the three hosts. I sighed. Twice in one day? Well I guess today was special. The pressure of his magic wasn't as heavy as it was earlier, I wonder what the difference was. Was it because Gajeel looked like Metallicana, or because he should know since he was a Dragon Slayer too?

The three Trimen shook like leaves just like Sherry. Well, except Ren, who refused to show his fear. He was such a tsundere. He _had_ wide eyes though and looked like he had seen a ghost or something.

Even though Ren was the one who looked like he was the one least affected by my mate behind me, Hibiki, the kind-of-leader-when-Ichiya-wasn't-around of the three, was the one to speak. "I-I.. We a-are so-sorry, w-we di-di-didn't kn-know sh-she had a-a bo-boyfr-friend." He rambled on stammering and bowed deeply again and again. I doubted I actually got what he said, but I think I could figure it out, considering the situation.

I tilted my head back and looked up at my mate, who was towering over me with Shadows - made by himself - laying a dark shadow over him. "Acnologia, I think they got the message." I told him.

He looked down at me, releasing some of the Shadows he had put over himself. He smiled at me and kissed me. I could feel that - once again - it was more to show those three I was taken than to actually kiss me. I guess it was fair enough in these circumstances, but otherwise, I'd never let him get away easily if he kissed me like this. I betted he was glaring at those three right now.

Acnologia and I separated again. "A-Acnologia?!" Sherry shrieked once again, not so loudly. "Like in the Dragon who attacked Tenrou?!" She asked more terrified than before.

I looked at her and smile. "Yeah, Acnologia Tehepo, not Acnologia of the Apocalypse." I sad, avoiding lying as much as I could. I tilted my head and looked at her while she was shaking. "Besides, does he look like a Dragon to you?" I asked her.

She glanced down at me, and then back at Acnologia and nodded furiously. "YES!" She told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked back at Acnologia. He was ruining my game right now. I sighed when I realized why he looked so much like a Dragon to the girl. His skin was black and blue with scales, at least where you could see it, he had those fan-like things above his ears, just like he did in his Dragon form, his front teeth - which usually were a little sharper than normal people's - were even longer and sharper. He had a pair of wide wings looking just like the ones he had when he was in his Dragon form, but smaller, and a long tail whipping behind him. All - except the teeth - in black and blue Chaos magic. But the magic he was radiating was nowhere near as strong as it could be, all this was just to intimidate those three. He couldn't help it if the rest of the guild also found themselves intimidated with it.

I tapped his hand gently and drew his attention. "Don't you think you've show off enough now?" I asked him. He raised an eyebrow at me and grinned, basically asking me if I really thought so. I nodded with a smile. He had done more than that, if he had radiated more magic than he did now, he would make them all pee their pants. I could smell the fear in the air. "Pull back your Dragon Strength, okay?" I asked him, using the English name of the spell. I was just about to slip up and say 'Tarakona Kaha' instead, that was the Dragon way of saying it.

He sighed in defeat, but I knew he also smelled all the fear in the air and knew he had gone just a little over the limit. He pulled back the wings, teeth, tail and fan-like things on his head and all of the Shadows he had also pulled out.

I noticed that and could see he didn't know I had. "I didn't know this was a life-threatening situation." I whispered to him. He laughed and planted a kiss on my forehead.

I looked back at the four to see if they weren't too scared. "So he's a Dragon Slayer, I presume?" Hibiki asked, looking thoughtfully at Acnologia with his thumb and index-finger brushing his chin.

I nodded. "Yeah, a Chaos Dragon Slayer." I told them, they looked confused at me. I guess Chaos magic wasn't as common in Earthland. "It's an ancient Dragon magic passed down from Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse." I told them. Well, that was the truth, but I didn't actually reveal anything.

Hibiki nodded. "So is that why his Dragon Force has a different name and looks different?" He asked. The whole guild calmed down at the knowledge it was just a different type of Dragon Force and slowly went back to chatting with each other. "Because he has been training with the Dragon of the Apocalypse?" He added.

I looked at him with a smile, but I wasn't the one to answer. "Yes and no." He said. "Yes, it's different because it's ancient, no I didn't train under _that _Acnologia, I trained under the Dragon called Deamunas. With my cousin Basuril." He added in the end.

Hibiki nodded. "Interesting, definitely interesting." He said. He looked at Acnologia and smiled. "I'll have to look this up in my archives." He told us rather excitedly. Then he glanced down at me. "I can't believe you would be able to stand another Dragon Slayer with all those you've been around, Lucy." He laughed. That sentence could easily have been misunderstood, but from the way he said it, I could hear he meant no harm with it at all.

I laughed with him, but found myself being nervous he would somehow find out the truth about us. Even though it was near impossible.

Sherry was pulled out of her trance. She looked down at me with surprise all over her face. "Wh- Lucy?" She asked uncertainly, as if she didn't believe it herself. I looked at her and nodded. Her eyes widened even more. "You're back!" She screamed happily and caught me by surprise in a hug.

I giggled and nodded. "Yeah, I am." I said. I would have thought she would have been spouting out about how strong they were, being number two in all of Fiore, and us being at the bottom, but she didn't.

**A lot later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The rest of the night had progressed calmly, or well… It was never calm around here, but you know what I mean. No one were hurt and no male dared pulling me into a hug or anything, as Acnologia kept a watch over me like a hawk. It was sweet - in a way - but it seriously also pissed me off I couldn't even give my friends a light hug as a 'welcome back' or anything.

Besides that, I hadn't been able to find Gray after everything with the Trimen and all. I figured he had headed home after that incident, and since I - as I found out - didn't know where Gray lived, I couldn't find him.

Also, I had found out Cana was really Gildarts' daughter. It became very obvious when she had won in a drinking competition against him and he yelled it out to the whole guild and its visitors. It was a surprise, for everyone, but Gildarts was a sweet father, as long as he wasn't drunk and groping his daughter all over the place. He was so happy every time Cana called him her father.

The girls and I were getting ready to go off to that slumber party we had decided we would have. Most of the guys had passed out too, so we didn't have to worry about them peeking at us. We had decided to invite Sherry along, as she had nowhere else to sleep, and no girl should be forced to sleep in a place stinking of so much alcohol.

Acnologia stepped over the unconscious bodies of most of the guys on the floor and towards me. He locked his arms around me and kissed me deeply and deliciously. This time it was much more affectionately than those other two times, that was probably because he didn't do it to show anything off this time.

A chorus of "Aww's" were heard behind us from the girls and a single "Get a room!" from Gajeel. I picked up the closest shoe I could get and threw it at him, not even knowing if it hit or whose shoe it was. I could feel a zap of magic running from my mate into the shoe just before I threw it, so no one would notice it. The magic was lightning, which meant the shoe would hit no matter what. And the place Gajeel had most metal… Was his face. "OW!" He yelled at us.

I smiled against the kiss and soon burst into a fit of giggles, forcing us to separate. "You're not following the rules, Acnologia." I whispered to him.

He chuckled. "Well, there are a lot of life threatening situations around here." He whispered back. I giggled again. He leaned closer to my ear and kissed my temple. "Are you sure you can hold it tonight?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been practicing." I reassured him. We both had actually, forcing ourselves to stay in our Human forms even while sleeping. We figured a situation would come, where we would have to sleep with others and maybe even in a small house, so we kind of had to.

I pecked his cheek one last time, before going out the door with the girls. Before I could make it though, I felt a rough hand on my shoulder and turned around, looking at Gajeel. What? Did he want to return the shoe?

He smirked at me. "Do you remember you promise, Bunny-Girl?" He asked me.

I looked confusedly at him. My promise? Wasn't my promise that I would return? I shook my head. "None other than I would return." I told him.

He grinned. "Well, I guess that's how it goes when you become an old lady." He said. I smacked the back of his head. I hit perfectly. "Oi, that actually hurts!" He told me and rubbed the back of his head.

You would think that thick mane of his would take some of it. "Stop being such a wimp." I told him with a smirk. "Now, what was the promise?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Right." He looked through his pockets and found a nicely folded piece of paper. "See for yourself." He told me and gave the paper to me.

I looked at him quizzically and slowly folded up the letter. I quickly recognized my own handwriting. It was the letter I wrote to him the day I left the guild. I skimmed over the page, and found the part he had probably meant. _I need some time alone right now, but I'll come back. Stronger than ever! Maybe we can have a battle? I don't know when I'll come back, but please be a little patient._ That was what I had written. I practically promised him a battle.

I folded the letter back up and handed it back to the Iron Dragon Slayer, while sweat dropping. "Yeah.." I said slowly. I smiled at him. "What do you say we do this tomorrow?" I asked him. "I'm a bit tired at this point, and you're somewhat hammered too." I told him and giggled as I saw him sway from one side to another.

He shook his head determinedly. "I'm alright! I can fight right now!" He said and took a pose as if he was ready to fight. It was very sloppy though and his hands seemed like they were dropping.

I giggled again and patted his shoulder. "Okay, but I'm tired, so it'll be tomorrow." I told him. He nodded and went back inside the guild.

Cana lay an arm around my shoulder and pulled me with her out of the guild. She stunk of alcohol, not that it was a surprise. "So, Lucy." She started out and held in a burp. I internally shook my head. They wouldn't ever change around here. "What was all that secrecy with your mate about?" She asked.

I giggled at her. "That's the question, isn't it?" I said amusedly, while trying to figure out what I would say if she kept on pressuring me to tell her, which I knew she, and probably also all the others, would.

She tightened her arm a little around my neck. "What? Tell us!" She said, her voice affected with the many barrels of booze she had been drinking.

I giggled and at last figured out what he also could have said. "He was asking if I could last a night without him." I told her.

She lifted her hands into the air and released me. "Oh, ain't he sweet?" She asked. She winked at me. "You sure found yourself one worth keeping there." She said.

Mira nodded. "Mmm, he's got the whole package." She said with a smile while I slowly felt a blush creeping up on my cheeks. "Handsome, nice - as long as no boy touches you -, has a good humor - I think - and did I mention he was handsome?" She asked and smiled at me.

I laughed and nodded. "I guess I did get quite a good catch there." I agreed. I knew I did, I got the perfect one.

Levy looked back at me with a smirk. "What did Gajeel want, though?" She asked curiously.

I grinned at her. "Don't tell me you're jealous Levy." I laughed when I saw her face heating up into a flaming red color. "I had promised I would have a fight with him when I returned, so that's what we're going to do tomorrow." I told her with a grin.

She turned away and nodded. "Right…" She mumbled embarrassedly. Oooh, I missed this. There was none of it back in the Dragon Realm, everyone around me had found who they were supposed to be with, and if not, they didn't have a crush on anyone. Not that I knew of anyway.

We had already reached Fairy Hills, which was a special Fairy Tail building no one other than Fairy Tail ladies and those people they accepted could enter. Which meant Twilight Ogre hadn't been able to go through the gate and destroy the building if they wanted to. Which they did. It didn't lie just up and down the old guild, it lay a little out of Magnolia, but somehow close to both guilds.

We went up the big staircase and into the big dormitory. We quickly spread out into all of the rooms, empty as well as occupied and gathered all of the mattresses and futons we could find and gathered them all in the lobby. We cleared the floor, letting the couch and what else was in the room stay in the corner so there was enough space for all of us. It turned out that there weren't enough futons or mattresses to lie on one for everyone, so I called out Aries to help me with that little problem. Meanwhile, I had also asked her to bring my pajama, so we all could change to that.

Of course, I had done that just as I normally would, not wanting to reveal all of my secrets before I would battle Gajeel tomorrow.

The rest of that night went by with me telling them about how Acnologia and I met and what I got better at, leaving my Dragon magic and all the Dragons I had met out of it. And the fact that I was a Dragon too, of course.

In return, those from Tenrou told me - and those who hadn't gone to Tenrou - what had happened at the Island and what had happened when the Dragon had come and attacked them.

At last, the ones who had stayed in Fairy Tail and watched it go down in rank and losing our building and everything told the rest of us what little had happened then. They'd also apologized for losing the building, to which we just agreed that that wasn't what kept the Fairy Tail family together. The guild itself was the bonds between every member.

We talked to long into the night, even made me reveal that I maybe weren't as innocent as I once was, but that was only after Wendy had fallen asleep. Don't ask me how they made me do that, it still gives me nightmares. It's almost like the ladies of this guild were scarier than the men, until you told them that.

In the end, almost everyone fell asleep, except a few of us. I got to my feet. "I'll just go get some fresh air." I told all of them and went out the door. They nodded and kept chatting lowly about the boys of the guild and other guilds probably. I'd gladly admit I had no interest in that kind of talk, at least not as much as I once had, now I had Acnologia. I couldn't dream of more than that.

I silently went out the door and found a nice spot on the grass, where I could see the familiar night sky. I pointed out all the constellations I could see from where I was and smiled. It wasn't as easy in the Dragon Realm, not in the start anyway, because the constellations of Earthland were entirely ingrained in my brain right from when I was little. I would always be able to spot them all quickly and name them.

I was remembering the last fourteen years with the Dragons, which all seemed so far away. It wasn't like that was only a pair of weeks ago, it was more like it was a pair of years ago.

I remembered when I got Canini during a mission at Crocus, we needed someone with a little better nose than us, and what better than a Canine? He appeared out of nothing and began easily began tracking the scent we had been trying to track with lots of problems.

I sat up straight and figured I might as well open his Gate now I had some spare time on my hands. I closed my eyes and sent myself to the familiar place.

**Inside Fairy Hills~**

**Erza's P.O.V**

I felt a faint spike of magic coming from outside and excused myself to see what it was. I'd been told that other guild, Twilight Ogre, had been trying to get this building down more than once, so I figured it was probably them.

But when I came out, it was Lucy surrounded with a golden light instead. It faded just as I had come out, as if it had never been there in the first place. Lucy moved her hand to the pouch she always carried around, or at least had somewhere close to her.

She found the key she was looking for, but didn't pull it out. "Canini." Was all she whispered. The dog-guy from before appeared in a blinding, golden light. She looked up at him with a bright smile, none of them noticed me. She had trained a lot, she only had to say that much to summon the Spirit now.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall with my shoulder, watching the two. She hadn't changed at all with her behavior towards her Spirits and her personality had changed much either. It was obvious she had changed a lot with her appearance, honestly the silver hair was a surprise, but it fit her perfectly.

Canini smiled wolfishly at her. "You wanna see now?" He asked excitedly. I furrowed my eyebrows. What in the world could he be talking about? See what now?

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, that was the plan." She said with a smile. Canini nodded too and then closed his eyes. He let the same bright, golden light surround him completely, so he wasn't visible anymore.

When it finally faded away again, his appearance had changed completely. Instead of the human/dog-hybrid he was before, he was fully dog. Or should I say wolf? He was as big as a horse. Okay… Maybe that was exaggerating, a pony at least. He was as tall as a pony. He looked like he was quite the muscular wolf too. His fur was golden even in this evening light. The tip of his tail was white, likewise were his feet halfway down the legs also white. His eyes were as dark as the night, it was impossible to see what was iris and what was pupil. He had a big, dark brown nose at the end of his muzzle. Which he decide he should stick into Lucy's ear to tickle her.

She giggled and pushed his head away lightly. "Stop it Canini, it tickles." She laughed. Much to my surprise the wolf laughed too.

He looked at her and smiled wolfishly with his tongue hanging out. He made a roundabout, letting Lucy see all of him, he still didn't notice me. He looked into his eyes when he had circled all the way around himself. "What do you think?" He asked.

This made me gasp in surprise. Wolves shouldn't be talking, even if they were Spirits. Of course, this noise caught their attention immediately.

Lucy looked back over her shoulder at me. "Oh, Erza." She stated as a kind of greeting. She placed a hand in Canini's fur between his ears and ruffled it. "Don't worry about him, he's completely harmless." She told me with a smile.

Canini looked at her with a raised eyebrow - I think, it was hard to see. "Oh, you really think so?" He asked playfully and pushed her back with his head, so she fell back on her back. He lightly placed one of his big paws on her stomach. "Do you still think I'm 'completely harmless'?" He asked her playfully.

She shook her head and laughed. "Right. You're a big and dangerous wolf." She laughed again and sat up, pushing his paw away from her stomach. She turned back to me with a smile and patted the ground next to her. "Come and sit with me." She offered.

Feeling like I couldn't resist her offer, I went to sit next to her, pulling my knees up. Lucy nodded to Canini and he nodded back with a wide grin. He moved over behind us and lay down, suddenly becoming a long, furry pillow. Lucy slid down and rested against him. I slowly did the same and found that Canini was surprisingly comfortable to use as a giant pillow.

Lucy looked up at the starry sky with a little smile. She glanced at me. "It's sure been a long time since we've been like his, huh Erza?" She said. She looked at Canini. "Well, of course we didn't have a fat wolf to use as a pillow.

Lucy's bare feet were smacked by Canini's tail. "I'm not fat" He grumbled. We both laughed at the wolf who lay with closed eyes, apparently also enjoying us using him as a pillow.

Before an awkward silence could land between us and before I lost my courage, I turned my head and looked at my now silver haired old best friend. "Listen Lucy…" I trailed off. She turned her head and looked at me with an encouraging smile. "I-I'm sorry for what I did back then." I said and watched as her eyes widened. "We shouldn't have said it so harshly- No." I cut myself off. "We shouldn't have done it at all." I told her. I could feel the wolf moving under me, but gave it no attention. I reached out and lay a hand on her shoulder. I could almost feel my tears building up in my own eyes as I spoke. "Do you know how out of sync our team was after you left? No, after you were kicked out?" I asked her. "Lisanna couldn't make us work together like you could, she would always stick with Natsu and-" I was cut off when I felt a finger on my lips.

Lucy giggled at me with a wide smile. She looked at me with her big, brown orbs as a tear fell from it. I slowly reached out and brushed it away. Lucy suddenly moved fast and caught me by surprise in a hug. I could feel her sobs wrack through her. "Th-thank you Erza." She muttered. I slowly locked my arms behind her bag and held her close as she began sobbing. "I forgive you Erza." She whispered as she dropped her forehead to my shoulder.

That was when the tears I had held back fell out of my good eye. I felt the drops of my best friend's tears land on my pajama and let my own lightly drip down. Canini curled around us even more and protected us against the cold as we cried in each other's arms.

After a while, when we had dried off our eyes and talked a little, Lucy called her Spirit back. "Let's go back inside." She suggested and offered me a hand to get up. I took the offer and got to my feet.

**I think we'll end it off there. Wonderful ending, isn't it? A lot of things happened here, huh? **

**Lucy reunited with her nakama again, but she had actually returned to Earthland a pair of weeks back. She's formed a team with the other three Dragons. Acnologia got to meet all of the guild members himself and kick just a little of Natsu's ass, a little. Lucy had foreseen that the core members would return that day, and had left Canini, her new Spirit, to help them finding them. Natsu seems to have completely forgotten what had happened, while everyone else remembers. Or do they? The introductions went smoothly with no mashups and Acnologia got to scare the whole guild and some Trimen and Lamia Scale members. We met his Tarakona Kaha, or should I say Dragon Strength? Lyon fell for Juvia, following the story of the manga and anime, and Juvia basically rejects Gray, but it seems she isn't completely over her love for the Ice Make mage. The dark haired one that is. Gajeel is promised a battle the next day just as Lucy and all the other girls go to their slumber party, while most of the male population of Fairy Tail and the visitors had passed out. Last, but not least, Lucy opens Canini's Gate and forgives Erza for past mistakes!**

**I told you a lot happened. And it also - the story along without A/N's - filled 11 122 words! That's basically two chapters ._. **

**I'm sorry to say it, but don't expect this long chapters every time, it'd be impossible.**

**Also, a little was told about 464/Akane, and while she is 'me' in the story, for one, while I like her style, I don't wear that every day, her personality isn't all me either, some of it is made up and some of it is left out, you know? She's still a creation of my imagination. **

**I had actually planned to add some from our favorite Grand Master of all things Mysterious - and probably also evil. I'm sorry about that, but it just became too much, I'll save that for another chapter. **

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, because I think it came out pretty good. I also used up the entirety of a whole day to finish it ._. **

**Thank you XxKatieKat12xX, BecauseIamSoBored, KimmyRose, mjb379, Nicole (Guest), wheafel, OtakuLover43, EllieXDreams, Mayawong, An anonymoose (Guest), pandora wonderland, Fantasialight, aristofthemind, Aira0906, ButterTARDIS36, ExDragon, Guest, Waternixie, allanimefreak73754, TigerLily2214, FT LOVER (Guest), BustNjust9, Person (Guest), secret241, Darkverger1, DeathKitsune666, MoonStar1312, Maiannaise, ShioriErz, ToolazytologinXD (Guest), Ptitoon, Alaina Kuski, Emerillion (Guest), Al (Guest), Myth Magyk Fae, Guest, SillyKitty88, Konan15, misakiayumu, cherie13, nightmare410, spykid5, MissRollingStone, CRuShVSky, scallywag4real, Zenpest, fairychime-diamond47, Kakashi's hoe, Celest and Celestial the Twins, ShadoeFae, IronWolffy, ShadowVR2, NightGoddess23, olcos, johnljohnsibn, Sn00pis, Janshal, Katrin123, twilightamanda, protozoana01, AkioGasai, Wolf and MR Lover, disturbedintothenight, Matsuri Scarlett and all you other people out there for everything! I can't believe this story came so far, but it did, obviously. GRACIAS, DANKE, MERCI, THANK YOU, - insert language-!**

**~Line464d**


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

**So here we are again, let's see if this chapter is just as eventful as the earlier one was. Probably not, that was just crazy ._."**

**Thanks to DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke's off writing/drawing Fairy Tail and getting it all ready. Which means he won't listen to my pleas. _**

**In the morning~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

As usual I woke up in my Dragon form in my and Lucy's home, a cave she had created with her Earth magic as the only exception. She had created one for Basuril too a little further away, so we could get just a little privacy.

I felt a little cold - not because of the weather, the Fire part of me took care of that - with the absence of my mate. We hadn't been separated once in the evening when we slept, ever since we found each other again, this was the first time in fourteen years.

I was aware it wasn't the kind of cold I could just get rid of with warming myself up with my Fire magic, it would only disappear when I had my mate in my arms again. It was the kind of cold only she could warm up again.

The cave she had made was a little outside Magnolia, a cave in the middle of the streets would obviously stand out too much, so we hid it in the forest just outside. There was an halfway empty spot, it seemed like it had been raided by a tornado or something, that was where we decided we would create our cave.

She had made sure to make a perfect duplicate of the one we had had in the Dragon Realm, even with the same, soft Socubedo moss covering the floor. Although, she had added a curtain of leaves as a, well… curtain to the outside. Just adding to the feeling of privacy.

I blinked a few times to wake my still sleeping head up. I slowly rose to my four feet and shook myself like a wet dog, loving the feeling of my scales getting fresh air after lying still for a whole night. I quickly changed to my Human form and went outside feeling the fresh morning air even more vividly than in the cave.

I inhaled deeply letting all the smells of my surroundings well over me. The forest was the first thing I smelled, it was the fresh scent of the morning dew amplifying the scent of the leaves and the earth in the ground. Next was of the little pond Lucy had created back when we made the cave, we needed somewhere to bathe after all. Her magic came in surprisingly handy when it came to making our home. I felt kind of useless back then, and I still did thinking back at it.

I decided it would be great with a bath to start the morning off, I wouldn't want to walk around stinking. So I went off to the little pond and took a quick, lonely and cold bath to freshen myself and clearing my head.

Afterwards, the walk went to Fairy Hills. I figured the girls wouldn't have woken up yet and if they had, I doubted they were done, being so many girls. And just basically being girls. They probably chatted all the time and didn't even have time to brush their teeth. They probably also brushed each other's hair and whatnot.

Soon enough, I reached the building I recognized as Fairy Hills. I knew I had reached my destination when I heard all the girlish giggles and voices coming from in there. I leaned against the gate to the building with crossed arms and waited for my mate to make her appearance.

Suddenly an authoritative voice called out and overdid the noise of all of the others. "GET THE MATTRESSES BACK INTO THEIR ROOMS!" A familiar voice yelled.

No, it wasn't Lucy, but Erza. Even if I hadn't talked with her much, her voice was still easy to point out from the others. It just had another tone in a way.

It sounded like all the girls stopped all of their movement at once. "HAI!" They answered to the red haired knight's order. Just as suddenly as their movement had stopped, they burst into movement again. This time it sounded like there was more control of it, though. It didn't take long before the noise of their footsteps sounded from all over the building followed with the sound of them dragging something behind them, which could only be the mattresses.

I shook my head and smiled. This was the Fairy Tail Lucy had described over and over again. The energetic, rambunctious bunch of people. And this was only the girls, at their lightest too, as far as I was aware. And then there were the boys too, I'd been told they were even worse than the girls, always creating fights. As it was, a lot of things happened yesterday, I doubted it could get any more crazy than that.

I was broken from my stream of thoughts when I heard the door to Fairy Hills open and all the girls coming out with lively chatter following them. I turned my head and looked at them. None of them seemed to notice me, too caught up in their conversations with each other.

I looked around in the horde of girls, looking for that certain beautiful, silver-haired one. My sense of smell was rendered completely useless with all these new scents coming my way. I still hadn't learned all of their scents, so they all overwhelmed me at once. At last I found her, walking next to a little, short, blue haired girl in an orange outfit.

They seemed completely trapped in their conversation. The petite girl clapped her hands together and jumped twice excitedly. "Ohh, I just _loved_ your novel, Lu-chan! The way the prince kissed the princess in the end was described so well!" She chirped happily.

I looked at the girl. She could only be Levy McGarden, the ultimate bookworm of the guild and Lucy's best friend since day one. They'd clicked instantly as they began talking about books and their common interests.

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I was also proud of that part." She admitted. "I felt like it just came out perfectly." She laughed a little.

I don't know if she was about to say something else, but she passed by right then, I reached out and grabbed her wrist. I whirled her around and she was stopped when she was pulled into my chest, with her other, little hand resting just above the tattoo marking our relationship. Before she got a chance to do anything, I caught her soft lips in a passionate kiss. I still kept my hold on her wrist, although I lightened it a little, and moved my other hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

I faintly noticed the girls giggling and likewise in the background, but my mind was occupied with the thought of finally having my mate with me again and feeling her warm me up and erasing the cold completely.

I had no idea how long we had been keeping that kiss going, but when we separated our lips again, the girls were already gone. I dropped my forehead down on hers, still keeping my eyes closed, simply enjoyed having her in my arms.

Her sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries filled my nostrils and I smiled. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down at her as she still had her eyes closed. I released her wrist and slowly let my hand slide all the way up her arm and up to her face, where I gently cupped her cheek and stroke it with my thumb. "Were you alright keeping it in tonight?" I asked her in a whisper. We both struggled a little staying in our Human forms even as we slept, we'd gotten used to never having to hide that we were Dragons in the Dragon Realm, so now, coming back to Earthland, we figured it would be a great idea to could keep it in, in case someone randomly walked past our cave.

She opened her beautiful, warm, brown orbs and smiled at me with a tiny nod. "Of course, it went perfectly fine." She reassured me. "Although, it would be nice if we could take a walk in the sky." She told me.

I nodded and smiled. "Of course." I agreed. It would be good to get the chance to spread my wings and take off into the sky. Especially if she was with me.

She smiled and grabbed the hand which cupped her cheek and intertwined her fingers with mine. "Let's go to the guild, they're probably wondering where we are." She said and pulled me after her as she began walking towards the guild.

I let her pull me after her, but only after making sure she knew just how dissatisfied I was with the lack of bodily contact we had. She just laughed at me and kept walking towards the guild.

We'd been walking a little in silence and when we were somewhat close to the guild, she turned and looked at me with a smile. "Oh yeah, I just remembered. It would seem I promised Gajeel a battle back when I left, so I said we would have it today." She told me.

I found myself surprised with this sudden news. To think that even back then she thought she would be strong enough to take that man on. I remember her telling me he was one of the strongest in the guild. He was ruthless when it came to fighting, as I understood. It didn't surprise me, Metallicana was the one to raise him after all.

I smiled at my mate and rubbed circles on the back of her hand. "Well, that shouldn't be hard." I told her.

She nodded with furrowed brows. "So you felt it too." She said. I nodded as the only answer. She had told me that back when she and I hadn't reunited, you could always feel when they came, all of the members from Tenrou, because they had a strong magical presence. I hadn't felt anything when we entered the guild, only the ones we knew and then those from Lamia and Pegasus. I hadn't felt the Fairy Tail core members at all.

But I guess that was natural, they'd been sleeping in seven years while everyone else still had been awake and honed their magic. They were lagging seriously behind magic-wise. Physically it would be around the same, of course.

I smiled at her. "Well, I'll look forward to seeing you kick that Iron Bastard's kid's ass." I told her. She giggled sweetly and nodded.

We turned around the last corner and saw the guild come into view. The members were standing outside and watched as two people were fighting. Summer and Max. And Max was winning, just as I would have expected. In the end it looked like Summer turned up for the heat, so it reached its maximum, I think, and overwhelmed Max. "DOES ANYONE ELSE WANNA TRY?!" He asked them all, looking like a madman.

Most of them shook their heads. "He's a monster." Someone said. I looked down at Lucy, who was just looking at it all with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head lightly. Well, Summer always won when it came to battles. That was simply just how it was. Or so I'd been told.

The little white haired Strauss, Lisanna I believe, looked around at everyone with a shocked expression. "Then only monsters like Laxus, Gildarts and Master will be able to keep up." She said sadly.

Lucy and I walked up next to her. "They'd still be much weaker than what they're used to." I said and looked up at especially the blonde Lightning Dragon Slayer. "No offense." I told him.

He shook his head with his hand up. "None taken." He said, much to everyone's surprise. I thought he would have exploded or something. "I was aware from the start that we were lacking behind magically." He told us all.

I nodded in recognition. It took quite the man to be able to admit that he was lacking behind at something. Especially such a proud man as I had gotten the impression that Laxus was. Maybe he had changed back when I attacked them at Tenrou.

Lucy looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer with a grin on her face. "You still up for me, Gajeel?" She asked slyly.

He nodded. "Gihi! Of course, wha'd'dya think, that I'd lose to a girl? No way!" He reassured her. I smirked. This guy… He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Lucy nodded and was about to say something, when Summer interrupted. "WHAT?! Metal Face, you get to fight Lucy? That's no fair!" He blurted out and looked highly dissatisfied.

Gajeel hit Summer at the top of his head with a grunt. "Stop that, Fire Brain, she's way out of your league." He told her matter-of-factly.

Summer whirled around and glared at the black haired Iron Dragon Slayer. "What do you mean outta my league?!" He asked furiously.

Gajeel looked down at Summer with a look that said he didn't give a damn. "I mean she's way outta your league, Moron" He told him. Gajeel looked at Lucy and shortly glanced at me shortly. "There's too many people here, we'll take it behind the guild." He told me and began walking around the guild.

Lucy nodded. "Alright, there's more space there too." She said and pulled me along gently as she followed Metallicana's kid. Summer grumbled about life being unfair, but in the end he followed along, wanting to see the battle.

Behind the guild, there was a big, empty field, perfect for the occasion. Gajeel went to the middle of the space, as if it was some kind of grand tournament or something. Especially when the rest of the guild members filed in, eager to watch for one reason or the other. The 'old' members to watch her kick Gajeel's ass, knowing how much she had improved just on her Celestial magic. Then the returned members to see how much Lucy had improved over the years. Cana went around collecting bets from everyone excitedly.

Lucy giggled and released me as she went to stand across from Gajeel. The Iron Dragon's kid was looking at my mate with a smirk clearly underestimating her. I couldn't help but smirk at the Iron Dragon Slayer. He was going to be surprised.

I noticed Basuril and 464 - or Akane as she preferred for us to call her - stand on either side of me, getting the best spots to watch the battle. Basuril looked up at me with a grin of his own. "He'll never be able to match up to Lucy-nee, will he?" He asked me.

I shook my head and grinned. "Of course not." I told him. Gajeel had lost seven years, while Lucy had trained hard at the same time. Rather, double as much time. She'd progressed far beyond him magically, the only thing where he had an advantage over her was physically. He was still a man and she a girl, not only that, he was quite the strong male too.

But I knew that my mate would find some way to make up for her lack of physical strength, the Iron Dragon Slayer didn't seem particularly clever.

Well, either way this was going to be an entertaining battle. She had her Spirits to make up for her lack in physical strength.

The crowd went silent when the two in the middle of the field were getting ready to begin. They both crouched, but it looked like Gajeel was a little sloppy. "Come on then, Bunny-Girl. Show me what you learned!" He said with a smirk and gestured for her to come at him.

Lucy grinned back at him. "Oh, you'll be surprised." Lucy giggled and took a proper stance. It looked like she was overestimating the studded guy, that or she was taught never to let her guard down. I hoped it was the latter.

When Lucy made no move to charge at the Iron Dragon Slayer, he charged at her. Again, sloppily. He had his fist held high. He didn't even summon his magic. When the Iron Dragon Slayer came close enough, so he could almost touch her, Lucy quickly sidestepped and stuck her foot out and tripped Gajeel, who crashed to the ground landing flat on his stomach, making a dust-cloud appear around him.

The whole crowd - more or less - laughed at Gajeel's clumsiness. Lucy giggled at him. "Don't underestimate me, Gajeel." She laughed.

Gajeel grunted with a scowl, then his face lit up in a smirk. He rolled to his side, facing Lucy, and swung his foot forward, trying to do the same thing to Lucy, as she had done to him. Lucy didn't react to Gajeel's sudden movement. So he smirked wider and laughed. "Gihi!" How I hadn't missed that laugh at all.

Lucy smiled at Gajeel. And just as the ugly one's foot was about to hit the back of her feet, Lucy smiled even wider and jumped, dodging his leg narrowly. But that was purely to show off. And going by his scowl, he knew she did too. "I told you not to underestimate me." She said still smiling.

Gajeel grunted and got to his feet, making some space between the two of them. He grinned at her and nodded. "You've grown, Bunny-Girl." He commented.

Lucy crouched again with a bright smile. "Well, of course! That's what I spent these last seven years on." She said. Fourteen, but who's counting?

Gajeel smirked in response and crouched, this time not sloppily. So now he realized that Lucy had grown? First now? She had grown tremendously, how had he not seen that before now?

Gajeel, being the reckless fighter I had been told he was, began running forward again. This time it seemed like he didn't aim to go hand to hand with Lucy, this time, I could feel he was charging his magic.

He inhaled deeply, which instantly made me recognize the spell he was going to use. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" He yelled as he jumped a little in the air and blew all the gray, Iron magic out in a torrent gray and dark sillver in the form of small shards coming from his mouth and directly to Lucy.

Lucy created a golden ball of Celestial magic, it was like she had collected the light her Spirits gave off when they were summoned, letting it hover over her hand for a second as she enlarged it letting it absorb her magic. When the Roar of Iron shards had flown about halfway, and the golden ball in Lucy's hand was about the size of a basketball, she sent it off directly into the Roar.

The two clashed and the Iron magic flew out in an explosion not unlike fireworks. The Celestial ball of magic retained its form as a ball even when they clashed. It looked almost unreal as the small ball of pulsating magic fought against the much bigger beam of Iron, but with almost none resistance, the ball smoothly overwhelmed the Iron Roar.

It flew straight into the Roar and split it apart from the inside. The Celestial ball kept going forward, following the Iron Roar right on, travelling inside the Roar. The part of the Roar it had already passed vanished into thin air as it kept spinning around, but in a much slower speed.

The ball kept travelling through the Roar in a high speed and hit the unsuspecting Dragon Slayer in the head. He cut off the Roar instantly and stumbled back as his head exploded into a sun of golden light. As the Roar disappeared completely, it became evident that the ball of Celestial magic had made no harm on the Iron Dragon Slayer. It was just supposed to show how superior Lucy was to Gajeel magically.

Gajeel quickly recovered from the hit of the ball of magic, then scowled at Lucy. Yeah, that was right, his pride had just gotten quite the blow. I think he was even growling lowly.

The - now slightly pissed - Iron Dragon Slayer began charging his magic again. "Iron Dragon's Club!" He yelled and his arm transformed into a long pillar of smooth Iron. The Iron pillar quickly shot out of his arm and towards Lucy.

Lucy smiled at Gajeel for a second, almost mockingly, and then jumped up on the Iron extension of his arm. She found her balance without any trouble at all and ran all the way to the end of it on end of it, as if she was in a circus. Then she flipped around over him, using his shoulders to hold onto as she swung herself around, landing safely on the ground.

I didn't know she could do this, how had Loke and Metallicana taught her to- Oh, right, she was taught by _Metallicana_, of course she had been taught to fight against him, she would have done that countless times. Well still, she was amazing.

Lucy spun around and landed a hard kick on the lower part of Gajeel's back. He arched his back in pain and the Iron club was pulled back into his arm and he took a step forward, trying to keep his balance. I just faintly saw Lucy's foot glowing golden with Celestial magic. She had enforced her kick with her Celestial magic? That's my clever girl. I knew she would figure something out.

Gajeel quickly spun around and glared at Lucy. I would have been pissed at him if he did that otherwise, but in the middle of a battle, there was only you and the enemy. "I'll get you!" He told her. He swung his fist at her, but Lucy quickly dodged it. Before she got the chance to see what was going on, Gajeel gathered his magic in his other arm. "Iron Dragon's SWORD!" He yelled as his arm transformed into a kind of sword, spikes protruded all around the edges of the blade. Suddenly, those spikes began whirling around the blade, somehow, and it looked more like a sword-like chainsaw.

Seeing that thing, I actually became genuinely worried for my mate. That thing was dangerous, even if his magic wasn't as strong as hers.

I watched worriedly as Gajeel swung that chainsaw of his from side to side and as Lucy dodged each swing with furrowed eyebrows. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. So the old guy hadn't trained with that one? Well, I was actually happy he hadn't.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows even further, but this time with a more determined expression. She had figured something out. Golden magic twisted around her arm as a snake and extended out from her hand, a little like Gajeel's Club in a way. Instead of just being a pole though, the golden magic formed into a thin, graceful blade. Lucy jumped back a last time, then leaped forward and somersaulted over the chainsaw-blade as she swung her own down and cut straight through Gajeel's sword as if it was mere butter.

I let out a breath of relief, I hadn't even realized I'd been holding, when I saw the sword-like chainsaw disappear just like that when Lucy had cut all the way though.

Gajeel jumped back once he recovered from the shock of the girl cutting through his blade, creating some distance between them. He gathered his magic again, but somehow it was different this time, it was as if it covered him completely, but it wasn't visible. Gajeel smirked at Lucy. "Gihi!" He laughed. His magic skyrocketed all of a sudden and he threw his head back. "_Dragon Force!_" He growled in a very Dragon-like manner. His whole body was covered in Iron scales, the ultimate defense. They reflected the light of the sun faintly and made him look even more like a kid of a Dragon. If you looked away from the fact that they actually reflected light, they looked a lot like the ugly Iron Dragon's scales.

Lucy, realizing Gajeel was still focused on pouring his magic into the scales, saw the clear opening in his defenses. She quickly charged him with a sphere of golden magic around her hand, covering it in a bubble. She quickly ran at the Iron Dragon Slayer and when she came close enough, she swung her fist forward, hitting Gajeel straight on the chest. The two exploded in a golden light, making it impossible to see them. The golden light flew out in thick rays until they filled everything.

I knew from experience how much it hurt hitting Iron straight on with your fist, even if it was covered in magic. When I heard the noise of her fist hitting the Iron scales, I shuddered myself and was just about to run in and make sure she was okay, when another sound followed after the first. The sound of something cracking. Then it came once, twice, multiple times after the first.

The golden light retracted back to Lucy and when it was finally gone, she stepped back from Gajeel, and watched as his scales fell apart, him with a painful and shocked expression on his face, with widened eyes and wide open mouth.

When the last scale fell from him and disappeared, Gajeel fell to his knees, now with a defeated expression on his face instead. He looked down at the ground as he probably processed his loss to a girl.

Lucy knelt down in front of Gajeel and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for the battle Gajeel." She smiled at him. She knew not to mention his loss, it would only damage his pride further.

He closed his eyes and chuckled, while the whole crowd - which I first noticed now - stood completely silent and with polyps, staring at the two. Let's just say they hadn't expected her to win with that much over the Iron Dragon Slayer, not even the ones who'd been with her for the last few weeks.

Gajeel looked up at her with a grin. "You've become stronger than I thought, Bunny-Girl. You didn't even summon you Spirits or use your whip." He commented.

Lucy smiled and offered her hand to him. "Well, I had experts teaching me." She giggled. I smiled at the irony of it all.

Gajeel took her hand with a last shake of his head. He got up to his feet and looked down at her. "At least tell me the last one hurt." He asked of her.

She showed him her fist, which was completely red from the force of the punch she had delivered to his chest. "Yeah, it hurt a lot." She giggled.

Gajeel laughed. "Gihi! Then I guess I'm satisfied." He said and pushed her towards me. "Now go to your mate, he can't stand it anymore." He said with a wide smirk.

Lucy looked back at him for a second, before she went right into my open arms with a wide smile. She looked up at me from where I was holding her closely to me. "So, what did you think? Did I do alright?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, you did perfectly." I told her and gave her a kiss, not caring the least bit who was watching. Which would be the whole guild.

The crowd stayed silent, until Cana broke the silence. "Well, I guess you old guys earned a lot of money." She laughed and scratched the back of her head. The crowd went into something of an uproar with the bets and Lucy, Basuril, Akane and I watched it laughing.

I felt something tug at my jacket and saw the little blue haired girl, Wendy, looking at me with a concerned expression. "Uhm, Acnologia. Can I, uh, heal Lucy-nee's hand?" She asked carefully.

I nodded and - not so willingly - released Lucy from my arms. Internally, I was kicking myself half dead for forgetting that Lucy had been hurt during that match. "Yes, of course." I said.

Wendy looked at Lucy instead. She gently took Lucy's hand and began healing it. Lucy smiled at the little girl. "Thanks Wendy, but shouldn't you take a look on Gajeel first?" She asked her.

Wendy smiled at Lucy. "I've already healed him." She said. When Lucy didn't say anything and just looked at Wendy with a confused expression, she elaborated. "Well, none of you have been hurt badly, the injuries are very minor. So it took no time healing him." She explained.

Lucy nodded with a smile. "Oh, I see." She simply said. When Wendy had finished, everyone were slowly beginning to filter into the guild again. Lucy grabbed my arm and began pulling me towards the door as well. "Come on, Acnologia." She said with the smile she knew I couldn't resist.

Just as I was about to agree, someone cut me off. "Hmm, Lucy and Acnologia, could you please stay behind, we have something to discuss with the two of you." An old voice asked behind us.

We both turned our heads to see Makarov, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Pantherlily - or Lily - and Juvia standing back and looking expectantly at all of us. I looked down at Lucy, who nodded, and did the same myself. "Yeah, sure." I said confused as we both walked towards them. I wondered what they would want to talk to us about. "So, what is it?" I asked them as we ended up in front of them.

**Makarov's P.O.V**

I looked at the white cat in Wendy's arms. "Carla, is it the same guy?" I asked her.

Carla looked at Acnologia up from down, then back at me. "Yes, I'm positive he's the same one as the one I saw." She confirmed. Just as I thought.

Lucy slipped out of Acnologia's hand and stepped forward, glaring at all of us with crossed arms. "What are you talking about? 'The same guy'?" She asked. "Please explain, guys. You're making me somewhat nervous." She added.

I shook my head with a smile. "Oh, there's nothing to be worried about, child." I said. "There's just something we need to have confirmed." I told her. I looked at the Chaos Slayer. "So, Acnologia.." I trailed off, making sure I had his attention. He nodded with a raised eyebrow. "You wouldn't be a Dragon, would you?" I asked him, sticking my head forward with a wide, what I knew to be goofy, smile.

Acnologia and Lucy both tensed up with wide eyes. So I was right, was I? "W-w-wh-what a-ar-are y-you ta-talking ab-about?" Lucy stammered confused and obviously nervous.

I smiled at her. "As I said, there's no need to worry, Lucy." I looked at Acnologia. "Even if he was a Dragon, we'd keep it a secret." I promised them. I looked down at Carla. "Our little fortune-teller here got a vision that day, when Natsu… You know.." I trailed off, not sure if she was alright with the topic yet.

"When Natsu kicked me off the team? Yes, I remember." She said a little roughly. Okay, so it was still not everyday-talk. But that was fine, really.

I nodded. "Exactly, so Carla had a vision that day, where she saw what was just going to happen a minute later, an hour or so later, the next day and then at an unknown time." I told them. I locked my hands behind my back. "Now, it's the last one which is the most interesting one.." I told them and before they could do or say anything I continued. "It was about Lucy being charged at by a Dragon, then suddenly he's her childhood friend, Acnologia." I said with a grin.

Acnologia looked at me blanched and sweaty. "That's kind of creepy.." He said slowly.

Lucy nodded. "I know.." She muttered tensely.

I just continued as if I hadn't heard their comments. I waved my hand in front of my face as if to brush it away. "But we figured that it was probably just an illusion to scare away people or something like that." I said and heard the two breathe out a breath of relief. "It was funny though, the Dragon, which attacked us, looked exactly like the one Carla saw in her vision." I told them and watched as they once again blanched and began sweating profusely. What was with those reactions? "You wouldn't have an explanation for that, would you?" I asked them. The five around me had somehow remained silent throughout everything so far.

Acnologia shook his head quickly. "Ká- no! We don't know anything about that!" He said just as quickly as he shook his head. I sweat dropped. He was making it so obvious.

Lucy sighed and placed her hand with the mark back in Acnologia's. "Sweetie, we've been figured out." She said with a smile. Sweetie? Lucy looked at me with a smile. "I guess we'll have to make an exception with you guys.." She trailed off with yet another sigh. "She's going to kill me." I think I heard her mutter.

Acnologia looked down at Lucy with furrowed eyebrows. "Lucy, are you sure we should tell them…?" He asked her hesitantly. I myself had gotten quite curious as to what those two were discussing and keeping secret.

She nodded and smiled at him. "We don't really have a choice now, do we?" She asked him. He slowly nodded. Lucy looked at all of us, Acnologia squeezed her hand gently. "Acnologia and I… Well…" She trailed off. Then decided to try again. "We're kind of Dragons.." She said and looked rather nervously at us. Acnologia furrowed his eyebrows and looked behind him, then shook his head and looked at the three of us.

My jaw was literally touching the ground and my eyes were as wide as they possibly could be. I didn't see, but I was quite sure the other five around me looked like that too. Those two couldn't be serious. Lucy, I couldn't imagine her being a Dragon. Wouldn't she have told us if she was back then? How could she have kept such a big secret?

Pantherlily was the first to recover from his shock. "Lucy… Are you telling us you were a Dragon all along?!" He asked just as shocked and incredulous as the rest of us.

Lucy looked thoughtful for a while then nodded. "Yeah, I've always been a Dragon, but I first found out after I left." She told us.

I breathed out. Okay, so she hadn't kept it a secret from us. I looked up at Acnologia. Suddenly it felt like he was towering over me threateningly and I couldn't help but feel a little nervous in his presence. "So then you are-" I was cut off by the man himself.

Acnologia nodded and looked down at the ground to his right. "Yeah, I was the Dragon who attacked you all at Tenroujima Island…" He muttered, glancing at me and the rest.

I sighed. I couldn't believe it. We had been attacked and almost killed by someone from our guild. "At least tell me you have a good reason." I demanded. I wanted to know the reason why I and my children were almost killed. While I did get a faint idea of what he had wished to do back there, I didn't know why.

Acnologia scratched the back of his head and looked down at me. "Yeah, you know… I was after Summer-" I cut him off.

"Summer?" I asked him unsure of who he was talking about.

Acnologia's gaze hardened. "_Natsu._" He spat out. I sweat dropped. He obviously hadn't dropped the hate he had for my Dragon slaying child. "I was after Dragneel, but you all came in the way, and I was kind of in a fit of rage, so…" He trailed off.

I was about to ask him to explain exactly why he was in that 'fit of rage', Gajeel broke out of whatever trance he had been caught in. "So that's the day you figured it out?" He asked Acnologia.

Acnologia looked weirdly at him. "Figured what out?" He asked confusedly.

Gajeel grinned and glanced at Lucy. "That she'd once been in love with the Fire Idiot." He laughed. What? How did I not know this?

I looked at them all with furrowed eyebrows. "That doesn't justify what he did, though." I muttered, mostly to myself.

Gajeel nodded at me with a kind of serious expression. "Yeah, it does." He told me. Just as I was about to ask him what he was talking about, he explained for himself. "You know how senses are heightened for Dragon Slayers, right?" He asked me. I nodded, of course I did. Dragon Slayers had much more advanced senses than that of ordinary mages, it was basically basic knowledge in this guild. "Yeah, well, for Dragons, everything is heightened, and much more than for us Dragon Slayers. Feelings included, so he wouldn't have been able to stop it." Gajeel defended Acnologia.

I took a moment to let this new information sink in. It was rare for Gajeel to defend people he barely knew like that, so if he said he couldn't help it, then he couldn't help it. "I'll take your word for it then, Gajeel." I told him.

I looked at Lucy to see her blushing a little. "Would you not talk about this now?" Lucy asked us, glancing up at Acnologia who looked like he was fuming.

Acnologia nodded robotically. "Yes. That was the day." He muttered through clenched teeth. Lucy squeezed his hand and pushed herself closer to the guy. He responded by squeezing her hand in return and smiling at her.

Lucy looked at all of us alternately. "Do you have any other questions you would like answered?" She asked.

Juvia nodded. "Yes, if you don't mind, Lucy-sama, Juvia has a question." She said. Lucy gestured for her to continue with a nod. "Juvia was wondering, did Lucy-sama get a new magic with your Dragon?" She asked her. That was actually a really good question.

Lucy smiled and nodded, holding her hand up with her palm facing the sky. A ball of silver magic quickly appeared and hovered over her hand. "I have Peace magic, as it's called, that's my element." She told us and let the silver ball of Peace magic fade away again.

Carla watched the silver ball as it disappeared. "It's beautiful.." She said dazed. I nodded in agreement. That silver magic was beautiful in a way no other magic was and then it was calming in a way.

Lucy nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it's said to be. It also has the added bonus of making anyone seeing it forget all their problems, or at least dulling them." She explained. Well, I guess that made sense, it was called _Peace_ magic after all.

Finally Wendy snapped out of her daze - as the last one - and looked around at all of us with wide eyes, except the two Dragons across from us. "Why aren't anyone commenting on the fact that we have two Dragons in our guild?!" She asked. She looked at Acnologia and Lucy. "Two strong ones.." She added.

Gajeel looked at her and placed his big hand on her head and roughly messed with her hair. "Sometimes you just gotta accept things, Squirt." He told her. Lucy giggled at their interaction and Acnologia smiled widely. Gajeel looked at the two. "What? What is it?" He asked them. Wendy quickly straightened her hair again with a harmless glare at Gajeel.

They both just waved him off and Lucy giggled a little more. "It's nothing, I'm just surprised you haven't asked me if I met your Dragon father yet." She said. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Gajeel. That was right, those Dragon Slayers always sought to know everything they can about their Dragon parents and their whereabouts.

Gajeel looked at Lucy with a smirk. "If you had met my old man, you wouldn't be around now." He told Lucy proudly.

Lucy grinned at him. "Sure, if that's what you believe." She said and looked at Wendy with a smile. "Oh yeah, you're mistaken, Wendy, there's not _two_ Dragons in Fairy Tail, there's _four_." Lucy told her.

"WHAT?!" We all yelled simultaneously. _Four_ Dragons?! "The other two are they..?" I trailed off, knowing Lucy would catch what I was trying to say.

She nodded. "Yep, the last two are Akane and Basuril, Shadow and Chaos Dragons." Lucy told us. Then she turned around and looked at the corner of the guild. "Oh, and Laxus? You can come out now." She said.

**Laxus' P.O.V**

I couldn't believe Blondie had noticed me. But I guess, with that secret revealed, it would be obvious she could either hear or smell me.

I sighed. Well, I had been figured out now, so I would have to step out in broad daylight. So that's what I did. "Well Blondie, you certainly grew in strength." I told her. And in other ways, but for the sake of my survival, I wouldn't mention that in front of the other Dragon present.

Blondie smiled at me. "Of course, I took seven years off for it, too." She said happily. She looked at me and tilted her head. "Was there anything you wanted to say, Laxus, or were you just eavesdropping?" She asked me in an almost Mira-like way. "Oh, and you can't really call me 'Blondie' now, can you?" She asked with a smirk.

I smirked right back at her. "Of course I can, it's the only fitting name for you." I said, which in return made her pout like a little brat. I shook my head. "Nah, none other than welcome back." I said to answer her earlier quiestion and looked at the Dragon who had apparently attacked us at Tenrou. "Next time I won't lose so easily." I told him. I had felt a dark and ferocious presence in that Dragon when we last met, he didn't have that feeling around him now. And the power he had emanated back then wasn't nearly the same as what he was emanating now. Maybe it was because he wasn't _actually_ a Dragon right now.

The guy smirked and nodded. "You can come and try any time you want." He told me. "But you won't beat me, Dragon Slayer." He told me with a knowing smirk.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Oh, I would beat him. After that loss at Tenrou I wouldn't lose to him again. It wasn't going to happen. I was a Dragon Slayer and he was a Dragon, there was no way I wouldn't win.

Gramps went around the pair of Dragons and let his hand grow in size so he could smack the back of my head. "I thought I raised you better than to eavesdrop brat!" He scolded me.

Yeah, he probably also thought he had raised me better than to try to take over the guild, but I did, and I hurt so many people in the process. I groaned internally and nodded at the old man. "Yeah, so did I." I told him. I turned around with my hands in my pockets and began walking in the direction of the guild. "Well, I got the information I needed." I told them and walked into the guild.

Dragons, and four of them, all in our guild, on our side. That was ridiculous. If that guy could make himself as strong as he was back at Tenrou then we'd be an unstoppable force. Not that we weren't already, but everything would just be a breeze. Especially if the other Dragons around here could do the same and give in to their nature or whatever they were doing.

That and maybe they would know something about Dragon Slaying magic. Maybe they could actually teach us something, now we were lacking behind so obviously with our magical powers. They could only be insanely strong, those four.

It was obvious in Blondie's match against Iron Pole. She was holding back against him, a lot. She barely even used her Celestial magic and she didn't even use any of her Spirits. Or her whip, now I think about it. It would seem her magic allowed her to be both a Caster and a Holder mage. Long range and close combat… I wondered if the other three were as advanced as she was now.

My thoughts were brought out of its course, when I heard Gramps yell. "GILDAARTS!" He yelled loudly and furiously. I covered my ears at the loud noise the old man let out and looked around. Somehow I had found my way to a table and the Raijinshuu were sitting all around me.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Everyone turned their attention to the old man when he paced on top of the bar-desk with his arms crossed. He was grumbling about something even I couldn't hear, despite standing right beside him. Maybe it was because I just got my eardrums blown out.

I noticed he was holding something in his hand and crushed the edge of the paper, when he clenched his fist. "Master, what is that?" I asked him. What in the world could Gildarts have written in that letter?

He stopped right next to me and stuck the paper out to me. "Please read it out loud, Lucy." He grumbled and kept pacing.

I smiled faintly at the old man. I placed a hand gently on his little shoulder and pushed him down so he sat down. "You have to watch out for you blood-pressure, Gramps." I told him and giggled. Then I opened up the letter and read it, while everyone was silent. "Well, Makarov. I'm not the right one for the role of Guild Master. But I do want to do two things at least, now I have the title. I want Laxus to rejoin the guild, if he wants to of course. Then I want you to be the Guild Master again, old man. Fairy Tail isn't Fairy Tail if you aren't the Guild Master. I've gone on a longer trip to sort my thoughts and have some 'fun', if you know what I mean. Gildarts." I said and looked over the letter again, to see if there was anything I had missed. I looked at the old Master, who was grumbling unsatisfied and with crossed arms. I giggled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Well, congratulations with being the Guild Master again, Master." I said.

That was when the whole place exploded into cheers and laughter. Half of the people went to welcome a baffled Laxus back and the other half congratulated Master Makarov.

Suddenly a girl popped up out of nowhere, sitting next to Master with her feet dangling over the edge. She was sporting a wide smile. "Which do you prefer, Third or Sixth?" She asked with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

Makarov looked at her from the edge of his eye. "Third." He grumbled. Apparently he had really wished for Gildarts to be Guild Master. I giggled at his reaction to the girl, while wondering who she could be.

The girl looked at me from where she sat on the other side of Makarov. She smiled and got to her feet, standing behind the old man and stuck her hand out for a shake. "Hi, you must be Lucy Heartfilia, who's been training these last seven years." She stated.

I smiled and shook her hand. "Yeah, I was, but I found out some new things about my family and decided to take my Mama's last name, Mau'Te Rongo." I told her, still not sure who this girl could be.

She smiled at me and giggled. "I see, that's some Ngaro (Secret) you have there." She said much to my surprise. How'd she know of the Dragon Language? And if she did, she also knew I was a Dragon then. How was this even possible? "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Lucy. I'm Mavis Vermillion the first Master and founder of Fairy Tail." She introduced herself with a bright smile.

I dropped my jaw when she was done. This little girl was Fairy Tail's first Master? How was that possible? Shouldn't she be dead too? It was impossible for someone to be so old…

Mavis let go of my hand and moved it to her chin, looking thoughtful. "Well, I guess you should say 'was' instead. I'm dead, this is just an ethereal body after all." She muttered to herself and answered some of my questions. Suddenly, Mavis turned to Master again. "Third, we need to get Fairy Tail back to being the number one guild again." She told them and took her earlier place.

Makarov looked up and nodded. "Yes, we do, but how I wonder." He muttered to himself.

That was when Macao, who had apparently been listening to the end of the conversation, cut in. "Well, I haven't told you yet, but ever since you guys 'died', there's been these games each year, which chooses the strongest Guild and makes them the number one. The Grand Magic Games, it's called, or GMG for short." He explained. When everyone just stayed silent and looked at him, urging him to continue and tell where we were on that ranking. I already knew from all the times we visited Earthland and then from the girls this night too. "We've been losing a lot and… We're at the very bottom." He slowly said, ashamed of their underachievement.

Makarov shook his head. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Fourth. You did your best, no one can expect more." He told the previous Guild Master. "So, what are we supposed to be doing at this GMG?" He asked. I was actually curious about this too. I didn't get much information about the GMG back then, only the results, really. Or if anything special happened. And I hadn't thought to look in to it.

Macao nodded and looked up at Master. "Well, what they've got planned varies every year, I really don't know what they're going to present this year." He told us. Makarov nodded for him to continue. "The next one is in three months. Until then we'll have to choose a team with five people and maybe someone extra in case someone gets hurt." He said and glanced at me. "I had actually planned a team for this year, to try again. I thought that maybe Lucy, Acnologia, Basuril and Akane could make a team with Max or something. You guys were the only chance we had, really." He said with a slightly apologetic tone.

I smiled at him. "I would have loved to fight for our guild and get it up in rank again and I know the other three would have too." I told him. That actually didn't surprise me. I had kind of figured he would pull something like that. The four of us had also tried to keep Twilight Ogre away, but they still somehow found a way to raid our guild when we weren't around.

Makarov also looked at me and nodded. "I see, so we've got to pick a team of five and a reserve." He mumbled to himself. "Are there any other rules, Fourth?" He asked.

Macao nodded. "I think I heard something about two teams being able to enter." He said thoughtfully.

Mavis face lit up - literally - and she smiled widely. "I think I have an idea." She said and leaned in to whisper something in Master's ear. I and Macao watched as Makarov's eyes widened and then he smiled just as widely and nodded. Mavis pulled back and smiled again. "Now let's tell the guild." She said rather excitedly.

Makarov nodded and got to his little feet, still on the counter. "BRATS!" He yelled. He'd really been saying a lot of things lately, thinking about it. "We are going to restore Fairy Tail to its former glory!" He said. Then a rather creepy smile formed on his face. "I always wanted to say that..!" He said in a weird tone. He returned to normal and looked more seriously at all of the people, who now gave the elder man their full attention. "We're going to enter the Grand Magic Games, where we compete against other guilds in various different competitions." He said and looked out over the guild members in front of him. "We're going to form a team of five of our strongest members and a reserve in case of injuries." He said.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Now, it wasn't to sound arrogant or anything of the sort, but none of those people standing in front of us were particularly strong right at the moment. But then, maybe after 3 months of harsh training, they could catch up somehow.

Makarov crossed his small arms. "This team will be Erza Scarlett." He said and looked at the read head, who nodded in her usual serious way. "Gray Fullbuster." Gray smacked his clenched fist into his other hand also nodding, but with a smirk. "Natsu Dragneel." Natsu set his hand on fire and smirked. "Lisanna Strauss." He said. Lisanna was surprised and asked if he really meant it, but it was drowned in the noise of the cheering guild. "Wendy Marvell." He said. Wendy smiled uncomfortably with all the attention. "And Elfman Strauss as a reserve." He ended off while Elfman mentioned all the things that were manly about his situation.

I giggled as I watched them all cheer the five on, while silently, once again, wondering if it wouldn't be a better idea to wait a year till everyone had gone back to being the strongest in the guild instead of the weakest. But nothing was impossible for Fairy Tail, they'd catch up in those three months, I would know.

I felt someone poke my shoulder and looked at Makarov. He was smiling sneakily at me. "Luucyy~?" He asked me.

I nodded slowly, not knowing what to expect of the old man. "Yeah, what is it Master?" I asked him just as slowly. You never really knew what was going through that old man's head.

He kept smiling that sly smile at me. Actually, it was probably more a smirk than a smile. "Could you get Acnologia, Laxus, Mira, Juvia and Gajeel to my office? I want you there too by the way." He asked of me.

I nodded with a smile, now understanding what he was going to do. "Yep, sure, I'll go get them now." I told him. He nodded in response and made his way up towards his - earlier Macao's - office with the First Master trailing behind him, floating in the air like that was the most normal thing in the world.

I got up from the bar-chair I had been sitting on and quickly found the first person, actually two first persons. For once, Mira wasn't in the bar, and was instead cheering Lisanna on for the GMG, while Laxus stood right next to her, seemingly not caring about the conversation they were having at all.

I went to stand right behind them and put a hand on each of their shoulders. Now I was actually a little taller than Mira Jane, funny how much seven years could change. They both turned and looked at me quizzically. "Master wants to see the two of you in his office, wait in front of the door till I'm there." I told them.

Laxus raised an eyebrow at me. "What does he want, Blondie?" He asked me. I just smiled at him and went on to the next person before he could say anymore. I heard faint grumbling from him, which would have been coherent speech, if I had been closer and the noise hadn't been so overwhelming. Then, when I turned my head to see if the two actually did as I told them, they were already on their way towards where Makarov had disappeared just a moment ago.

I turned again and went to the next one, who was standing with his back against the wall and eating his usual piece of metal. Pant- Lily was sitting on Gajeel's shoulder with his back to the wall Gajeel was also leaning on and had crossed paws and closed eyes.

Gajeel spotted me as I came close and saw that I was coming his direction, so he quickly swallowed the piece of metal he was currently chewing on. "Hey Bunny-Girl, what's up?" He asked me curiously.

I smiled at him. "Master wants to see you in his office, wait outside the door until I've come back." I told him and looked at Gajeel to see if he reacted on it.

He pushed himself off the wall, making sure Lily wouldn't fall in the process and waking him up. "What does Gramps want?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow, not unlike the gaze Laxus had just sent me.

I smiled once again. "You'll figure out if you show up." I told him. I wasn't going to spoil the surprise Master was going to tell them.

Gajeel smirked. "You know something Bunny-Girl, some good something." He said and began walking towards the office, after Laxus and Mira.

I smiled and quickly went to the Rain woman, who was standing nearby conversing with Wendy. "Hi, you two." I greeted them when I came close enough. Faintly in the background, I heard Gray and Natsu starting some fight, once again, and drawing people into it, as always.

Juvia and Wendy both looked at me with a smile. "Hi Lucy-nee." Wendy greeted, with Carla standing beside her, also smiling at me.

Juvia looked at me with her deep water-blue eyes. "Lucy-sama." She simply said as a greeting.

I looked at Wendy. "Congratulations with your spot on the team for the Grand Magic Games." I told her. She could probably be really helpful if the events somehow were allowing her to use her Support magic. The question was if there were any events like that.

Wendy's lips lost the smile they had been holding. "Yeah, but I don't know what to think of my team." She muttered.

I smiled at her. I knew she was staying loyal to me - in a way - and wouldn't forgive those three until I did, like Juvia. I knelt down a little so I was in her height. I stroke her head gently. "Don't worry, I know Gray and Erza regrets it, although Gray didn't say it straight out." I looked at Juvia. "Didn't you see it too yesterday?" I asked her. She was standing right behind me when he acted all weird.

Juvia looked at the floor and nodded lightly. "Juvia guesses Gray acted a little weirdly back then." She confessed with what I recognized as a faint blush. She was still saying Gray's name in the same way she always had, rolling lightly with the 'r'.

I giggled. I knew it! She hadn't lost her crush for my precious team-mate. Of course she hadn't, you don't just get rid of it like that.

I smiled at her. "Well, Juvia, Master wants to talk to you, so please go to his office and wait with the others." I told her.

Juvia looked at me confused. "Did Juvia do something?" She asked me almost beginning to panic.

I shook my head at her. "Of course not. It's something good, just wait for me in front of his office." I told her with a smile.

Juvia looked at me, probably trying to figure out why I was sending her over there. But as she didn't find anything she nodded. "Okay, Juvia will go." She said and also went to the office.

I turned to Wendy again. "You can go speak with Basuril or Romeo, if you want to, they're over there." I said and pointed to the table where Romeo and Basuril were talking. They were about the same age now too, only two years apart, Basuril being the older one, so they probably had loads to talk about, and Wendy was 12, just one year younger than Romeo and three younger than Basuril. I might have to go talk to Mira…

Wendy nodded and smiled. "Okay, I'll see you later then, Lucy-nee." She said and waved as she went to the two boys.

I quickly found my mate, who was the last one I was looking for, sitting at a table with Akane and Levy, surprisingly. As I walked closer, I could hear that Levy was interrogating Akane and Acnologia for information about Dragon Slayers in general, mating and what made Acnologia's Dragon Slayer magic different from the ones she knew.

Acnologia looked at her with a somewhat straight face, but his lips were tipping upwards a little. A sure sign he was in the middle of having fun by creating stories for Levy to answer her questions. "Well, I guess you can say that I'm a generation 0. I was taught before the Dragon Slayers you know and by a Dragon who believed more in the ancient ways dating back to the war many years ago." Acnologia said. He loved using that story, honestly I have no idea how many times he'd explained that to the other guild members already.

Levy leaned forward with her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, showing clear interest in the conversation. "The war?" She asked curiously. I'd have thought there would have been written something about that war back 4-500 years ago in one of those Dragon books she always ran around reading in. Every since Gajeel came anyway.

I reached their table and, in a sudden flash of possessiveness, stood behind my mate and locked my arms around his neck and giving him a light kiss at the edge of his lips. I looked at Levy with a smile. "Would you mind if I borrowed him for a while?" I asked her.

Levy shook her head with a smile. "No, of course not." She said and looked at Acnologia. "You can tell me about the war some other time." She half demanded.

Acnologia nodded and Levy went to her team, Droy and Jet, to get them out of the free-for-all battle in the middle of the guild.

My mate tilted his head back and looked at me with his gorgeous eyes. "Couldn't stand seeing me with other girls?" He teased me with a confident grin.

I rolled my eyes playfully at him. "As if you're any better." I teased back. I leaned back just out of his reach when he attempted to kiss me. "Master wants to talk to us." I told him with a smile.

He exhaled slowly and got to his feet. Standing next to me and grabbed my hand, bringing it to his lips, where he placed a kiss on my knuckles. "What does he want?" He asked as we began walking towards the office.

I sighed, but with a smile, thoroughly enjoying my company. "Why does everyone ask that?" I asked him. Why couldn't they just go without knowing?

Acnologia chuckled. "That's the most human thing in the world." He answered me lightly. I guess, but did that really apply for us too?

I looked forward towards the office. "Right, I guess it is." I sAid and began walking a little faster, dragging him with me. "Now come on, the others are waiting!" I told him.

He let me drag him for a moment. "The others?" He asked and finally regained whatever he had lost.

I nodded and guided him all the way to the door to the office, where the other four people were waiting for us.

Laxus looked at me with a scowl. "Damn you're slow, Blondie. Did you two have a make-out session of what?" He asked me.

I grinned at him. "And what if we did?" I asked him and kept dragging Acnologia behind me as Mira began squealing and Laxus making a face of utter disgust. To which I giggled. "Now, you may open the door Laxus and enter the whole room, that is the office." I said, pulling forth the lessons Jude had taught me so long ago.

Laxus grunted and opened the door roughly and walking into the office. "What do you want, Gramps?" He asked as he stalked in.

The rest of us soon followed behind. Makarov chuckled at his grandson. "Please take a seat and I'll explain." He said and pointed to the three chairs in front of him.

Laxus dumped himself on the chair to the right and soon Mira came running, throwing herself on his lap like a mad-woman. This time it was Acnologia's turn to drag me as we went to the chair, he sat down and pulled me with him, placing me confortaboh on his lap.

Now for the last chair.. I looked at Gajeel and Juvia, who were looking at each other, Gajeel with a disgusted face and Juvia with a blank one. "No way in hell is thAt going to happen." Gajeel told her.

Juvia nodded. "Okay." She simply said and took the seat before Gajeel could do or say anything. He grunted dissatisfied and went to the nearest wall, leaning his back against it. It would seem Lily had decided to stay outside.

Master cleared his throat with a little, amused smile. Mavis was sitting on top of a bookshelf beside the desk Makarov was currently standing on. "Ahem." He started out. "The reason I've called all of you in here is concerning the GMG." He said. Just as I thought then.

"GMG?" Gajeel asked confusedly from where he stood.

"The Grand Magic Games." He explained. He looked at Mavis. "It was actually Mavis' idea." He admitted. Mavis smiled and waved at all of us.

"What is it then, Gramps?" Laxus asked impatiently.

Makarov glared lightly at his grandson for interrupting. "Apparently it is allowed for a guild to enter two teams each in the GMG." He told us and looked at all of us. "That's why you will be Team B." He told us.

Everyone stayed silent as they processed the news. I leaned a little forward in Acnologia's lap. "So who's the reserve?" I asked him.

He looked at me with a smile. "I see you figured it out beforehand." He said rather proudly. I nodded. Of course, but I was also the only one with all the puzzle-pieces. "The one in reserve will be Mira." He stated.

Juvia furrowed her eyebrows. "Why make the S-Class mage be reserve? Shouldn't the strongest be battling?" She asked him.

Makarov grinned at her. "It would be boring if there weren't any competition in it, don't you think?" He asked.

Gajeel grinned. "Yeah! It would be boring." He agreed, already getting pumped up just at the thought of fighting, even though he had just been defeated roughly not long ago.

Makarov nodded. "Exactly as I though." He said with a wide grin. He clasped his hands together. "You have three months to get ready, so you better get started as quickly as possible with training. Especially you four." He said pointedly to the four mages with Acnologia and I.

Laxus scowled at him. "Why not those two?" He asked and gestured to us.

Makarov raised both his eyebrows and looked at Laxus. "Don't tell me you don't feel the pressure." He said to his grandson mockingly.

Laxus nodded. "I do feel a pressure, but..." He trailed off, glancing at the two of us. "Don't tell me it's those two?" He asked. I giggled at how similar the two were.

Master nodded. "Of course it is!" He said and looked at Laxus, waiting for his reaction.

Laxus looked at the two of us with slightly wide eyes. "THATS CRAZY!" He yelled, much to my dismay. "It's heavier than anything I've ever felt before!" Laxus protested.

Mira shook her head. "Well, what did you expect? They've been training for years while we've been sleeping." She reminded him. Laxus grumbled in agreement.

Acnologia and I exchanged gazes. Were our magical pressure really that big?

**Somewhere~ **

**Grand Master of all things Mysterious' P.O.V**

The door to my room opened and my most trusted right hand stood in the opening. "Master." He said and bowed lightly. "She and her mate, along with his cousin, returned a few weeks ago and have been at Fairy Tail, completing missions and keeping the Ogres away." He told me.

I leaned forward in my chair and looked at him with a hard stare. "DD, why am I first being informed of this now?" I asked him. Those kind of things were important.

DD furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes flashing red for a second. "Because those worthless morons of a research party can't do a damn thing unless you hand it to them on a silver plate." DD said exasperatedly.

I chuckled. That was true. They were utterly useless, I would do a better job myself. "Well then, maybe I should have them all fired." I suggested.

DD smirked evilly, now his eyes had a hint of blue. "That certainly is worth considering." He said. A pair of dark red blinks came from the device in his ear. "It seems the soon-to-be-fired researchers found something, excuse me for a bit, Master." He muttered and I nodded. He turned it on. "Yes, what is it?" He askes a little harshly.

Then a pair of minutes went by where he nodded and likewise, until he finally shouted at them and turned it off again. I looked curiously at him. The matter they had been speaking about seemed to be of quite some importance. "What have they found?" I asked him.

He grinned at me. "Fairy Tail has returned." He told me with a wide smirk and blue eyes. Now things were going to get interesting.

**Oooo... Some mystery in the end. And who could this 'DD' be? And what's with that changing colors of his eyes?**

**And quite a long chapter this time too, huh? Well I hope it is as good as it is long. I personally enjoyed writing the battle between Gajeel and Lucy. But I'm pretty sure it isn't fantastically written, though. Am I right? **

**Anyway, I promised you guys some fluff between Lucy and Acnologia when everyone returned. So here you go fluff enough for a whole week, don't you think? **

**So, I was kinda wondering if there should be something between Basuril and Wendy and Romeo, a triangle, you know? Well, I'll leave it up to you. Answer in the reviews. **

**Next chapter will be when they go to Crocus and all that. I'm skipping the next three months entirely for your sake guys, ain't I sweet? XD**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, mjb379, Nicole (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, Wolf and MR Lover, ButterTARDIS36, wheafel, clairedamoon, TigerLily2214, Emerillion (Guest), Konan15, ExDragon, mermaidgrl, AnimeOnCookie, Le Magic Taco, ShadowVR2, aristofthemind, Darkverger1, OtakuLover43, twilightamanda, toolazyyyyyyyyy (Guest), Guest, kamielee, BustNjust9, ichi'nukenin-Namikazemaki, Sjamie1398, ooSomeoneUdon'tKnow, allanimefreak73754, Guest, theflowermaid, ShioriErz, Alaina Kuski, VocaloidAllenWalker, JupiterAensland, CRYOVERCAKE, Guest, umbreongalaxy, allyKatally, Rosep16, lalalokka, Raiza-chan, Annie Matsukazua, Nishigami, aries-huntress94, Littlekate143 (Guest), luvswolves, Neurele, okami909, Love (Guest), maria1010 and all you other people out there! I love you all! I know I haven't been doing this for some time.. BUT WE'RE AT 700 REVIEW AND ALMOST 500 FOLLOWERS! Just amazing..**

**~ Line464d**


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

**Going to the GMG this chapter! I wonder what's going to happen…**

**Thanks DesolationDeath for continuously helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made~**

**At the guild, Fair Tail, three months later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

These last three months I and Acnologia had been practicing staying in our Human forms for longer time. We'd been told by Makarov, when he came by during our training, that we'd be staying at small inn, where it by no means would be possible to be in our Dragon forms. And besides that, with all the events in those days, it wasn't certain that we would be able to transform once a day, maybe it would only be once every two days. Or less even. So, we'd made sure we would be able to stand it when the time came.

Other than keeping our Human forms up for as long as possible, which for me was three days and nights and for Acnologia two days and nights, we also trained just like the others. I think.

Basically, we were sparring against each other, using magic, since I could heal all the injuries we got. Although, that never turned out necessary, only few times when I had called out a Spirit and he or she took it more seriously and injured Acnologia. That was - funnily enough - mostly either Loke or Fenix. And Daemon a few times, but they tended not to be so bad because they had the same element. There was some kind of half immunity to - especially - Chaos magic for him.

Although, even if we did that every day, I doubt we got as much out of it as we could. In the end, the sparring-sessions may have changed to be make out-sessions sessions instead. Heated ones sometimes too. At that point, if I had had any out, the Spirits would return to the Spirit Word. Except Aquarius that one time, she poured a half ocean over us in irritation, _then_ left.

Now though, we were at the guild and were all about to go to the capital, Crocus, where the GMG would be held. And the place where they held Kurama, Acnologia's father. We'd already decided we would get him out during the Games, with the commotion as a distraction. Maybe at the end of the last day, where everyone were celebrating. We'd figured they wouldn't let him out easily if they had kept him there all this time. Although we had decided to visit him one day before the rescue, to see if he was okay. We hadn't been able to plan much more, because we had absolutely no idea how the Games progressed and what would happen.

But we would worry about all that when we were there and knew a bit more about how things were going to be. Right now, we were getting the last information from Master, although they were mainly directed at the two teams, only one of them known to the guild.

Makarov stood on the counter of the bar, as always, and looked around at all of us. "Brats, we're going to regain our spot as the strongest guild in Fiore." He told us all. "And price money worth 30.000.000 Jewels." He added with a grin.

That reminded me, back when we were done with the meeting three months ago, Master asked the three males and Mira to accompany him to the Twilight Ogre guild hall, where they would have a 'talk' with the Guild Master. Basically, he threatened them and said that they would feel the wrath of Fairy Tail if they ever crossed our paths again and apparently Acnologia had made a big impression on them with his 'heavy' magical pressure and 'intimidating' appearance. I didn't see what they were talking about, but I guess it came in handy this time.

He looked at all of us again, reverting back to a more serious expression. "Now, our biggest competition, and the guild currently in the lead, is Sabertooth. They're said to have quite some strong mages, but I don't know much about them." He told us. In other words, he was too late to find out. Then, his face broke into a wide grin. "But, even if we don't win, let's all have a good time and make new bonds with new people." He told us with his usual cheery attitude. Everyone agreed with him with all kinds of cheers. "NOW LET'S WIN THIS!" He yelled loudly and sent the crowd into another round of cheers. "To the train station!" He added and - once again - the crowd cheered. Or at least the bigger part of it. A few moans and grunts were heard. My own mate included.

While everyone were walking outside, the Dragons and Slayers funnily a bit slower and more hesitantly than the others, I went to Master, who was getting down from the counter with a pair of jumps, one from the desk to a chair and then to the floor.

I smiled at him. "Master?" I asked. He looked at me with a smile and gestured for me to continue with a nod. "Can I take the Dragon Slayers with me on an alternative 'route' to Crocus?" I asked him. "Well, except Natsu." I added.

Makarov looked at me with a smile and another nod. "Yes, of course." He told me. "I have to ask though, what do you have in mind?" He asked me.

I was pretty sure he already knew what I had in mind and simply wanted to confirm it. "Just taking a walk in the sky, Master." I told him with a smile.

He nodded at me, grinning. "I see. Go get the Dragon Slayers you've decided to bring with you." He said and began walking past me, out of the door.

I smiled after the old man and watched him leave, then quickly caught up to the three Dragon Slayers, who were lacking behind, the three actual Dragons were also hesitant to go to the train station. As it turned out, they all suffered from motion sickness. Apparently it was because Wendy and I owned Sky Dragon (Slayer) magic and it somehow that made us immune to it. Something about how we constantly healed ourselves even if just a little.

All six of them were walking together in the back of the whole group. It seemed Natsu hadn't realized he was going to enter a train as of yet and was walking in the front, talking happily.

I placed a hand on each of the Dragon Slayer men's shoulders. "Say, what do you guys say we go to Crocus from the sky?" I asked them with a smile and giggling.

They both looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, which in itself was amusing. "What do you mean, Blondie?" Laxus asked me confused.

I rolled my eyes. How clueless were these people? "You know, hitching a ride with a friend." I said. "A scaly friend." I added. "With wings." I hinted. Now they should understand.

Wendy turned around and smiled at me. "Oh! It's been such a long time since I've done that!" She said excitedly and locked her arms around my waist, looking up at me after giving me a quick squeeze. "Can we, can we, can we?!" She asked.

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah Wendy, we're doing it." I told her and moved my hands from the guys' shoulders and down on Wendy's instead. "We're doing it for sure." I reassured her.

She smiled widely and made small noises of happiness. "Yay!" She said happily.

The others also seemed happy with not being forced to enter the train. All except Laxus, who didn't seem to have understood what I had hinted. The other guild members were already too far away to hear us, even Natsu, so I decided to speak freely. "Laxus, have you ever wondered how it would feel to fly on a Dragon?"

**Later, outside Magnolia~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

We'd brought the three Dragon Slayers and the two Exceeds to the field we went to when we were meeting with the Head Dragons. Although, we didn't tell them about that, there was no need to create such a ruckus about it all.

Akane looked back at the five extra people we had with us with a deadpan expression. "I would advise you to stay back." She told them and walked further into the field. I smiled at them and nodded, remembering the first time Acnologia transformed from Human to Dragon form in front of me.

Gajeel grunted, but stopped walking. "I never knew Dragons had Human forms, the old man never told me anything." He grumbled.

I giggled at him. "I guess he wanted some secrets." I said. He had a bit over one, though. I was pretty sure Gajeel didn't know his last name was. Or that he was the highest ranked Dragon in his Clan. He probably didn't even know there were Clans either, or that it all was put together into a community of sorts.

As I walked a little away from the five, I let my Peace magic pour out of my skin. I felt my whole body change for a second, before I felt the transformation was complete. The other three had also changed to their Dragon forms.

I looked at Akane, who had already turned around and was looking down at the three expressionlessly. She looked much different than Skyadrum, you wouldn't think they were both Shadow Dragons. Actually, she looked a bit more like an Iron Dragon if you asked me.

But, she had a bit of the characteristics from Skyadrum. She had a longer neck and tail than I did, for example. Very differently from what I was used to seeing with Dragons, her wings and front legs were connected, so she was basically walking on her wings. She was almost covered in the same shade of gray scales as her shirt and boots in her Human form. Her stomach was completely covered in black scales. Down her back from the top of her head to the end of her tail, there were this kind of spikes, which seemed more like waves than actual spikes. They were black, like the scales on her stomach. At the sides of her head, where the fans sat at Acnologia, there were three long and thin spikes, almost as long as her head, pointing backwards, following the curve of her neck somewhat. Behind those three, there was one longer, also following the curve of her neck, but a little wider. Her eyes, which were almost glowing in her Human form, were actually glowing now.

Overall, her color was a little lighter than what you would expect a Shadow Dragon to be, but still she was. And she wasn't a weak one either.

I looked from her and down at the now miniature humans in front of me and the even smaller Exceeds. It had been a bit of a while since I had been standing next to a Human in my Dragon form, I had almost forgotten how small they were.

All five of them were gaping at us, probably for various reasons. The two Nekos had never seen a Dragon in the same way they were seeing us now. The same with Laxus. Last time they'd seen one, Acnologia, they had been fighting him and probably didn't have time to think about how we looked, our size. Now, they had all the chances they could get to do just that.

Wendy was the first to say anything. She was looking at me with wide eyes, now she was smiling. She began running towards me and as she came closer I lowered my head to be in her height. She stopped right in front of me, so close she could touch my snout if she came any closer. "Lucy-nee!" She said. She hesitated a moment before actually attempting to hug my snout. She looked into my eyes. "You're a beautiful Dragon." She told me with a smile.

I smiled at her and nudged her gently. "**Thank you, Wendy. That's sweet of you.**" I told her. I looked at the other two, who seemed to have regained their composure. "**So, are you two up for a flight?**" I asked them.

Gajeel nodded, his face molding into a smirk. "Sure, that's what I've been waiting for the last fifteen minutes." He told me.

Basuril stepped up next to me. "**Lucy-nee, can I take Wendy?**" Basuril asked me cutely. I looked back at him and saw him glancing down at Wendy. I almost squealed at that exact moment.

I nudged Wendy again, so she let go of my snout and looked at Basuril. I smiled at him and nodded. "**Yeah, sure. If she wants to.**" I told him.

Basuril looked from me to Wendy. I watched as his eyes transform into his infamous puppy-eyes. All that cuteness directed at one person. I looked at Wendy again. Her face was showing how she slowly got hypnotized with Basuril's cuteness.

I sighed and pushed Basuril with my wing so he would drop that expression. "**Basuril, that's not the right way to do it and you know it.**" I half scolded him.

He looked at me, then at the ground and nodded ashamed. "**Yes, I know..**" He muttered. This time he looked at her without adding his insane cuteness to his eyes.

Before he could even ask her, Wendy giggled at him and nodded. "Sure, I would like to fly with you, Basuril." She agreed.

At that point, I was dying inside of happiness for those two. They were too cute! Where was Mira when you needed her?

Acnologia came up and stood tall next to me, looking down at the remaining two Dragon Slayers. Meanwhile, Basuril was picking Wendy up gently with his tail and putting her up on his back, while she kept Carla in her arms. "**What about those two then? Any preferences?**" He asked everyone at once.

"**I'm not taking anyone.**" Akane told us plainly. I sweat dropped. Of course. I couldn't imagine it was easy for her to carry people with the way she was built. I hoped that was what she meant anyway.

Laxus looked alternately at me and Acnologia, then ended up looking at me. "Don't take offense of this, Blondie, but I'm not flying with a girl." He stated.

I smiled at him and shook my head. "**No, I get it. You pride's in the way.**" I giggled. Seriously, the Dragon Slayers in this guild, they had too much pride.

Laxus looked at me with a halfhearted glare. "You know that isn't it, Blondie." He told me.

I just grinned at him and looked at Gajeel. "**It looks like you'll come with me, Gajeel.**" I told him with a smile.

Gajeel grinned. "Right, I prefer flying with you rather than someone who tried to kill me." He said and glanced at Acnologia, who was picking Laxus up and placing him on his back. He didn't seem to care what Gajeel was saying.

I shook my head at the Iron Dragon's failed attempt to tick Acnologia off. I gently wrapped my tail around the Slayer's waist and picked him up, carefully placing him on my back. This was actually the first time I had someone else than Loke sit on my back when I was flying. And even that was long ago. Years, many years actually.

I looked at the Slayer on my back. "**Are you ready to fly?**" I asked him and spreading my wings at the same time. It felt good to have them folded out again.

Gajeel moved over my back and sat at the bottom of my neck. He grinned at me. "Just spread your wings already, Bunny-Girl." He told me. He looked like he was actually excited about flying. Lily sat on his shoulder and grabbed his long, black hair.

I snorted and turned around, flapping my wings to get into the air. "**I'm hardly a 'Bunny', now am I?**" I asked him, feeling the wind being pushed down powerfully under my wings and hearing the grass whistle from the force.

I felt my feet release the connection to the ground. I went into the air and above the skies quickly with ecstatic shouts from my passenger, I couldn't help laughing myself.

I glanced back at him as he yelled his 'wohoo's'. "**The air might get a little thin up here, but you'll get used to it after a second.**" I told him as we burst over the clouds. I heard him take a sharp inhale of breath, then letting it out again. He panted a little, but it quickly disappeared and he got used to the air. Then he looked around in awe - which I would never imagine being on his face, of all people - at the cotton-like land of clouds.

Akane, Acnologia and Basuril were flying a little in front of me, so I sped up to catch up to the three of them. Laxus looked back at me from where he sat. "You're too slow, Blondie." He told me.

I looked at him. "**Well, try it yourself then, Sparky, if it's that easy**." I suggested with a raised eyebrow. Laxus glared back at me, while Gajeel laughed at the comeback.

Basuril looked up at Acnologia with a pout. "**Ac-nii-chan, why are we going so slow?**" He asked the bigger Chaos Dragon.

Acnologia looked down at Basuril and sweat dropped. "**Basuril-kun, we're going at the normal pace.**" He told the Dragon.

The teenage Dragon threw his head back in frustration and groaned. "**But it's so slow!**" He moaned. Oh, that super-speed of his. He always complained with our speed.

Akane flapped her wings harder in exasperation. "**Just let the boys fly ahead, saves us the noise.**" She said. She was already annoyed with the boy.

Basuril looked expectantly up at Acnologia, begging him to allow him to fly faster. Wendy was also looking at him with begging eyes. Acnologia sighed and nodded. "**Okay then, you can go a little faster.**" He said and looked at Basuril. "**But not too fast, and make sure Wendy doesn't fall off.**" He told the smaller Chaos Dragon.

Basuril nodded quickly and beamed at him. "**Thank you, Ac-nii-chan!**" He said quickly. He looked at Wendy. "**Are you ready?**" He asked her, but before she got the chance, Basuril looked forward again with a wide grin and shot off.

That impatient teenager! He was so stupid sometimes. He was still in our sight, we could still see him _and _Wendy. And Wendy was barely hanging onto the Dragon, even locking her arms closely around the Chaos Dragon's neck, but the width of her arms weren't long enough to reach all the way around the Dragon's neck. It was only a matter of time before…

Gajeel lightly hit the side of my neck. "Bunny-Girl!" He said, and that was all I needed before I shot off after the Chaos Dragon, after being certain Gajeel had a good enough grip on my scales, of course. I desperately tried to catch up to the little Dragon and save my sweet, little friend as her grip on the Dragon was slipping. And Basuril wasn't slowing down. "Faster, Bunny-Girl!" Gajeel yelled at me, not even calling me by my real name in a serious situation.

I did my best, I really did, but I had never been a match for Basuril's unmatched speed. Gajeel knew it too, I probably wouldn't be able to-

Just as I was going to finish that thought, a golden light appeared right next to my head, accompanied with a small tornado-like wind. After less than a second, a creature jolted out of the tornado and light, even as it weren't finished yet, and towards the Dragon and the Slayer, who just now slipped off the unsuspecting Dragon.

The creature was completely blurred with the speed it was flying at, I couldn't see what it looked like, but it didn't matter right now, it was trying to save Wendy. Now it was just a question about whether it would reach her in time or not.

Please… Please make it, Alae. It was easy enough to figure out at this point, they always showed up when I needed them. Well most of them did.

Alae, the Sky magic user of the Dragon keys, or Elemental keys, as they were here. There was no doubt about it, none of my other Spirits could fly that fast. Not even Daemon, even though he _was_ fast.

I kept flying as fast as I could forward, after them, nervously watching if Alae would catch the now falling Wendy, who was so shocked she couldn't say a word.

Alae quickly closed in on Wendy, but just then, Wendy fell down through the puffy clouds and out of sight. I gasped. WENDY!

Alae dove down through the clouds after Wendy and the cotton-like substance bulged out like it was really a sea of water rather than clouds. They both disappeared, and it was as if everyone held their breaths and time moved slowly as we waited to see if Alae had been successful or not.

Suddenly a person shot up from the clouds like a missile, but spinning around quickly scaring me into a sudden stop. Then a pair of wide, fairy-like wings spread out from the body of the person and stopped its spinning and going upwards altogether and there she stood. Or hovered, depending on how you looked at it.

Alae and with Wendy in her arms, holding her under her knees and at her shoulders. Wendy had wide open eyes and was staring up at the woman holding her.

Alae had, as mentioned before, fairy-like wings. They were transparent, but with a blue hue. They were kind of similar to that of a butterfly's in form, but a bit pointier in the ends. They were the darkest where they connected with the back and then faded out lighter in the ends. The faint, intricate lines all over the wings were white and made them look more graceful. Her skin was light and smooth.

She wore a beautiful dress, it was pure white. At the top, it sat tight to her body, but just around the hips, it transformed to long, just as white, and fluffy feathers. They reached all the way down to her feet, which were bare. The feathers were thick and covered her hips and down to the mid-part of her legs perfectly, but gradually the feathers spread out more as it reached the end and her beautiful, long legs were visible through them.

Her hair was white at first look, but in reality, it had a tint of light blue, a little like the ends of her wings. Her hair was put up in a beautiful hairdo. The front of her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, but it only served to frame the other hair and keep it into a wide ponytail. It was lightly wavy and reached down to her mid-back. Her eyes were bright blue, but darker, like the color of the part of the wings closest to her.

That was my new Spirit, Alae? She was beautiful. She slowly began fluttering her wings and flew over to where I was hovering motionlessly in the air, with the exception of when I had to flap myself to stay in the air.

I faintly heard the two other Dragons catching up behind me, but didn't pay any attention to them as the new Spirit was coming closer. She stopped right in front of me and bowed her head in respect, I believe. "Hello Mistress. I'm Alae, the Spirit of the Wings, user of Sky magic." She said and her blue eyes met my brown ones. "I saved your friend just in the nick of time." She told me. She bowed her head lightly again. "I'm sorry we had to meet this way, Mistress." She apologized.

I stared at her for a second, blinked twice to clear my head. I shook my head gently. "**Hi, Alae, I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo. Please call me anything but that. I don't see us as Spirit and Mistress, I see us as equals. Friends.**" I told her.

She looked up at me. "I see, so you're the 'Lucy' I've been hearing about? It seems I found the right Summoner to follow." She said and smiled sweetly. "Would it be alright if I called you Lucy-sama?" She asked me.

I smiled and nodded. Anything was better than 'Mistress' or 'Master'. "**Yeah, sure, you can call me that.**" I agreed. I looked at Akane, who sighed and nodded. I looked back at Alae and at Wendy, who was now thanking the Spirit over and over again. "**If you don't mind, would you please put my friend on the gray and black Dragon at my right?**" I asked of her.

She nodded and bowed her head lightly again with closed eyes. "Of course, Lucy-sama." She said and fluttered her wings. She began flying towards Akane with Wendy still in her arms, like a little princess. She looked at Akane and nodded, keeping her head down just a little. "I will place this girl on your back, Miss. I that alright?" She asked her.

Akane looked at the Spirit and nodded. "**Yeah, just put her there. I'm not as irresponsible as that kid.**" He reassured all of us. Basuril hadn't come back yet, he probably hadn't realized he had lost her.

Alae gently nodded and placed the blue haired Sky Dragon Slayer on the dark gray Shadow Dragon's back. Wendy quickly apologized to the Shadow Dragon over and over again for being a bother to her. Until the Dragon got annoyed and told her to shut up and that it was no problem.

The Spirit turned back to me with a little giggle. "Lucy-sama, as I'm sure you know, I'm a Sky magic user, and can therefor use the wind to my advantage and I can heal injuries." She told me.

I nodded. "**Yes, I'm aware. I'm sure your skills will become helpful in the future.**" I told her. I wouldn't be able to use my healing magic during the Grand Magic Games or even after that.

She looked at me with a confused expression. "But, Lucy-sama, you can also-"I stopped her in her tracks and mouthed shushing her with a wink. She nodded slowly and looked at me with a smile. "Okay. You can call me anytime, but I might make some arrangements sometimes. I ask you not to summon me when I have made such arrangements." She asked of me.

I nodded with a smile. "**Of course.**" The Spirit bowed her head one last time and disappeared in a swoosh of air and a golden light. I sighed and looked back at the Dragons with me. "**Basuril is probably in Crocus soon, we should get going too.**" I told them.

They nodded and we all began flying forward again, in the direction we were already headed before. We flew a little faster than we normally would, both because we had been held up by the conversation with my new Spirit and everything, so we were a little behind schedule.

I could feel Gajeel move around a little on my back. "Say, Bunny-Girl, what did that fairy mean when she said 'Mau'Te Rongo'? Last thing I remember, your last name was Heartfilia." He asked me. Oh right, I hadn't told these guys yet.

I glanced back at him. "**During my training, I learned some background story on my Mama. It's her, my Dragon-part is from.**" I told him and looked forward again. "**Her real last name is Mau'Te Rongo, which means Peace in another, ancient language. Instead of using Jude's last name, Heartfilia, I decided I'd rather user my Mama's.**" I said and stayed silent for a moment. "**Like a kind of memento.**" I added. That was what it was, a memento which would last forever.

"Oh, I see." Gajeel muttered behind me. From then on, he stayed silent and probably thought it through.

Apparently, we hadn't been far away from Crocus, because the city quickly got into view. I looked around for somewhere to land unnoticed and found a lump of black and blue lying on the ground.

I sweat dropped, I guess I had found the little Chaos Dragon. And he seemed to have found out what he had lost. I flew to the open space and gently landed there along with the two others.

While I helped Gajeel down, Acnologia apparently decided to tease the Chaos Dragon, who was lying on the ground with his wings lying flatly on each of his sides. His whole form was shaking in heavy sobs. "**So, Basuril-kun. Where is Wendy?**" He asked the Dragon.

When I was sure Gajeel was safely on the ground, I looked at Acnologia and glared at him. That wasn't fair, the boy was obviously grieving with the loss he thought he had caused. Acnologia grinned at me as Laxus zapped himself down on the ground.

I looked at Akane, she was faintly grinning, also in on the game. I sighed at my mate and friend, they should have been torturers instead. I closed my eyes and changed back to my Human form.

Basuril looked back at us with big, teary and sparkly eyes. Water was running down the sides of his head in steady streams, his bottom lips was trembling and he looked just as kawaii as he always did. I had to look away from the sight. "**I-I-I… S-she f-fe-fell o-o-o-off.. I-I d-d-don-don't k-k-kn-kno-ow w-wh-whe-where s-she i-i-i-is..!**" He sobbed loudly.

Akane raised an eyebrow at him expressionlessly. "**What do you mean, kid? I don't understand your stammering.**" She told him rather harshly.

Basuril sobbed loudly again. "**B-b-bu-but I-I-I c-ca-can-can't h-h-he-help i-i-it!**" He told her. Tears pooled around him and made a rather big puddle under him.

Acnologia stepped forward, towering over the poor boy. "**Are you telling me she fell off because you flew too fast?**" He asked the little Dragon with an intimidating aura around him.

Basuril was trembling under the gaze of the older Chaos Dragon and averted his gaze, shame filling his eyes to the brim. That and hurt, so, so much suffering.

This time they had gone too far, their purpose surely wasn't to leave an everlasting scar on him. I was just about to tell them to stop, when someone else cut me to it. "Stop it you guys!" Wendy yelled and jumped off Akane. She helped herself with landing safely on the ground, using her magic. She landed almost all the way over to where Basuril was lying. She stood in front of him with a determined expression and her arms spread wide, blocking him from view. Which looked funny, because he was so much bigger than her. "You've teased him enough!" She told them.

Basuril looked at her with wide eyes. "**Y-you're a-alive?**" He asked her. She looked over her shoulder at him with an innocent expression. "**B-but how?**" He asked again, incredulously.

Wendy turned around completely and smiled at him. "Yeah. One of Lucy's Spirits saved me." She told him happily.

Basuril furrowed his nonexistent eyebrows. "**Don't tell me it was that Fire Bird.**" He grumbled. I smiled widely as I watched a fire turn blaze in his eyes. "**I'll kill him if he did something.**" He snarled.

I smiled widely and giggled. Oh, he was so cute. And that comment and reaction was kind of nostalgic. Acnologia did something surprisingly similar to that back in the day. "You can calm down, Basuril. It wasn't Fenix." I reassured him.

He looked at me with a confused expression. "**Then… Was it Daemon? I never thought he would do something nice to other people..**" He muttered, probably wondering how Daemon could do something nice to someone. He wasn't exactly the most helpful type of person.

I shook my head. "No, it was a new Spirit, Alae." I told him. "She's the Spirit of the Sky." I told him with a smile, already proud of the new Spirit.

Wendy nodded with a wide smile. "Yes, and she was _so_ beautiful!" She said excitedly. It would seem she didn't realize what Basuril's actions actually said. They were both kind of cute.

I felt the two other Dragons surrounding themselves in their respective magic and changing forms. Acnologia nodded. "I think the others have already reached Crocus, we should go there too, it's just a dozen of minutes' walk away from here." He commented and began walking towards the capital.

I smiled, caught up to him and grabbed his hand. "Yeah, let's go." I agreed. The two male Dragon Slayers, who had stayed silent during this whole thing, followed us along with Akane, leaving those two alone.

Gajeel laughed with his hands behind his head. "Gihi! I sense some love between those two." He grinned widely.

Laxus snorted with his arms crossed. "Way to state the obvious, Metal Head." He grunted, but not without a smirk.

That was when those two went into a full-blown verbal war and the rest of us just ignored them and continued on to the capital.

Soon enough, the forest we were walking through thinned out and the city really came into view. Luckily, we weren't at the slum-part of it. If we had been, I would have refused to go into the city. Actually, we were at the main gates.

One set of footsteps stopped up. "I'll stay here and tell the kid and Wendy where to go, I believe he wasn't listening when Makarov told us which inns to go to." Akane said with a sigh.

I pulled Acnologia to a stop and looked at Akane. She had stopped up and was leaning her back against a tree with crossed arms and closed eyes. I smiled and nodded, even if she couldn't see that I was doing it. "Alright, please tell them." I said and pulled lightly at Acnologia as we went forward again, through the front gates. Just a little further ahead, a familiar group of people stood, waiting for us. "Hey, is that..?" I asked rhetorically.

"Ah, Lucy!" An old, croaky voice called. A warm smile spread on the little imp of a man's wrinkly face. "You finally showed up." He said.

Mira was glaring halfheartedly at us. "What were you doing? Walking all the way over here?" She asked while tapping her foot on the ground as if she was annoyed. Although, knowing Mira, she hadn't had any problems with it at all, she simply had too much patience.

Gajeel had a 'not bad' expression on his face. "Close enough." He muttered. We took a 'walk' in the sky, as I had called it.

I shook my head. "We bumped into some trouble on the way, Master, I'm sorry." I apologized to the old man.

He shook his head with a wide smile. "No, no, no, never mind that." He brushed it off. If only he had known what had really happened… "We've learned of a few rules there has to be followed." He told us and looked ate petite, blue haired girl next to him. "Levy, could you please read up what we found out?" He asked the girl.

Levy nodded quickly and flipped open the book. "There are a few rules and guidelines which are important, but we already follow them, really." She said, looking up at us shortly, before focusing on the book again. "First of all, Guild Masters aren't allowed to participate in the games." She told us. "Anyone without the guild insignia aren't allowed to participate either, they can only observe." Well, that was to be expected. "Each event will remain a secret up until right before they begin, at which the rules of the event will be explained." She told us. She looked up at us again. "Then everyone has to return to their lodgings before 12 PM." She summed up.

Acnologia nodded. "Right, that gives us lots of time." Acnologia said and grabbed my hand pulling me forward, into the city. He looked back at our three team members. "We'll see you at The Silver Tail inn later." He said and then pulled me off.

We quickly advanced further into the big city. I giggled at him. "Do you even know where The Silver Tail is?" I asked him.

He looked back at me and winked. "Nah, but we'll figure something out." He said and smiled widely. "Do you have anywhere you would like to go?" He asked me.

I was just about to answer, when I was cut off. Tell me, how many times would this have to happen today? "You'd like to come over here!" A way too familiar female voice told us. We both looked to the right to see all our best Dragon friends standing there, all he Head Dragons from the Dragon Realm and a little extra too. Those extras being Sensei - Alodiculis - and Deamunas. Skyadrum waved at me. "Hey, Lucy, it's good we finally found you." She said and smiled.

My mouth gaped wide open. Why were _they_ here?! Acnologia took a little step forward. "What are you guys doing here?!" He asked them confusedly. Took the words right out of my mouth.

Amelane smiled at us. "Remember the talk in the meeting last month?" She asked us. Which was only two weeks ago for us. We both nodded, yeah we remembered. "You told us about entering the Grand Magic Games, so of course we would come and watch." The Water Dragon told us with a wide smile.

Metallicana nodded with a wide grin. "Besides, who're you to think you can just take all the glory for yourselves?" He asked us and laughed his usual way.

I looked at him confused. "All the glory?" I asked him, grabbing his attention. "Of what?" I asked for some kind of clarification.

Sacheba grinned at me, not unlike the Iron Dragon. "Yesss, the glory of ressscuing Acnologia'sss father, Kurama." He told us.

I looked at him with wide eyes. We hadn't told them that we planned to rescue Kurama now we were in Crocus. And we didn't tell them that he was in Crocus either, we found out he was long ago and told them then. How could they have pieced the two together?

I looked at the old lady with them. Of course, it couldn't be any other than Dravola. I smiled at her. "You're such a wise, old lady, Dravola." I complimented her.

She just nodded at us with a blank expression. "You made it obvious, child." She commented blankly.

I raised an eyebrow at her, then thought back to our meeting. I giggled. "I guess I did." I agreed. I looked at her and smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're here." I told them.

Grandine nodded and smiled gently. "Of course we would be. Didn't I tell you I would help rescuing Kurama?" She asked me.

Now she mentioned it, I remembered her agreeing with that, but it was so long ago… And not only her, the rest of the Head Dragons had too. I nodded. "Ae (yes), of course I remember." I said.

Glanasile nodded. "Right. Well, we have to find somewhere to stay, we'll see you later." He said and began walking off in the opposite direction.

Most of them followed with a wave, but Amelane stayed back, looking at our baffled faces. That was a sudden entrance and just as sudden leave. She smiled at us. "You know he didn't mean for it to come out as hard as it did." She reminded us and followed the rest.

As the noisy group left us behind, we stayed in silence. "Well, that was kind of strange." Acnologia finally mumbled.

I nodded. "Yes, very.." I agreed. That was a short meeting, for once. Well, it was good to know they planned to help us. We'd have to talk to them about what we would do, when we found them again that was. I shook my head to clear my it. For today, we would just have some fun instead. "Come on, let's go deeper into the city." I told him and pulled him with me as we went deeper into the city.

Suddenly, I could hear the noise of many people at one place. I felt my curiosity pique and I pulled Acnologia after me to all of the commotion. When we finally saw the people, Acnologia sighed. "You gotta be kidding me." He groaned.

Right there, in the middle of the ring of people, stood the person Acnologia loved the most on the whole planet. The one and only Fire Dragon Slayer with pink hair. I couldn't help giggling at his snarl. 'Summer Dragneel', it actually sounded kind of funny.

I looked back at the crowd. It seemed Natsu wasn't alone. There was also a guy with light, blonde hair, and a black haired one standing behind him, not attracting much attention, contrary to the blonde one. They both seemed familiar to me somehow.

The blonde one was towering over Natsu and glaring at him. "Natsu Dragneel." He spat. "Damn Fairy. You're not worthy of being called a Dragon Slayer, you can't even beat a Dragon." He said to Natsu.

Natsu glared right back at Sting. "That Dragon was different! It wasn't like a normal Dragon!" He defended himself. "Besides, so what if I couldn't? I have my nakama, Fairy Tail. We can do anything when we're together! We'd never let someone by themselves!" He said.

I felt a pang in my chest at that comment. I looked at the ground. I had thought that too once, but reality hit me hard and showed me otherwise. "Really?" I heard the blonde one's voice ask sarcastically. I looked up again, to see what was going to happen. "Then why the heck did you kick Lucy out?!" He asked the Fire Slayer loudly.

My eyes widened. What? What was he talking about? How did he know? And why did he think they kicked me out of the guild… It was only the team. But his statement was still fake though… I wondered, had Jason somehow found out and spread it over the news?

Natsu stood up and glared at the blonde haired guy, now at the same eye-level as him. I have no idea what he was doing mewling around on the floor. "We didn't kick no one out, Light Bulb." He said and got all up in the blonde guy's face.

That was when I reached my end. I didn't want those two speaking of my personal affairs in public like that. I released my mate's hand and walked towards those two. No, I didn't stamp, that wasn't something a girl should do, I'd been told.

So, I took calm, yet firm steps forward, towards the two boys. The crowd, feeling that I was quite serious, spread apart to let me through. Finally, the last one stepped away and let me see the two males, who had become silent. "I apologize on behalf of my guild mate, he was being rude, but it was not without reason." I told the blonde guy, who just stared at me with wide eyes. I looked down at Natsu with a hard stare. "Natsu, get up and behave." I told him.

He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, then grinned at me. "Where have you been, Luce?!" He asked me. He got up on his feet and ran at me with wide open arms and that stupid grin on his face. Before he got close enough, I stopped him with a hand on his forehead and kept him running there.

I looked at the blonde guy. "Once again, I'm sorry he troubled you." I told him. I looked down at Natsu, who was still running where he stood with a stupid grin on his face. I sighed and grabbed Natsu's face a little harder. When I knew I had a good grip, I threw my arm to the side and upwards, throwing the Fire Dragon Slayer far away, over the buildings and what else was here in this city. The last thing that could be heard was him calling my name, while Lisanna and Happy - who had apparently also been here - flew after him, calling his name.

The blonde guy was looking with wide eyes and a hanging jaw as Natsu flew away. He looked back at me, still with the same expression. I was simply smiling back at him. "B-b-but h-how?!" He asked me incredulously. "That isn't possible!" He told me.

Before I could reply, the black haired guy put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He looked at me with a blank face. "I apologize for my friend's rude behavior, Miss." He told me politely. He put his hand forward for a handshake. "I'm Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth, may I ask for your name, Miss?" He asked me politely.

My eyes slowly widened when I recognized his name. This was the little boy I had met on the train so long ago. Or should I say boys? The other had to be Sting Eucliffe, then. They were so cute back then, but now they had become quite handsome. Too young to me, but still quite handsome.

I slowly reached out and shook his hand. I smiled at him, having regained my composure. "Yes, of course." I said. "I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo of Fairy Tail." I told him. I looked into his crimson eyes. "I don't know if you remember me from back then, I'm the girl from the-" That was when I was cut off.

Sting jumped up next to Rogue and looked at me excitedly. "You're the girl from the train, right?" He asked. "Lucy Heart- wait what? Lucy _Mau'Te Rongo?_ I guess you aren't then." He interrupted himself and looked less excited.

I giggled at him, released Rogue's hand to play with the blonde's hair. "No, you're quite right. I'm the girl from the train." I told him with a smile as I pulled my hand back. I felt like I had a whole horde of people glaring daggers at my back.

Rogue looked at me confusedly. "But… The Lucy back then was a Heartfilia." He looked at my hair. "And she was blonde too." He commented.

I smiled at him. "Alright, I'll help you a little." I said as I transferred my golden Celestial magic through my hand and into my hair. I had done this when I returned to Fairy Tail and to the old members, they hadn't recognized me, but when I let my Celestial magic linger in my hair, it almost seemed as if I was a blonde again. I pulled my hand back when I knew I had let my hair absorb enough magic. "There, that should do the trick." I said.

Rogue looked completely speechless, and so did Sting, but still, he fell back to his blank face again. "I recognize you now, Lucy-san." He said and looked into my eyes with the tiniest smile ever in the history of man and Dragon-kind. I let the magic in my hair go again, returning it to silver.

Sting, also regaining his ability to speak with Rogue, jumped forward and put a hand on each of my shoulders. "It _is_ really you, Lucy!" He said excitedly.

I sweat dropped. I touched his one hand and gently took it off my shoulder. "Sting, you shouldn't-" A loud growl was heard behind me and broke my sentence. "Touch my shoulder…" I mumbled. Sting quickly jolted back with a girlish squeak. I gestured to my raging mate behind me. "Sting, Rogue, this is my boyfriend, Acnologia Tehepo - no not the Dragon of the Apocalypse - Acnologia, this is Sting and Rogue, who I met the day before we met, when I offered them a booth in a train." I introduced them.

Rogue looked at Sting as if he was a moron. "Sting, you're a moron." He simply said.

Sting looked at him with an exaggerated shocked face. "Rogue! How could you?!" He asked stunned. He quickly returned to his more 'serious' expression. With other words, curious. "What do you mean, though?" He asked him with narrowed eyes.

Rogue didn't answer. I felt my mate come to stand next to me and grabbed my hand. "That you, as a Dragon Slayer, couldn't smell that she already has a mate." He answered for Rogue. I looked at him with a smile, then noticed the crowd which had once gathered had all disappeared, save for a few girls here and there.

"Say, Lucy-san?" Rogue asked, drawing my attention back to him and Sting.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, what is it, Rogue?" I asked him. "Oh, and please just call me Lucy." I asked of him. All those honorifics, seriously.

Sting was the one to speak now, though. "Why'd you change your last name?" He asked me excitedly and with a big smile on his face.

I looked at him. "Well, I learned Mau'Te Rongo was my mother's last name, and wanted it as a kind of last memento of her." I told them with a little smile filled with sorrow.

Rogue knocked the back of Sting's head, so he fell to the ground face first. He looked at me again. "That wasn't what I wanted to ask.. Lucy, why did you rejoin Fairy Tail?" He asked me.

Sting was already on his feet and was nodding. "Yeah, after what they did, why would you want to join them again?" He asked me, getting lightly angered.

I smiled at them. "It's simple, really." I told them. "I promised I would come back and show them I wasn't the pushover that I was back then." I explained. That was all there was to it. "So, that's what I did." I told them with a grin.

Sting jumped forward again with a grin. "How strong are you now, Lucy?!" He asked me curiously and excitedly. I swear, he was just like Natsu.

Acnologia squeezed my hands. "Stronger than you can imagine." He told them and smirked, glancing at me. I smiled at him and nodded, agreeing with him.

Rogue nodded. "Will you be at the Games, Lucy?" He asked me.

Sting smirked. "Yeah! Even if you are, you won't beat us, we're number one, after all!" He told us, his pride clearly shining through.

I smiled at them. "Well, we'll see, won't we?" I asked them. I tugged at Acnologia's hand and began walking off. It was already getting a little late and we would have to get back to the inn in time.

"Lucy!" Sting called. I looked over my shoulder at him. "Will we see you again?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm quite sure you will." I told him with a smile, turned around and walked on.

**So, the end of chapter 44. Phew, these chapters are long.**

**Hope you liked it~ **

**Well, BasuWend is pretty much confirmed. So Romeo and Basuril will be love-rivals. ;)**

**Thank you twilightamanda, Aira0906, Xx21KatieKat12xX, TigerLily2214, Maiannaise, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), mjb379, sophie65, clumzybeans, allanimefreak73754, natsuxlucyrulez, Black Eclipsed Soul, whitelion20202, ExDragon, aristofthemind, Rosep16, Euiko Tsukemo, yolo (Guest), OtakuLover43, MoonStar1312, Person (Guest), Darkverger1, dragongirl07, Alaina Kuski, fairychime-diamond47, Lucy-chan Dragneel, XxnaluloverxX, (Guest), ButterTARDIS36, Surge (Guest), Ani (Guest), nakamura1miu, KangBoRam, , Ice0024, crimson wolf fang45, UchihaHeartfillia, Mirror Night, AmutuloverXD, Righel and everyone else for everything!**

**~Line464d**


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

**The reviewer number 800 is….BecauseIamSoBored! Congratulations, you win the honors!**

**Thank you for helping me out with the story, DesolationDeath!**

**I apologize for any grammar error that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: I bring to you the disclamation to the rights of owning Fairy Tail, written and drawn by Slowpoke (Also widely known as Hiro Mashima). Slowpoke is the owner of Fairy Tail, and he does not wish to let me be the owner of it. **

**At the Streets of Crocus~ **

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Why did Lucy have to have to so many male friends? Honestly, the Dragon part of me was raging every single time one of them came into a radius of one meter. That Iron bastard's son had come too close too many times. And he always made sure to make a show of it. Every single damn time.

Also, Summer, he always tried to approach her too, although she didn't actually want that. He seemed to think he could just walk around touching and hugging her. The only two things that kept me from killing him was my mate and the fact the he seemed too clueless to understand the concept behind mates. Long live stupidity.

At first the guys of the guild tried to get close to Lucy and give her a 'proper welcome home', which in this guild apparently was through hugging, when they thought I didn't see. With a few exceptions though. Freed, Laxus, Gray, those three hadn't tried anything. Yet.

And now there were two more, who she insisted she saw as just 'friends', no not even, just 'acquaintances'. The black haired one wasn't too bad, but the blonde one… He was just as bad as Summer! For Mavis' sake.

But the worst. The very _worst._ Those was those three damn hosts. Hibiki winning the title of number one, Ren coming in second - he already had a girlfriend, damn two-timer - and Eve at last. He was just a kid to me. Like my cousin. I somehow didn't react when it was kids. But those three, or two, actually. They could go to hell for all I cared.

I heard a sweet giggle next to me and looked at my silver haired mate with an eyebrow raised. "Oh, come on now, it can't be _that_ bad." She said, still giggling.

I raised my eyebrow even further into the air. She had no idea… I would go crazy if it kept going like this. There were too many men trying to get too close to her in this land. "It is." I grumbled back and looked forward, not making any eye-contact.

Lucy giggled again and grabbed my arm and leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. She rested her head lightly on my shoulder. "You have no reason to worry, you know." She told me with a low voice.

I looked down at her. "And why shouldn't I?" I asked her. Of course, I already had an idea about what she would answer.

She snuggled closer to my arm. "Because you've already made me your mate." She told me. I could hear the smile in her voice.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? So this is a one-sided relationship, is that what you're telling me?" I asked her. She just kept her head on my shoulder as we walked. I felt her shoulders tremble gently as she kept her sweet giggling to herself. Well, if we were playing like that, fine. I grabbed her chin, tilted her head up and pushed my lips to hers a little roughly. The kiss was quick, but I teased her, lightly brushing my tongue over the inner part of her lips. I still kept my - kind of gentle- grip on her chin and looked at her lightly blushing face. "Even if it is, I don't care." I told her. "I love you too much to let you go." I muttered and kissed her forehead, while moving my hand to her warm cheek.

I looked down at her beautiful, pink face. She smiled at me. "Amazing how you can still make me blush like a little schoolgirl." She commented. I smiled and nodded, I was well aware I had skills. She moved her hand to the one on her cheek and entwined her fingers with mine. "I have a feeling something will happen at twelve tonight, so let's go back to the inn and rest for a while." She suggested.

I nodded. "Sure." I agreed. That woman had a great intuition sometimes, so I usually trusted her. Not that I wouldn't anyway. Besides, resting sounded great right now.

**Later, at The Silver Horn~**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

It was just about time to return to that inn we'd been told to stay in. The clock was already eleven. I'd been at this bar where they sold Iron - probably the only ones doing that in this damn country - and had stayed there for longer than I thought. Lily had gotten a few kiwi's, which he munched on happily.

I had already found my way back to the inn. I could see the lights were on in the room reserved for Team B. Apparently we were supposed to share a single room all of us. It could only be hell, really. With that Lightning Rod and the demon waitress, we wouldn't get a second to sleep.

And why did we have to be back at our rooms so early anyway? The parties only just started at that time. Was it so squirts like the little Squirt in our guild also stood a chance or what?

I shook my head to myself and dropped the topic. It didn't matter, I would just have to follow the rules. "Gihi! As if!" I laughed to myself.

I went inside the inn and directly to the stairs, ignoring the greeting from the barmaid or whatever. I'd already been here when we ordered the room, so she knew I stayed here. And I knew which room we had gotten.

I grunted when I reached our room. Number 2, ironically. Lily flew down and opened the door carefully. The cat probably didn't want to wake anyone in case they were sleeping or something.

I should let that cat read my fortune more often, 'cause there were actually two people…. Ah, well, rather Dragons, sleeping in a bed. Yes, _a_ bed, together and all that. I raised an eyebrow and just looked, wondering how they could sleep this early.

And how in the hell the Chaos Dragon didn't sneeze with all that silver hair in his nose. Why'd he not just flip her around or something instead of burying his nose in the back of her head? Then he would avoid that. Well, that was his problem.

Lily flew to what we had claimed as our bed earlier and sat with his back against the wooden back with crossed paws and glaring at me. I smirked at him and slammed the door closed and turning the lights on. As it turned out, the light I had seen down on the streets was just the little lamp on the little table beside their bed. "Wakey, wakey." I told them.

Of course, with their Dragon senses, they shoot up and looked around confused as if there had been a gunshot. I just laughed at them. Perfect reaction! It would be right about then I was hit in the head with a pillow, thrown with so much force I fell down on my butt. "Serves you right, douche." A female voice told me.

I looked at the two. Bunny-Girl was glaring down at me with crossed arms from the bed and the Chaos Dragon had an arm resting behind her, and the other lying over his legs. So that bastard was the one to throw the pillow so hard.

I got to my feet and crossed my arms as well, looking at them. "I just did you the favor of waking you up before twelve." I told them. "You can't blame me for that." I said with a smirk.

Acnologia looked at me with a deadpan expression. "Sure we can, the games start tomorrow, moron." He mentioned.

I looked at him with an eyebrow raised and a smirk. "Oh, come on now. Normally you wouldn't even be asleep at this time." I told him. He wasn't my favorite person around here, but I knew he wasn't a kid.

He smirked at me and moved the silver haired girl to his lap. "That's right. I'm not." He said and buried his nose in her hair once again, looking triumphantly at me while doing so.

Bunny-Girl sighed and slapped his bare chest, where a mark, like the one he had in his Dragon form, rested, gently. "Grow up, will you?" She asked him as she got off his lap and the bed. As it turned out, she was sleeping in all of her clothes. Probably curtesy of the Dragon boy. While she straightened her skirt for nonexistent ruffles, she began talking. "Besides, we'd told Virgo to wake us just about now anyway." She said. Acnologia just grunted in agreement as he too got out of bed and took on the shirt, which was the only thing he had left behind.

Lily went to stand on the edge of our bed. "What do you mean, Lucy?" He asked her curiously. I was actually also quite curious. Why in the world would they want to be awakened at this time?

Bunny-Girl smiled at the neko and picked him up in her arms, scratching the back of his ears gently, making him purr in satisfaction. She'd probably picked up that trick since she'd been around the pink idiot's cat for so long. "Because we figured something would happen since they set a time for when we should be at our lodgings." She said. "It wouldn't be anything they'd care about otherwise, it would be our problem if we got to bed too late." She commented.

She was right. Why would they set a deadline for that? It also sounded so weird back when the Shrimp told us. Surely they were aware people wanted to stay up much longer and do Mavis knows what.

Lily looked up at Bunny-Girl with surprise etched in his face. Somehow he had ended up lying on his back instead, kinda like a baby, and with his tail hanging loosely over her arm. "How did you figure that out, Lucy?" He asked her incredulously.

She giggled at him and tickled his stomach, trying to make him laugh. I had tried that hundreds of times, that cat just wasn't ticklish. "It was obvious, wasn't it, Lily?" She asked him, smiling widely.

He averted his gaze from her and to the wall with a faint blush, which you miraculously could see through the fur. "I guess…" He said. I knew what he was thinking. It was so obvious, yet we hadn't figured it out.

That was when three other people came into the room as well. The Rain woman, the Lightning Rod and the demon barmaid. The demon and the Slayer smiling widely and holding hands. They stopped up in the door when they noticed all four of us looking at them. "What?" Laxus grumbled, already annoyed.

Mira looked confusedly at Lucy and Acnologia. "Why are you two up? I thought you said you would get some rest." She asked them.

Bunny-Girl smiled at her. "We would, till around now." She said. "We figured something would happen around now, it was just too perfectly set up." She shortly explained. She didn't give them the full round, only Lily and I had been pleasured with that.

Laxus gently pushed Mira into the room and closed the door after him. Juvia had already, silently placed herself on her bed. He nodded at Bunny-Girl. "So we weren't the only ones who thought that." He said.

Was I the only one who hadn't figured that out?! Come on, seriously. No, I was too caught up in the delicious, yet low quality, Iron I was eating back then, I wouldn't have had time to think about that kind of stuff. That was a perfect explanation for it.

Alright… Maybe it wasn't, but who gives a damn?!

Mira nodded. "Right, so something would happen right about-"

The rest was overwhelmed by a sudden deep voice. "Good morning to all the guilds here for the Grand Magic Games!" A weird and unknown voice welcomed us all. "Kaboo~" It added.

What the heck was that? It sounded like.. Well I don't even know. An idiot. Maybe it was the Fire Idiot playing a joke. Nah.. That wasn't possible, he was too dumb to do something like that.

The voice sounded again. "In order to reduce the participating teams from 113 to 8…" He held a dramatic pause. Meanwhile, we all quickly made out way to the mini balcony that was in our room. We could just barely be there all of us. "We will now begin a preliminary event! Kabo!" A giant pumpkin-man exclaimed. Or rather a hologram of it.

Its head was a big, orange pumpkin with two holes for the big, round eyes and one for the abnormally big mouth, which seemed to always smile. It looked like a Scottish dwarf with the big, green witch-like hat. It wore a cape - in the same shade of green - over the vertically red and white-striped shirt, with a little bow in top, keeping the cape in place. It also wore black pants and big, blue shoes. Its arms and legs looked like two sticks, and at the hands it wore white gloves.

My right eye twitched, while I tried to figure out what to make of this… Thing. "What the heck is this?!" I asked no one in particular.

Mira propped her elbows on the railing of the balcony, as if it was her bar-counter, and rested her chin in her hands. "It looks like a 3D projection of a pumpkin-man." She commented. Laxus nodded agreeing with her.

Bunny-Girl furrowed her eyebrows. "Preliminaries? I don't remember anyone saying anything about that.." She said. She furrowed her eyebrows even more. "But, 113 guilds? That sounds like too many for Fiore. So many guilds have chosen to send in two teams?" She asked. No one knew what to answer, so we stayed silent as the pumpkin-man continued.

He walked around and spun where he stood. "Every year more and more guilds come, kabo~ That's a sign this event was starting to be taken too lightly." He stated. I sweat dropped when he spun and jumped a little into the air, clapping his hands together. "This year, we've brought the number of final competing teams down to 8, kabo~" He said.

So, out of 113, there was only picked 8? Then we would make it for sure. We would beat all of them and come out on top! Nothing could stop Fairy Tail, once we got started.

The pumpkin-thing raised his right hand with his index finger raised. "The preliminary rules are simple! Kabo!" He said. As he said that, the ground began shaking as if we had been hit by an earthquake. No joke, the whole ground was trembling violently. It was a problem to stand still. Even though Lily was in the air, he was still shaking. "You will all compete with each other, kabo!" He told us, not so much to our surprise. "The goal is to reach the Grand Magic Games' ground!" He told us.

The ground shook even more violently, but that was probably due to our friggin' house flying into the air! Our inns had always just been robots! I began to feel lightly nauseous from the moving building.

The pumpkin continued talking as if the noise didn't bother him at all. We, Dragons and Slayers, were getting our eardrums blown out. "The first 8 teams to make it will participate in the event, kabo." He told us. Yes, we figured that out ourselves, thank you very much. Note the sarcasm. "Your lodging will be the starting line for this preliminary event! Kabo!" He said.

Just as he finished, a path miraculously formed itself in front of us and went up to a big ball of…. What was that anyway? It was gigantic and it seemed like it wasn't even done building itself.

The pumpkin-thing continued. "Feel free to use any magic you like, there are no restrictions. As long as you're one of the first 8 teams to make it, kabo~" He told us. "But if all five of your members don't make it there, you still lose, kabo." He told us. "And one more thing…" He said and held yet another dramatic pause. "We take no responsibility for any lost lives in the labyrinth!" He said with an 'innocent' face.

What the..?! So people died in these?! Hell no, none of us would die. We had two monstrous Dragons by our side anyway, so we wouldn't face any problems… Actually, this whole game would probably go by like a breeze.

Right about then, the big ball-thing was done, it looked like a little planet, but with gears all over. And it was about as big as Acnologia in his Dragon form. Which said something. "THE GREAT GRAND MAGIC GAMES PRELIMINARY EVET, SKY LABYRINTH, HAS BEGUN! Kabo!" The pumpkin yelled loudly.

We all looked up at it, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "A labyrinth, huh?" Acnologia finally asked, breaking the silence between us.

Mira nodded and hit my back with so much force I had to take a step forward. "Good luck you guys!" She said and giggled. "I'm sure you'll do fine." She reassured us.

Bunny-Girl grabbed Acnologia's hand and pulled him with her up the path. "Let's go!" She said and began running up the path.

I grinned at her enthusiasm, which spurred everyone on. "Gihi! You got it, Bunny-Girl!" I said and ran after them. Laxus gave his girlfriend a quick kiss before he also ran after us, Juvia following me.

We quickly went through the entrance to the labyrinth. Inside was a whole world for itself. The roads and paths twisted around in a beyond confusing way and there seemed to be several floors. Some paths were wood, some were stone and some were concrete. It was all very confusing.

Laxus looked around and groaned. "How the heck are we going to find around in here?" He asked rhetorically.

Bunny-Girl smiled and fiddled with her keys. "I think I might be able to help with that." She looked up at Laxus. "Laxus, you're able to transports a pair of people with you in your Lightning form, right?" She asked him as she pulled out a silver key.

Laxus grunted and nodded. "Sure, I can do that. Why do you ask?" He asked. He already knew why, though. Or some part of it anyway.

She just smiled and lifted the key into the air. "Open Gate of the Compass!" She said loudly and swiped down with her key. "Pyxis!" She said.

A golden light appeared in front of her and a hybrid between a bird and a compass. It had a big, flat, white face and was otherwise red, but the inner feathers of its wings were blue. At the top of its head, there was a gigantic compass. "Pukii!" It told us.

Lucy looked up at all of us. "This is Pyxis, my Compass Spirit. He can find anything no matter where it is. And he can transfer the destination the thing is to us, if you touch his compass." She told us.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "That's quite the handy Spirit you got there, Bunny-Girl." I complimented. That was a very useful skill that bird creature had. But that also meant there would be no battling..

She nodded. "Yeah." She turned to Pyxis. "Pyxis, can you find the door that leads to the Grand Magic Games' grounds? The exit of this labyrinth." She asked the bird.

The bird nodded. "Pukiiii!" It told her. Then it closed its eyes and looked like it was taking a shit, while the pins on its compass spun around quickly. Finally, it settled to our right. "Puukii!" It said, signaling its finding the exit.

Lucy nodded. "Okay, Laxus and Acnologia, please put your hands on his compass." She said and grabbed the wrists of both of the men, not giving them the decision. She put their hands on the compass, the whole palms pressed to the glass. The two closed their eyes as they got the information.

Meanwhile, I wondered why she put her mate's hand on the compass. Was he able to do something like Laxus' Lightning form? What was it called, Chaos form? It sounded kinda lame somehow.

The Chaos Dragon and the Lightning Rod pulled their hands back in a jolt simultaneously, as if they'd been hit by lightning. Laxus shook his head. "Damn, that felt weird." He said and looked to the right. "It's not far from here." He added.

Acnologia nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Laxus. "You'll take those two, I'll take Lucy." He told the Lightning Dragon Slayer and looked at Bunny-Girl. Lovesick little puppy.

Laxus raised an eyebrow at Acnologia. "What? Too lazy to take two?" Laxus asked mockingly.

Acnologia shook his head, looking back at the Dragon Slayer. "No, that's not it. I haven't been doing it much, so I doubt I can take more than one person." He explained. Suure.. He just wanted some alone-time with Bunny-Girl.

Laxus grunted. "Right, I'll take these two, just don't take too long, Dragon." He told the Chaos Dragon with a smirk. He put a hand on my and Juvia's shoulders and suddenly it felt like quite high voltage electricity went through us, but before we could react to it, we were standing in front of a golden door with a white light inside, making it impossible to see what was on the other side. Well, that was boring, no battles at all.

**Back with Acnologia and Lucy~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I looked up at Acnologia, when the other three had disappeared towards the exit. "So, Shadow or Lightning form?" I asked him. It would seem we got into yet another life threatening situation. I was pretty sure this wouldn't be the last either.

Acnologia grabbed my hand and smiled at me. "Shadow form." He told me. "Laxus would be able to feel it if I used Lightning." He explained. That made sense.. But, the Head Dragons, what would they say I wondered. Well, that would have to wait for later. "Are you ready, Lucy?" He asked me. I nodded, we had used up a lot of time already…

He squeezed my hand shortly, then it felt as if I merged with the shadows, became a shadow. I felt my hand magically being tugged at and suddenly it was as if I was flying through time and space. The landscape rushed by me in a blur, but then we came to an abrupt stop.

In front of us were the three other members of our team standing in front of a golden gate with a white light. Gajeel looked at us with raised eyebrows. "About time." He grunted.

I just shook my head and walked towards them, pulling Acnologia after me. "What are we waiting for? Let's go before anyone else makes it before us." I told them and took Juvia's hand as well, pulling her after me through the gate and into the white light. The other two following with dissatisfied grunts.

The lights blinded us for a second, before it died down once again. We somehow were in the middle of the Grand Magic Games' grounds. It looked like a big, circular stadium with four knights standing on each side.

"Oh! You're fast, kabo!" Someone said and we all jolted around, facing the pumpkin-man from before. Just much smaller. "You beat the record with 10 minutes, kabo!" He told us with a shocked expression. 10 minutes? That was actually a lot.

Juvia looked down at the now much smaller pumpkin. "Juvia thought the pumpkin-man was bigger…" She muttered.

The pumpkin-man's head swelled up to an even more abnormal size. "WELL, I'M NOT! KABO!" He yelled at her, making her take a step back in recoil.

Laxus brushed the pumpkin off. "Yeah, yeah. Who were previously the fastest ones?" He asked the thing. We all looked expectantly at him.

The pumpkin sighed, then smiled widely. "You beat the greatest, Sabertooth." He told us. "They've always come in first previously, kabo, in everything." He said.

I nodded and smiled at him. "It's an honor to be able to enter the games." I said somewhat formally. Jude was of some use after all. "Can you tell us, what are we supposed to do now?" I asked him, while bending in my knees slightly. He was barely reaching my shoulders at the height he was now. Approximately.

He smiled at us. Not that he didn't anyway with that mask. "We've prepared some rooms for you to stay in while we wait for the Sky Labyrinth and your lodgings to come down again and the last teams to arrive." He told us and pointed to one of the 8 entrances at the stadium on the lower walls, below the audience-seats and the small balconies. "They're just over there, kabo." He said.

I nodded at the others and smiled at the pumpkin-man. "Thank you, we'll be in the rooms if you need anything." I told him and we all began walking towards the entrance we had been given.

"Wait, kabo!" The pumpkin called after us. We all turned around and looked at him quizzically. "Who are you? Kabo." He asked us.

I smiled at him. "Fairy Tail, we're Fairy Tail team B." I introduced us and continued walking to the rooms he had pointed out.

**In the Sky Labyrinth~**

**Sting's P.O.V**

"Memory Make: Transportation." Rufus said and suddenly, we were just a little distance away from the exit.

I took my hand away from Rufus' shoulder and looked up at the gate. They'd made this Sky Labyrinth one of the events last year, so this time it was easy to just let Rufus teleport us to the exit. We weren't busy at all. Last year, we were the first through and it took about ten minutes to solve.

My jaw hit the ground and my eyes popped out of my skull, when I saw five silhouettes disappearing into the gate. "Wh-WHAAAT?!" I yelled and pointed at the gates. "SOMEONE CAME BEFORE US?!" I yelled just a as loudly. That wasn't possible, no one could beat Sabertooth!

They all looked at me with deadpan expressions. Rufus pulled down his red hat with a little smile. "What's gotten into you, Sting?" He asked me. "That is simply not possible." He stated.

I whipped around and glared at him. "BUT I SAW IT!" I told him, getting angry. Why wouldn't he believe me?!

Yukino smiled at me. "I'm sure you did, Sting, but who could it be? No one here are strong enough to beat us." He commented.

Rufus looked at Yukino. "But, this Labyrinth is not about strength, it is about intelligence." He said. Intelligence… "The intelligence to figure this maze out." He said.

Orga looked at Rufus with a confused expression. "Yeah, but no one is cleverer than you, Rufus." He told the Memory Make mage.

Rufus pulled his hat down… Again. "It is more clever, Orga." Rufus corrected the big man. "Also, you never know, there are probably people much smarter than me out there." He said with a kind of dreamy expression.

I grunted. "Well, whatever, let's just go already." I said, this conversation was dragging out. They were getting completely off topic.

I began running into the light of the gate and through it. On the other side were the inside of the Grand Magic Games. In front of me stood that pumpkin-thing. "Who are you? Kabo." He asked and looked to the right.

"Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail team B." I heard a feminine voice say, but when I looked there, all I saw was five retreating figures, covered in the shadows of whatever entrance they just went through.

**Okay.. Sorry for the shorter chapter.. Next time, we'll **_**really**_** begin the Grand Magic Games.**

**Well, there's not much else to say than that I think you guys will be surprised with what is going to happen in the games. It follows the manga/anime to some degree, but I have put something of my own imagination in as well, of course.**

**A lot of secrets will be revealed too, look forward to it~**

**Also, everyone seems to like BasuWend, so yeah… There'll be something there :3**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Maiannaise, Nicole (Guest), PhyreGirl, allanimefreak73754, SillyKitty88, AnimeOnCookie, exdude122, Killer999, mjb379, whitelion20202, Ani (Guest), Katarina Midnight, clumzybeans, Waternixie, Konan15, aristofthemind, clairedamoon, Nilnna, ZineThePanda, Alaina Kuski, Darkerverger1, DesoltaionDeath, sesshulover, twilightamanda, CreepyAngel, MoonStar1312, OtakuLover43, .52438174, pconhold, turn forever you and me, Black Eclipsed Soul, caitlin-miko, K1N6K0N6, fairchime-diamond47, Reallyfanofstories, Emerillion (Guest), .5, LaylaNr27, ButterTARDIS36 and all you other readers! You are A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Every. Single. One. Of. You.**

**~Line464d**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

**So, this is where we really start the Grand Magic Games, guys. It'll probably be very different from both your expectations and the cannon. Well, maybe not the start, but you'll see…**

**I was so close to shitting bricks yesterday, when I found the system was down. I was worried I couldn't deliver this chapter to you guys! But phew, they found out what was wrong and corrected it before we reached that point. **

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke seemingly has no intentions of sharing Fairy Tail with anyone. Me included.**

**In the GMG, Team B's room~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

There was a loud knocking on the door, waking me up from my dreamless sleep. I sighed lowly as I wiggled out of Acnologia's grasp, gaining a dissatisfied groan from him. I straightened my clothes and my hair. I wanted to look at least somewhat proper when I talked with people.

Whoever were on the other side of the door banged on it loudly again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." I told the guy. I made my way to the door and turned the knob as silently as I could, so I wouldn't wake the others, even though I doubted it would make a difference at this point. They were all waking up already.

I opened the door completely and saw a man with short, black hair standing on the other side of it. He had a big scar which filled almost a fourth of his face, at his right eye and his eyes were a beautiful color of teal. He wore a white cape, revealing the fact that he was one of the Rune Knights. Not only that, but one of the higher ups.

He had his hand up as if he was about to knock on the door again. He looked at me with a serious expression. "The games are starting in a moment, please go to your assigned gates." He told us.

I nodded and rubbed my eye. I was still quite tired. "Right." I looked up at him. "What is our 'assigned gate' anyway?" I asked him. I hadn't been told anything about any assigned gates.

He kept looking at me, his expression never changing. "The gate Mato told you to enter when you reached the exit of the Sky Labyrinth." He told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Mato?" Seriously, this man was talking in riddles.

"The pumpkin." He simply stated.

I nodded. "Oh, right. Thank you, we will be there as fast as we can." I reassured him. He nodded and turned around, walking away. I closed the door and turned around to my now awake guild members. "Well, you heard the man, get ready for the games." I said and made my way to the bathroom as the first. I was actually looking forward to these games.

**With Team Fairy Tail A~**

**Erza's P.O.V**

The five of us, Lisanna, Natsu, Gray, Elfman and I were waiting in the gate to the outside of the Grand Magic Games' grounds. The crowd was cheering noisily in their seats.

The commentators were already ready and speaking to the crowd. "The annual magic festival finally starts!" One of them told the crowd, making them cheer even louder. "The Grand Magic Games!" He told them. "I am Chapati Lola here. I'll be covering today's events!" Chapati announced. "We are honored to have Yajima-san, a former member of the Magic Council, as our commentator. We're thrilled to have you here, Yajima-san." He told the elder man, who had been protecting Fairy Tail from the Magic Council for ages.

"The pleasure's all mine." The old man reassured Chapati.

"For day one's guest, we're also privileged to have Miss Fiore, Jenny Realight from Blue Pegasus!" Chapati announced. Ooh, she would be Mira's rival from before we got stuck on Tenrou. I believe they were competing for the title as the most popular model for Sorcerer Weekly. As far as I remembered, Mira had won every time.

"We're gonna win this year, for sure~!" An obviously female voice told us confidently. The crowd cheered loudly, especially the male audience.

"Our contestants are arriving!" Chapati announced. "First team ranks the 8th in the preliminary event. Can they reclaim their glory from the old days?" He asked rhetorically. "Contrary to their name, let's welcome the rowdy FAIRY TAIL!" He introduced us as we walked in, Natsu with a confident grin and with a hand in the air.

I began smiling, but that was about when I heard the crowd. They were booing at us. Natsu's eyes literally became as big as teacups. "WHAT?!" He yelled loudly, not dropping his hand at all.

Gray scowled and looked around. "Are they.. booing at us?" He asked us. We all knew the answer to that, though. Yes, they were indeed booing at us.

"Despite the fact that they always got the last place over the last few years, Fairy Tail somehow managed to get through the preliminary event. They ranked in the 8h place." He repeated. "The return of 'Tenrou Team' shocked the entire land. Will they help Fairy Tail become the number 1 guild in Fiore!?" He asked, it was almost as if he didn't actually believe what he was saying. The crowd only continued booing at us.

I could hear Lisanna mumbling next to me. I looked at her. She was fidgeting with her skirt, looking down on the ground. "Don't take it seriously, Lisanna." I told her and looked up at that certain group of people. It was our own guild members, they were cheering loudly for us, as the only ones. "As long as our friends are cheering for us." I told her with a little smile.

Then a person popped up on the fence. "Erm… Well…" Lisanna muttered. "Is that.." She started off. "MASTER MAVIS?!" She screamed.

The little Guild Master had her hand in the air, kind of like how Natsu had just a second ago. "Hurray, hurray~ Fairy Tail!" She cheered. She looked down at Master and told him something. I couldn't make out what it was, I was too far away. But knowing the two of them, they were probably just talking about why she was there.

It also seemed like the rest of the arena couldn't see the little girl, because they took no notice of her. Chapati continued his introductions. "Next… Let's welcome the 7th team in the preliminary event-" He said. The five of us looked toward the gate, where five new shades were appearing. "The hounds of hells army, Quatro Cerberus!" He introduced them.

Five impressively different men - I didn't even know if one of them actually was a man - appeared through the gate, yelling something like 'Wild' or something along the lines of that. I had thought it impossible to be so outstandingly out of the ordinary, but here was the proof. I wouldn't underestimate them though, they might just be stronger than they looked. The crowd was also cheering for them, even if it wasn't too loud.

Chapati continued as five new people appeared. "The 6th place is an all female guild!" He told us. I didn't know something like that even existed, was it something new? "Dancers of the ocean, MERMAID HEEL!" He said.

Five young ladies emerged from the shadows of the gate. There was one slightly big girl, who wasn't afraid of showing it. She had big, curly, black hair and a confident smile.

Another had green hair put up in a ponytail with intricate swirls. She also seemed confident and wore a tight full-body suit in a dark yellow color. It had a pattern which looked like spider's web.

One of them looked really sweet. She had orange-brown hair in two pigtail braids. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a blue overall reaching to the middle of her shins. She was waving happily at the crowd.

Then there was one covering herself in a cloak. Well, that was halfway the intention, I guess. Actually, the only thing she was covering was her face. Except that, the only thing she wore was a bikini-like outfit, with long black and blue striped leggings. Somehow, she reminded me of cats. I just couldn't explain it.

In the front there was a girl with long black, hair and a band with a bow around her head. She wore a white blazer, with gold lining. She wore a tiny, white mini-skirt and under it, black leggings. She wore white gloves with the same golden lining, likewise with her boots. With other words, she stood out from them all.

While the crowd cheered for the guild - again, the male part was louder than the female - Chapati continued. "Coming up, the 5th place is the wings that sparkle in the dark, BLUE PEGASUS!" He announced.

Just as I had expected, four familiar faces stood there, doing their usual poses, the ugly one in the middle. Although, there was one unfamiliar face. Or well.. I don't even know if you could call it that. It was a big bunny-suit, posing like the three younger - and more handsome - of the Trimen.

Chapati simply continued as the - now mostly female - audience cheered for the hosts. "The 4th place, goddess of love and war, sacred destroyers, LAMIA SCALE!" Chapati said enthusiastically.

The crowd cheered loudly and broke out in a loud discussion about whether it was actually Jura, one of the Great Wizard Saints or not. Of course, it was. Apart from him, Lyon, Yuuka and Tobi also were there. And then a little girl I didn't recognize. She had two, short pigtails and pink hair. She wore a cute, little dress. Somehow she reminded me of Wendy.

Their Guild Master complained loudly about how they'd been taking it easy, only getting 4th place. The little girl looked up at the stand, where her Guild Master was. "I'm sorry, Baba-sama. Sorry for holding everyone back.." She said, not looking where she was going. She suddenly tripped over nothing and fell to the ground. "KYA!" She screamed. I couldn't help comparing it to when we met Wendy for the first time, she also tripped. I wondered if she was okay…

Lyon sighed behind her. "Cheria don't panic." He ordered her.

The little girl looked up at Lyon with an innocent expression. "I'm sorry Lyon." She said as she got up and brushed herself off.

Natsu tilted his head and looked at the little girl. "Who's that?" He asked. "Where's the guy who always says 'love'?" He asked, stupidly.

Lisanna turned around and giggled at him. "Natsu.. Sherry isn't a guy, she's a girl!" She told him.

Yuuka looked at us with a confident smirk. "Cheria is Sherry's cousin." He explained.

Tobi nodded excitedly. "Yeah! She's really something!" He reassured us. I wondered what kind of magic that little girl used.

Lyon looked at his rival. "Gray, don't forget about our agreement. If we win, we'll have Juvia join us." He told Gray.

Gray looked at Lyon with a scowl. "I remember no such agreement, Lyon." He told him. His face transformed into a smirk. "But even then, we won't lose to you!" He reassured his fellow Ice Make user.

Lyon furrowed his eyebrow and became lost in thought, trying to remember when they'd made that agreement. "Didn't I do this…?!" He asked himself, burying his fingers in his hair, looking through his memory.

Gray shook his head and sweat dropped. "No, you really didn't.." He told him slowly.

The ugliest person on the face of earth popped up next to me. Momentarily shocking me. "In that case, I want Erza-san!" he said, sparkles appearing all around him.

I looked down at him, quickly adopting a horrified expression. "Dream on!" I told him and kicked him away, into the opposite wall, as hard as I could. There was no way I would ever be in the same guild as that creep.

Ren somehow came around and had an arm around Cheria. "Then I shall pick you." He told the little girl. "Doesn't mean I like you." He added. Wasn't that illegal? She was too young for him…

Cheria sweat dropped and looked up at Ren. "Uhm… Ren.. Don't you already have my cousin?" She asked him confusedly. An obvious blush appeared on the host's face and he nodded slowly, releasing the little girl.

Eve went towards us with a dreamy expression. "I'll take Wendy-chan~" He said. I believe I heard a growl from the crowd, but it could have just been my imagination. Eve stopped up in front of Elfman. He looked up at the bulky man. "You've grown… Into someone ugly…" He muttered the last part.

Elfman glared down at the much smaller boy. "Moron." He simply told him.

Hibiki, by far the most clever of them all, everything taken into consideration, went to the five girls, standing in a group. "Should I join Mermaid Heel?" He asked with a wide, satisfied grin.

Tobi looked like he was raging. "WAY OFF THEME!" He yelled loudly, making the Fire Dragon Slayer cover his ears.

Chapati continued his introductions, interfering with our conversations. "Next up. The 3rd place.. Wow! What a surprise! A first-time guild made their way in the top three!" He announced. Somehow, I felt this announcement was going to be special one way or another… "The midnight raider, RAVEN TAIL!" He said.

The people from that guild, a woman and three men, were all different and weird one way or another. One had purple skin, another looked like some kind of robot, a third had a spiky face and wore some kind of weird leather suit, and then one looked plain crazy.

The only one looking just a little normal was the one in the front. He had brown hair. It was somewhat long and the front bangs were brushed to the side, so he would be able to see. His eyes were blue, but somehow it was as if there was a tint of brown behind them. He wore rather casual clothes, compared to everyone else. A simple, black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, proudly showing off his athletically build body. That, and he was smirking confidently. I could faintly feel the darkness behind that smirk of his. There was something about him… His magical pressure was enormous. If he wasn't suppressing it, that was.

Natsu was sweating profusely and looking at the five people with a shocked expression. "RAVEN TAIL?!" He asked shocked and confused, just like the rest of us, from Fairy Tail.

I looked at the four. "This is.. The guild founded by Master's son, Ivan Dreyar.." I muttered to Lisanna, who was standing right next to me.

Lisanna looked at them with a just as shocked expression. "But… I think it's-" She was cut off by our Master.

Somehow, Master Makarov had probably been thinking the same thing as her. "A DARK GUILD!" He yelled loudly. "IS IT REALLY OKAY TO LET THEM PARTICIPATE IN THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES?!" He roared at the commentators.

The crowd broke out into a confused whispering. "Is that a dark guild?" Someone asked. "I've never heard of it before.." Someone said.

"Well…" Chapati said, to get everyone's attention. "According to official records, Raven Tail has existed for more than seven years and it has been approved as an official guild recently." He told us.

Yajima nodded. "So it's not a dark guild since it's been approved by the Guild League." He said for clarification.

"Fairy Tail." Someone said to gain our attention. I looked the way of the voice. It was the one of them, who seemed normal. "This little girl is our way of saying hello." He told us. He held his hand out with his palm open. Suddenly, a little chibi-figure appeared in his palm. And it looked too much like Wendy for my liking. First she smiled and looked around curiously, then X'es appeared in her eyes, and she passed out.

Natsu growled. "You were the one.. Who hurt Wendy?!" He growled at them. We all glared at them. "I won't let you get away with this." He reassured them. Before coming here, we had found out someone had attacked Wendy, she was in the infirmary at the moment and was resting. That was why we had Elfman with us.

The mysterious man smirked and laughed at us. "Well, let's enjoy this festival, shall we?" He asked us and turned around, returning to his guild members with a smirk.

"Well, there are only two teams left…" Chapati told us.

The crowd once again broke into whispers. "Huh? One of them is Sabertooth, right?" Someone asked. "What about the other? All the major guilds have entered." Another replied.

Gray stood next to me, just as confused as I was. "Is there any strong guild that we don't know?" He asked me.

I looked forward, just like him. "I don't know. But no matter who it is, we better not underestimate them." I told him.

Chapati continued speaking. "Alright! Now entering are the two teams from the preliminary event, who ranked highest!" He exclaimed. Every team, as well as the crowd, were sitting at the edge of their chairs - of course, we, the teams, didn't - curious about who the next two guild could be. "Ahh, what a surprise!" Chapati suddenly said a little loudly. "Maybe this could mean another guild has the chance to be on the top?" He asked, spurring us all on. "Until now, they were the best! The undefeated! The ultimate kings and queens! SABERTOOTH!" He announced.

Out stepped the current champions in Fiore. A blonde guy in the front, standing proudly with his hands in the air, as the crowd exploded into the loudest kind of cheering so far. Next to him stood a kind of gloomy guy, dressed in what I would call a weird outfit. It just had to be hot in this warmth. The only girl wore a long cloak over her shoulders and with feathers at her neck. Then there was a guy with hair much like Gajeel's, but a light green. He only wore a pair of pants with some kind of half cloak around his waist. The last one was the most peculiar of them all. He wore a big hat with feathers over his long blonde hair. He wore what looked kind of like what someone royal would wear, and then with a mask over his face.

Natsu glared at the blonde one. "You guys finally showed up." He stated.

The blonde waved at Natsu with two wingers and a confident smile. "Let's enjoy the game, Natsu-san." He said,

The black haired one looked at Natsu as well. "Where's Gajeel?" He asked the Fire Dragon Slayer. I wondered what was going on. He looked around at the teams already here. "And Lucy?" He added.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "How do you know Gajeel and Lucy, and what business do you have with them?" I asked him. What kind of plans did he have?

The blonde glared at the black haired guy. "Rogue! I already told you, those people were Lucy's team!" He told Rogue.

I shook my head. "Lucy doesn't have a team for the Grand Magic Games, I'm afraid you're mistaken." I told him.

The green haired one nodded. "Besides, Fairy Tail already has one team entering the games." He said. I nodded. We'd have been informed if there were two teams.

Meanwhile, Chapati continued. "Now for the last team." He said. "Wait… WHAT A SURPRISING DAY TODAY!" He screamed into the microphone. "Maybe this will be the opportunity for the broken winged fairies to fly again?!" He asked shocked. What did he mean?! Could that guy actually.. "Seriously! Could that be.." He trailed off.

My eyes widened as I saw who appeared. "Wha…?!" I asked, completely at a loss of words. This was… It was… Just…

"B TEAM OF FAIRY TAIL!" He screamed into the microphone. Natsu's shocked 'WHAAAAAAAT?!' could be heard, even though Chapati was also screaming into the microphone.

The four members of my team all had their eyes bulging out comically. Elfman screamed about Acnologia, Natsu about Gajeel, Gray about Juvia and Lisanna had tears running down her eyes as she looked at Laxus. "It's violating the rules to have Laxus here!" She yelled.

Everyone in the crowd was leaning forward in their seats. "Another team from Fairy Tail?!" They asked shocked.

I looked at Lucy with a shocked expression. "Lucy… You're here too?" I asked her. But… Why? What was this?

She looked at me and smiled. "Yeah, of course." She said and was about to say something else, when the blonde guy from Sabertooth threw an arm around her shoulder.

He grinned widely at her. "Lucy! Why didn't you tell us you were joining the games?!" He asked her ecstatically.

Lucy smiled at him, as usual. "I wanted to surprise you guys." She said with a smile. I could feel the three men around me, especially Elfman, as well as Gajeel and Laxus on the other side, beginning to sweat. They backed away from the last male from our guild from Team B.

Acnologia was glaring at the blonde one with a deadly aura around him. "I thought I told you…"He muttered menacingly. He grabbed his head in one hand and hurled him across the arena. "DON'T TOUCH MY _GIRL_!" He growled at the blonde guy as his head dug into the wall on the opposite side.

Everyone sweat dropped and Lucy did what she could to calm the raging Chaos Dragon Slayer down. She lightly kissed his cheeks. "Calm down, Acnologia. I'll stay with you." She reassured him.

Their team… They had three Dragon Slayers on it, Lucy, who was very strong now and Juvia, also one of the strongest ladies in out guild. They seemed almost invincible. Well, at least to me. And we didn't even know _how_ strong Acnologia was.

Lyon was looking in the direction of the second Fairy Tail team with a light blush on his cheeks. "Juvia…" He whispered, looking dreamily at the Water woman.

The little girl, Cheria, pouted next to Lyon. "Is that the person Lyon loves?" She asked, looking at Juvia, who was looking confusedly at both of them, getting a little colored cheeks every time she looked at the Ice Make mage.

Hibiki, along with the rest of Team Blue Pegasus, looked at us, but it was Hibiki who spoke. "I can't believe Fairy Tail has two teams enter the main events." He said, but with a smile.

Eve nodded, looking up at Hibiki. "I know, but it kinda makes sense. Fairy Tail is strong." He looked at Acnologia and shuddered. "Especially that guy. It doesn't surprise me that, out of all the teams here, his teams was the one which beat Sabertooth." He said. The others seemingly agreed.

Gajeel glared at the black haired one from Sabertooth, Rogue I believe it was. "What are you looking at?" He asked Rogue with a scowl.

"Gajeel." The guy simply said, as if that was some kind of explanation.

Even the almost normal person from Raven Tail looked their way. "Lucy… and Acnologia…" He muttered suspiciously.

The whole crowd was silent, for once. "How come Fairy Tail is the only guild that has two teams?" Someone asked. "What the hell is going on?"

Natsu's jaw dropped and his eyes were bulging out, first now did he react to the fact that there was another Fairy Tail team. "What the hell!? How's this happening?!" He asked confusedly.

Chapati cleared his throat in the mic. "Well, Yajima-san, seems many people find themselves confused by the amended rules." He told the man.

Yajima began explaining. "Right.." He said. "For this event, each guild is allowed to send at most two teams to compete." He explained. Ahh.. Now it made sense why there were so many guilds in the preliminaries. I couldn't believe so many guilds would have showed up in just seven years.

Lisanna turned and looked up at where our whole guild stood. "Master! We didn't know that!" She yelled at him. The old master simply laughed along with everyone else from out guild, proclaiming that that was Fairy Tail.

Chapati began speaking again. "The teams should be competing with each other. So, what's it gonna be between the two teams from the same guild?" He asked. "Do you think they would be okay?" He added.

"But.." Jenny said to get the attention. "Isn't that unfair?" She asked. "If each of teams sends one member to compete, then there would be two members from Fairy Tail, right?" She asked. "That would mean Fairy Tail would have a great advantage with the two teams." She explained.

Yajima nodded. "Pretty sweet deal, right, Ma-chan?" He asked someone.

Even Chapati didn't know who he was talking about. "Ma-chan?" He asked confusedly.

At the edge of my peripheral I saw Natsu leaning forward. "ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!" He yelled and pointed at Gajeel. "EVEN IF WE'RE FROM THE SAME GUILD, WE WON'T HESITATE TO TAKE YOU DOWN!" He yelled at Gajeel. "WE'RE RIVALS NOW THAT WE ARE IN DIFFERENT TEAMS! YOU GUYS WON'T STAND A CHANCE!" He yelled loudly, effectively silencing the whole arena.

Gajeel leaned forward over Natsu, glaring at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Suits me. You guys are just in 8th place." He smirked. Natsu groaned at the reminder.

The crowd began whispering again. "How did they do it?" Someone asked. "Fairy Tail was in last place all the years until now, and now they came in over the strongest guild? How is that possible?" They kept chatting about it.

The blonde one grinned at Rogue. "See what I told you, Rogue? It _was_ Lucy's team!" He said excitedly. Somehow he wasn't even hurt from having his head dug into a wall. The hole where his head had just been just stood out proudly on the otherwise perfect walls.

Rogue just nodded. "Yes, Sting. I can see that." He agreed.

The one with the hat and the royal outfit stepped up next to the two. "Even though you two seem to know this person, remember, we're still enemies here." He reminded them.

Lucy looked at the two. "Yes! We'll do what we can to beat you, no matter what!" She said with her usual bright smile.

Sting, the blonde one's name, grinned and raised his fist. "You're on!" He agreed.

Natsu glared at the exchange. "WHY'RE YOU SO FRIENDLY WITH EACH OTHER?!" He yelled, still hyped up from earlier.

Both Sting and Lucy glared at him. "Not your business, moron." They said simultaneously.

Natsu cried comically. "Luce~ Don't be so mean to me!" He complained, reaching out to Lucy. But then the dark shadow, otherwise known as Acnologia, prevented him from getting any closer.

Sting crossed his arms and looked at Lucy with furrowed eyebrows. "Don't tell me you've already forgiven that idiot." Sting asked her, pointing at Natsu. Meanwhile, the whole arena stayed silent, wondering why Sting was talking so familiarly with Lucy. As far as I could tell, it was out of his usual character.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would you care about that?" She asked him. He scratched the side of his head. She sighed and gently shook her head. "If you really want to know, then no, I haven't." She told him. How could she be talking like that with our biggest enemy? It was like they were childhood friends or something.

The green haired one stepped up and placed a hand on Sting's head, messing with his hair. "Sting, don't you think you should introduce us to this lovely lady?" He asked the blonde one. What the heck was going on here…? Weren't Sabertooth supposed to be extremely competitive? Or maybe I had misjudged them somehow.

Sting grinned widely. He looked at Lucy. "Lucy, the ugly one behind me is Orga." He said and pointed behind him with a thumb. "The girl is Yukino." He said and pointed at the girl. "And the one with the hat is Rufus." He introduced his friends. We were getting way off topic!

Lucy nodded and smiled. "Yes, I know." She simply said.

Sting nodded. "Well, I guess you do." He said and laughed a little. "Guys, this is Lucy." He simply said.

This time the girl, Yukino, stepped forward. "Sting, is she the one from the train you told us about?" She asked the blonde guy.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, that would be me." She looked at Sting and gestured to the commentators with a nod. "But I think we'll have to save it for later, the Games are going to continue." She said and turned around to her own team.

Chapati took the word once again. "Now the teams have all arrived, what do you think of this year's participants, Yajima-san?" He asked the former Council member.

Yajima smiled fondly. "It's good to be young." He said, completely ignoring his fellow commentator's question.

Chapati sweat dropped. "Umm.. I wasn't asking about that…" He slowly said. He quickly cheered up, though. "Well, sorry for keeping you waiting!" He said just as a stone tablet appeared in the middle of the arena. There were five lines, each representing a day. From day one it said 'Hidden + Battle', from then on it had three question marks plus Battle, except day 4 and 5. At day four, it had the three question marks + Tag battle and for the fifth day, it was all question marks. "Now here is the program for the Grand Magic Games!" He announced.

The whole crowd exploded into cheers at the sight of the table and the announcement that the long awaited Games would soon begin.

While Natsu was jumping around happily about the battles, Gray just looked at the stone. "We have both games and battles on the first day?" He asked.

I nodded, also looking at the stone tablet. "Yes, it would seems so." I confirmed. They sure weren't letting us off easy, but that was how it was supposed to be.

Just then, another stone tablet appeared. This one had 8 lines, going from 1st to 8th, with first at the top. At 8th it said 0, at 7th 1, at 6th 2 and then on till 3rd place, where it said 6 and went two up from then on, so it said 10 at 1st. "In terms of games, each team already has varying points according to their rankings in the preliminaries. Each team is allowed to select any member they want to participate in the games. In the battles, the sponsor will have the right to make a decision by drawing and considering factors like fan's votes." Chapati explained. "The winner of the battles will get 10 points, while the loser won't get any at all!" He added.

"What? They get to decide?" Gray asked with a lightly shocked expression.

I nodded. "Which also means if we're unlucky, we might have to participate in the battles right after finishing the games, with our magic running low." I muttered, mostly to myself.

Chapati once again took the word. "Now let's begin the opening game of the Grand Magic Games! 'Hidden' is the first game." He said. "Each team sends out one member. The rules will be explained once the team members are all gathered." Chapati said.

So we couldn't judge who would be best to send out based on the events of these games. It was kept a secret until the members already had been chosen.

Quatro Cerberus chose the big one with the headphones, Mermaid Heel chose he little country girl, the 'normal' guy of Raven Tail ordered the purple skinned guy to go, Eve chose to go from Blue Pegasus and that was when Sabertooth were to choose their member.

The guy with the hat, Rufus, put his hand on top of his hat. "I'll go." He told his team. "The birds' singing is quite lovely today." He said, what was with that vague reasoning?

Chapati decided to announce this. "He's here! The singing poet who sings to the crimson moon! Rufus!" He told everyone loudly in the microphone. As per usual, the crowd cheered loudly.

At first, we hadn't chosen who should go, but when Lyon said he'd go, Gray quickly stepped in. "Count me in, I'll show you what I learned." Gray reassured his brother.

I looked at Lucy's team, who were the only ones who hadn't chosen anyone to participate yet. Lucy smiled and gave Juvia a light push in the back. "I think you should go, Juvia." She suggested. Juvia looked at the silver haired girl with a shocked expression. Lucy smiled at her. "Do your best, Juvia~" She told the Rain woman.

Juvia nodded determinedly. "Juvia will do her best to win!" Juvia reassured her team mates with a fist raised in determination. It was weird how she wasn't fawning all over Gray, I still hadn't gotten used to it.

**A few minutes later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Of course I would have urged Juvia to compete. Those two Ice Make mages were in it after all. I had become quite the sucker for drama, since training with Amelane. That Water Dragon seriously rubbed off on me.

Apparently, I had giggled out loud. Gajeel looked at me. "What are you giggling about, Bunny-Girl?" He asked me.

I smiled at him and waved my hand in front of my face. "Oh, just thinking about the drama there's sure to pop up with those three there." I said, already getting excited. Oh, Amelane, what had you done to me?

Gajeel looked confused. "Those three?" He asked, not having understood what I had implied.

Acnologia looked at him. "Juvia, Lyon and Gray." He simply answered the Dragon Slayer. He looked down at me. "Surely, you must have had another idea with pushing Juvia out into this 'game' than just for your own entertainment?" He asked me.

I smiled at him and nodded. "You know me so well." I complimented him. Well, he had always been like that, knowing what I was thinking without me having to say anything at all.

Acnologia smiled at me. "Well, of course, what did you expect?" He asked me and pulled me into a tight hug. I giggled and nuzzled into him.

I heard a groan behind me and looked at the guy who had made the noise. "Would you two stop flirting and get to the point?" He asked us exasperatedly.

I glared playfully and pouted at him. "Why're you so boring, Laxus?" I asked him rhetorically. Then I smiled. "Of course I had something else in mind." I said and looked down at Juvia from where I was, on the balcony above the gate we had passed through. We'd been told to move up there just after all the participants had been chosen. "I thought she would be able to hide better than any of us ever could." I told them, still staying a little secretive.

Gajeel furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean, Bunny-Girl? Can't you just tell us directly what you're thinking?" He asked me, getting lightly annoyed.

I giggled at him, then looked into his eyes. "I thought Juvia would be better at hiding than us, because if she wanted to, she could just change into a puddle." I told them.

Gajeel sweat dropped. "Yeah, but there hasn't been water in Fiore in a while, it wouldn't be realistic if there just lay a puddle of water on the ground, you know." He commented.

I smiled at him and nodded. "I know." I said. I looked down at Juvia again. "You remember how she had been following around Gray for ages, right?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Of course, how could I miss it?" He asked me. Well, that was true, it was kind of hard to miss…

I nodded again. "Yeah, much of the time, Gray didn't even notice she was following him around." I thought back to those times, it was long time ago, after all. "Although he did feel her presence…" I muttered. I turned around and beamed at all of them, my long braid swishing my back behind me. "But she's still the best one of us." I looked at the three men. "You three would be too big and I'm not good at hiding either, so Juvia was the obvious choice." I told them.

Gajeel looked at me with a speechless expression. "You thought of all that… In just a few seconds down there?!" He asked me shocked.

I looked at him and shrugged innocently. "Yeah, it was simple and obvious." I told him matter-of-factly. "You would've been able to do it too, you know." I told him.

"I seriously doubt that..." He muttered lowly. He moved to stand next to me, grabbed the railing and looked down at the field. "I think it's starting now, though." He stated.

I nodded and looked down. It certainly looked like it was. The pumpkin-man was standing in the middle of the arena. "The contestants for the Hidden game, please step forward." He said. All the participants stepped closer to him.

"It's finally starting!" Chapati commented. "What kind of game is Hidden, I wonder?" He asked no one in particular. He turned to Yajima. "Yajima-san, do you have any favorite players?" Chapati asked the old guy.

Yajima smiled kindly. "Hmm…" he said thoughtfully. "My favorite would be Rufus-kun." He said. Of course, he was everyone's favorite, being from Sabertooth and all. "But I also like Gray-kun." He told us. I smiled, faithful as ever, huh Yajima? He always helped us out when he was in the Council.

Chapati nodded. "I see, what about you, Jenny-san?" He asked the model.

Jenny smiled at him. "You don't need to ask." She said. "Of course it's our incredible Eve-kun!" She told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I guess it was, really.

I looked down at the eight members standing in the arena in front of the pumpkin-man. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen now.

Gray looked at Juvia. "I'm looking forward to playing this game with you, Juvia, but I don't plan on losing to you." He said to his former stalker with a smile.

Juvia looked at him with a deadpan expression. She stayed silent for a long time, before she finally said something. "Bring it on, Gray. I won't lose to the likes of you." She said venomously and somehow began floating away from him, still looking at him with that same, deadpan expression.

Someone interrupted their conversation, or rather… Decided to take part in it. "I will do whatever I can-" Lyon said and held one hand over his heart and the other towards Juvia, with his palm facing upwards. "For Juvia!" He declared. I giggled at it, oh this was promising.

"Hold on…" The guy with purple skin color, Nullpudding, said. "The game… I still have no idea what that is. No, no, about the game you'll have, I think Fairy Tail will have a great chance of winning with their two teams, right?" He reasoned. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Was he trying to cut us down to one team?

I think the whole Fairy Tail guild was glaring at him. He was trying to get in between us and make chaos, when we would have to decide which team we would go with. Damn them! They were probably after us even here.

The pumpkin-man looked at Nullpudding. "It's true, it's quite incredible to have two teams from the same guild get into the main events, kabo." He said.

Rufus shook his head. "It's fine." He said. "My memory is telling me that two contestants doesn't guarantee advantage." He mentioned.

Jäger nodded, he was the one from Cerberus, with crossed arms. "I don't see any problem either." He agreed.

Beth, the girl from Mermaid, nodded to. "Yeah, same here." She said.

Gray looked at Rufus. "Indeed the king." He told the blonde mage. "No one will stand in your way." He said, sweat dropping.

Rufus smirked at him and pushed his oversized hat up. "Your friends will become your weakness." He said. "They might be taken hostage, be blackmailed, or leak information, all sorts of thing could happen." He said. "You must remember that." Somehow… I felt there was something behind those words of his.

Juvia looked at Rufus, still with the deadpan expression. "Gray is not my friend." She stated, making the surrounding people sweat drop at her bluntness.

The pumpkin broke off the conversation going on, when he pointed up in the sky. "FIELD OPEN! Kabo…" He said. And suddenly, out of nothing, a town began appearing all over the arena, it was impressive they had enough magic for it. And space for that matter, but the arena really was big.

Then, the eight participants also scattered all over the little town. They all seemed confused and looking around, trying to figure out what would come next. Well.. Actually, Rufus didn't even twitch, he stayed completely calm and composed. Or.. That was what I got from the Lacrima screens there had been put up, I couldn't see a thing if I looked down in the town.

Chapati suddenly spoke. "Everybody not in the field, please watch what happens in the town through the Lacrima screens!" He told us. "The eight participants won't be able to know where the others are." He announced. "The rules for Hidden are very simple. You will be doing hiding and seeking at the same time." He explained. "You have to find others in the town and attack them. You can use any kind of magic." He elaborated. "It doesn't matter whether you get injured or not. The person who hits with his attack first gets one point." Chapati explained.

Suddenly, clones of the contestants appeared all over the city and in a tight mass. It almost looked like it would be difficult to move around between them. I leaned forward over the railing, genuinely curious about this game. It was amazing they even had this much magic. "So many clones.." I muttered.

Chapati began explaining again. "These are your clones. If you make a mistake and attack the clones, you'll lose one point." He explained. That was when the loud sound of a gong being hit, making me cringe from the volume of it, was heard. "Start! Disappear in silence just like a black cat hidden in a dark night!" Chapati yelled, exploring his 'talent' as a poet. "Hidden, start!" He repeated and so the games started.

The participants began looking around, searching for anyone who weren't a clone. Juvia steered completely clear of all the Gray clones.

I looked at one of the other screens and sweat dropped. Oh dear… Lyon was looking around him with bright blushes on his cheeks, standing in obvious contrast to his whitish silver hair. Not surprisingly, his eyes followed he clones of a certain Water woman. "Juvia…" He muttered, but it was caught by the Lacrima. "If only... I could catch one." He said, his cheeks getting even redder.

He spotted the Juvia he liked the most, even though there was absolutely no difference between them, and walked towards her. He quickly reached her, but just as he was about to reach out, a Gray clone got in the way.

Lyon immediately thought it was the real thing and charged his magic up. "Move it, you're in the way, Gray!" He said and kept charging his magic. "Ice Make: Eagle!" He said and several birds of Ice flew out of his the air in front of him and charged the clone.

The unsuspecting clone didn't even move as the small eagles closed in on him and finally made contact. There was this characteristic noise, telling everyone and everything he was wrong, like in quizzes, then the Gray clone disappeared into nothing.

"Whoops!" Chapati said. "Lyon was counted off 1 point because he attacked a clone!" He announced, much to Lyon's displeasure. "Under this situation, you should restart from somewhere else after 10 seconds. Similarly you'll be counted off 1 point and have to restart somewhere else when you are attacked by other wizards." He explained. Why hadn't he said that from the start? It seemed like quite crucial information. "The time limit is 30 minutes. You can restart for no matter how many times within the time limit." He kept on explaining. "The team with the most point in the end wins as the number one. Then it goes on from then." He added.

I sighed. That seemed a bit unorganized, but oh well. I looked up at the screens again, to see if anyone had encountered anything. "Aaahh." Someone said from one of the screens. My gaze flashed around on the screens, trying to figure out which was the one it came from. "We'd better understand the rule as soon as possible then." It said.

My eyes landed on Gray's screen as he whirled around with an annoyed expression. Well.. I guess I had found what I was looking for. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" He told the person.

The little, purple one from Raven Tail stepped forward. "Raven Tail, Nullpudding." The guy said, adding a rather evil laugh at the end.

Gray looked down at him. "You showed yourself." He stated simply. He quickly burst into movement, while the guy was still laughing, smashing his hands together, a clenched fist on an open palm behind him. "It makes things easier!" He said as he charged his icy magic up at his hands at a rapid pace. "Ice Hammer!" He yelled and smacked a hammer of sheer ice down on Nullpudding's head. It didn't look like a hammer, though. More like a long whip, which suddenly got thicker in the end and covered completely in spiky ice. That had to hurt. Gray smirked triumphantly. "So, I can get a point now, right?" He asked. He was interrupted by the sound of the buzz, telling him he had hit a clone. "What! What's wrong..?!" He asked shocked.

The laugh of the Raven Tail mage was heard from Gray's screen. And there he was seen, walking towards Gray at a steady pace. "I'm sorry to tell you that he was my clone." He laughed. So he had hidden behind his clone and made it look like the clone was him…

It looked like Gray was zapped with lightning, and then he appeared a whole different place, getting ready to start all over again. I kept watching Gray screen a little while yet, seeing if he had figured something out. I smiled a little when they zoomed in on his face. I'd been doing enough missions with him and the rest of Team Natsu to know he had figured something out. He quickly went into the crowd and mixed with them all, hiding himself.

Suddenly, a voice rang from his screen again. "Gray-san." Someone called in his screen. A big hand, the size of Master's when he used Titan magic, appeared, with spikes all over the knuckles shot out and hit Gray on his back, screaming out in surprise and pain. "Gotcha!" Nullpudding announced.

I furrowed my eyebrows. That Raven Tail guy, Nullpudding, how could he find Gray so fast? And why did he only attack Gray? I guessed it was because he was a Fairy Tail guild member. Maybe their guild master had ordered them to go after taking down Fairy Tail, it wouldn't be surprising.

I looked up at the current results. 3 minutes had passed and Nullpudding already had one plus, Lyon had one minus and Gray had two minus… It already wasn't looking good for Fairy Tail and if Nullpudding really went after Fairy Tail, then Juvia would also be a target for him. She would also be hit at one point or another.

Chapati interrupted my train of thought. "The first game continues in the completely silent battlefield, Hidden!" He told us. "Right off the bat, Raven Tail's Nullpudding has taken the lead!" He stated. "In this field filled with copies of their enemies and themselves, how are they to find out which are their real opponents?!" He asked, trying to spur the crowd on. And it worked.

Yajima spoiled Chapati's fun, though. "There's plenty of methods available." The elder man stated. "For example, they could sense their enemy's magical pressure." He commented logically.

Jenny decided to voice her opinion as well. "Hmph.. I'm sure Eve-kun will think of a much more incredible way." She told us.

I kept looking at Gray's screen, as he seemed like he was the one targeted by Nullpudding at the moment, I was so caught up in it all I didn't notice anything around me. So, when Acnologia gently placed his hand on my shoulder to get my attention, I jumped frightened. I quickly realized it was just my mate and breathed out heavily. I nodded for him to say what he wanted to.

Instead of saying anything, he pulled my back against his chest and buried his nose in the crook of my neck. I raised my eyebrow and wondered what brought this on. It couldn't be his Dragon… We had lost the initial constant craving and lust long ago, so he had some other reason..

I found out quickly though. "Lucy, I have a plan. For saving my father that is." He whispered softly, I could feel his hot breath gently brushing my skin. I realized he was talking in such a low voice, the Dragon Slayers wouldn't be able to hear it, even if they were standing right behind us. I nodded to tell him I was listening. "Somehow, I feel that something major will happen in the battles." He told me. "If you get the chance, use the battles as a distraction and find my father. You can get Skyadrum and 464 to help you, they're probably the best to ask." He told me, gently placing a kiss in the crook of my neck, opposite the place he had put the mark.

I looked at him from the edge of my peripheral, but all I could see was the black and blue, spiky hair I loved so much. "Why me?" I asked him. "Aren't the both of us going?" I asked him, whispering just like he was, placing my hands over his, which were locked around my stomach and waist.

"No, it has to be you." He told me. He took the silence I gave him as a suggestion to explain what he meant. "I'm quite sure they will have found out he is a Dragon by now, and they know who I am, so I'm probably not allowed in there. But they might not remember you, especially with the new, silver hair." He explained.

I leaned back into him and nodded. "Okay, I'll ask the two Shadow Dragons to help me, then." I agreed. "But what if I can't get him out?" I asked him. I didn't want to disappoint him if I wasn't able to rescue his dad.

He shook his head lightly, I almost didn't catch it. "No, it doesn't matter." He said, making me wonder just what he meant. "I didn't expect you to be able to rescue him, when you're only you. Skyadrum and 464 probably won't follow you down in the cellar, so you'll be on your own." He told me. "Even though I know you can do it, for now just find out where he is and how he is. We'll figure the rest out later." He told me.

I sighed and nodded. I got what he was saying, but somehow I felt like he didn't think I was strong enough. I knew that wasn't the case though, I knew he believed in me.. I just knew.

Acnologia moved up to kiss my cheek instead. "Thank you, my angel." He said softly and squeezed me a little for a second.

I nodded. "I promised you, didn't I?" I asked him and looked for the Head Dragons. I knew they were in the stadium somewhere, I just had to find them… They would probably be sitting together somewhere. In a big group.. There!

They were sitting all together in a big group. And they stood out, there was something about their aura which was different from the others. But it wasn't in a bad way. They got lots of attention, but it was admiration. They were mysterious, yet beautiful - a perk from being a Dragon - in a way the humans couldn't even get close to.

I quickly found the Shadow Dragon I was looking for. She looked up, as if she could feel she was being looked at and looked in my direction. How she knew it was me was beyond me. We made eye contact and I gestured to her with a nod to meet me in the back. She nodded and winked at me. She said something to Weisslogia and then began working her way out of the crowd.

I smiled and looked to where the entirety of my guild stood. Line464 was standing in the corner with her back against a wall. She seemed to have noticed my and Skyadrum's silent conversation and knew what I wanted of her. She gave me a single nod and slipped away from the wall, disappearing behind my fellow guild mates.

I patted Acnologia's hands a pair of times, so he released me again, not without giving me a last kiss though. On the mouth this time. Then he let me go. I smiled at him and made my way off our balcony, so I could talk with my two girlfriends.

"Blondie, where are you going?" Laxus asked me suspecting me for something, something sneaky probably. Which was right. You could say I was doing shady business, going against the Magic Council, but if you asked me, I was in the right on this one.

I turned around and smiled at him. "Can't a girl go to a bathroom nowadays?" I asked him, teasing him lightly.

Laxus narrowed his eyes at me for a second, then nodded and looked at the screens again. "Right, right." He simply said. Okay~ Now to find Skyadrum and 464.

I made my way down the infinite hallways - or that was what it felt like anyway - and finally found the exit after forever had passed, just down the end of the hall. The scent of the two Shadow Dragons quickly caught my nostrils and before long, I could hear their conversation.

"I wonder what Lucy brought us out here for." Skyadrum said thoughtfully as I kept walking down the last one.

"Probably she and Acnologia figured something out about Kurama-sama." She said. She tended to call all the Head Dragons with a formal 'sama' at the end. Probably due to the training under Noriaki and Skyadrum.

That was when I finally reached the exit. "That's right." I told them just as I turned the corner and once again came out into bright daylight.

They both looked at me. "What took you so long?" Skyadrum asked me teasingly. Although, it probably did take a bit long.

I looked at her and smiled lightly. "You have no idea how many hallways there are in this thing." I said with a soft moan.

Skyadrum grinned at me. "Yeah, yeah, what've the two of you found out?" She asked me curiously. "And why did you only call the two of us?" She added.

464 looked at Skyadrum with a blank expression. "It would be suspicious if a whole group suddenly just left at once, after looking at Lucy." She answered her other Shadow Dragon.

Skyadrum nodded with a face of realization. "Right… I guess it would." She agreed, then looked at me again. "So why are we here?" She repeated.

I nodded, changing to a more serious mood. "Okay, so apparently, Acnologia felt that something major would happen in the battles later today." I told them, watching their skeptical faces. "Yeah I know, it's not much to go on." I agreed. "But if something major _does_ happen, we'll use that as a distraction to get down to Kurama." I explained.

464 nodded. "So are we rescuing Kurama-sama today?" She asked me. Yes, I had thought that too in the beginning.

I shook my head. "No, we're just going to see where Kurama is, so it'll be easier to rescue him when the time comes, and how he is." I told them. They both looked slightly confused, although it was hard to read 464's expression, so I elaborated. "We don't know how he is. You know.. How often they let him transform and how long. His condition, so to say." I explained.

They nodded. "Okay, so what are we going to do?" Skyadrum asked me, also latching onto the serious mood.

I looked at the two of the alternately. "The two of you are going to help me sneak down in the cellars, where they keep their prisoners." I told them.

464 nodded. "Just you, or Acnologia too?" She asked me.

I shook my head again. "Acnologia isn't coming." I told them. "They'll know Kurama is a Dragon by now, and they also know who Acnologia is, so there is no way they'll let him in." I explained. "But me on the other hand…" I trailed off.

Skyadrum nodded, understanding what I was going to say. "You won't be recognized with the new hair, and you look older than you did back when you left the guild. Besides, your magical presence is way different from what it was before." She said. I nodded, she was correct this far. "Even if you were still 'Lucy Heartfilia' and they knew, they'd probably let you in." She said.

I looked at her, confused. What did she mean with that? Why would they let me in? "What do you mean, Skyadrum?" I asked her.

She looked at me, still not smiling. "The guards, they would let you in." She repeated. Yes, I understood that much, but why? I was just about to ask, when she continued. "Because you're the one he was trying to kidnap, the _victim_." She explained. "They might thik that maybe you would want to either forgive him or say you hated him, either way, you probably wouldn't have thought of rescuing him. Also with being raised the way you were, they would never even begin to imagine you would be plotting anything. That's just not what a 'lady' does." She said and shrugged as if she didn't give a damn. She really didn't.

My eyes widened. I hadn't even thought of that. Yes, of course. Jude would never have taught me to rescue someone in prison, especially not if that person/Dragon had tried to 'kidnap' me. He might've taught me to forgive anyone, but not bail them out of prison. If I went as 'Lucy Heartfilia'…

Why hadn't I figured that out myself? Well, I guessed that was what I could expect from someone being the Head of the Shadow Dragons _and_ the division for undercover agents.

I nodded. "Right. So all you two gotta do is sneaking me down to Kurama." I told them, making sure they had understood what the whole idea was.

They both nodded. "We'll let you speak with Kurama-sama and watch out for any passing guards." 464 told me. "We'll warn you if anyone approaches." She reassured me.

I nodded and looked at Skyadrum, silently asking for her consent. Skyadrum nodded. "Of course! I'll talk with good old Kurama when we rescue him." She told me, finally dropping the heavy aura.

I nodded and smiled. "Alright!" I'll give you a signal, when we leave. You won't miss it." I told them. They nodded and with that, we went back to where we came from.

**Inside the Arena~**

**Rogue's P.O.V**

Sting and I… We noticed Lucy and Acnologia's secret talk. Our balcony was right next to theirs after all. Lucy suddenly left her balcony, so we decided to follow her.

When we finally found her, while staying a floor above sea-level, she was talking with two women. I didn't recognize either of them. We could hear their conversation through the window, even though it was low. But it seemed we had missed out on a lot. We came just as the one with the purple dress and long black hair, with purple hints talked about how some guards would let her in.

That woman, the one in the dress, she seemed like someone I knew. Somehow.. She was familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but she reminded me of someone, someone who was once dear to me. But.. I just couldn't remember.

I didn't understand much, but from what I understood, they were trying to get someone out of prison, who had once tried to kidnap Lucy. Why would they do that.. What's their reason? They acted as if they were some secret agents, being all secretive.

When they finally separated and went their ways, Sting turned to me, annoyingly ecstatic. "Rogue! What do you think Lucy is plotting?!" He asked me.

I sighed. "I don't know." I simply told him. I didn't want to deal with all his questions right now. Obviously he hadn't understood what all this was about. He might be the Light Dragon Slayer, but he wasn't bright in any way.

Sting shook his head, grinning widely. "No, I know you know!" He told me. So the cat's already out of the bag? That was fast, compared to all the other times. "Just spit it out already!" He told me, almost jumping up and down where he stood as an excited little child.

I shook my head at his childishness. "It seems Lucy and her… Friends… are trying to rescue someone." I told him hesitantly.

He looked at me with wide eyes. "That Kurama-guy?" He asked me. I just nodded and looked blankly at my fellow Dragon Slayer. "But he had tried to kidnap her!" He exploded.

I nodded. "They must have a reason." I said and looked down at the now empty spot, where the three women once stood.

What could have happened for them to decide to save a person, who had tried to kidnap her? What was it they were so secretive about? What were they hiding…

Sting raised his fist, pumped for… Well, something. "We'll help her! Any way we can!" He told me determinedly.

I looked at him incredulously. "What can you do to help her?" I asked him. It was obvious that whatever they were doing was far beyond us.

Also… The magical pressure Lucy herself was releasing - not to mention her mate - it was incredible. It was nothing like the girl we had met when we were small. Back then, she just seemed somewhat strong to us, for a human that was, but now… She had reached amazing levels. And it also seemed like the both of them were keeping it down.

What kind of training had she been doing these last years? If she leaked such a strong magical pressure, just how strong was that Celestial mage? It seemed almost unrealistic that she could evolve like that.

And for the first time in my life… I was actually looking forward to something. I was looking forward to seeing just how strong Lucy actually was. Using everything she'd got. Somehow… I doubted I would see that. It was like she had some major secret about her magic, which she was determined to keep hidden.

Sting and I began walking back to our balcony, where our team was waiting for us, Sting blabbering about something all the way, while I was caught in my thought. Thinking about Lucy… And her secret.

**Could Rogue maybe be on the verge to finding something out? Will the secrets be revealed to him soon? Well… Who knows? :3**

**Anyway, I experienced the most awesome thing ever, when I set up my iPhone to the Game Center I was going to pick a username, just like everyone else. Then, just for the heck of it, I tried 'Amelane', but guess what? It was already taken! That's just too awesome! You're awesome whoever you are!**

**I know, I know, this chapter wasn't the most exciting one out there, and it followed the manga closely. But I promise you.. Next chapter, it's time for the battles. While I know I'm still not too good at writing battles yet, please ignore that and just forget about it, please. I'm working on it. It's still under progress to getting better. ^_^" **

**So, basically, look forward to it, I guess. Things'll happen next chappie~**

**Thank youXx21KatieKat12xX, whitelion20202, BecauseIamSoBored, UchihaHertfilia, Aira0906, AmethystSnow123, ZinaThePanda, Nicole (Guest), LaurenSmithxox, Alaina Kuski, allanimefreak73754, sloaniam, TigerLily2214, Konan15, fairychime-diamon47, AnimeOnCookie, Moon Devil and Moon Angel, aristofthemind, MelodyTheKitten, mjb379, New life 2011, Darkverger1, Maiannaise, clumzybeans, .awesome, twilightamanda, MoonStar1312, FairyTailLuvr29, Etaw9, Unidentified Gem, Sparrow1, Sjamie1398, SakurianaHime, Thrill-Pair-All-The-Way, morgan1yam, wkjjfht825, Guest, Astroman1000, devils-lover76, ThunderWolf395, Lucy-Luna-Stingu, Syareoo, SkyLion27, Anita Jay, LooneyTuned, animemangafan2000, FairyTailLover 012, hapykittens3, LovelyKpopMess23, Jnake1020 and all you other people out there!**

**~Line464d**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

**The end of 'Hidden' and the start of battles, what'a'ya say, isn't that just nice and dandy? I know I followed the manga quite closely, to say the least, but with the battles, you'll see the changes. **

**Thank you DesolationDeath, for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke owns everything Fairy Tail-related and he will continue to do so for… Well.. A long time. I think..**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

The game, Hidden, was coming to its end, I wondered what took Lucy so long. Had those three gotten caught up in some kind of girl-talk or something?

As it stood now, Nullpudding was in the front, Juvia following behind, surprisingly, Eve at third, Beth at fourth, then Jäger, Rufus - who hadn't made neither a move nor an appearance yet - Lyon on a second last and Gray on a total last. Apparently, Nullpudding hadn't been able to find Juvia, so she had defeating a few people here and there.

She'd hit Lyon once, when he - instead of attacking her - reached out and tried to hug her or whatever he was trying to do. At any rate, he hadn't come far before he was hit by a Water Slicer. Then she had also defeated Gray twice in pure hatred, as it seemed.

So, Gray was all beat up and Juvia had three points. Nullpudding had five, from continuously targeting Gray. Eve followed Juvia up closely with two points, he had been lucky with hitting both Beth and Jäger at the same time, with his Snow magic.

Beth had hit Gray too, with her magic along with Jäger, but was then hit by Juvia, knocking her out. Jäger hadn't gotten any points, so he had a two minus. Then Lyon, who had grabbed too many Juvia clones, had minus three points, but he had actually also managed to hit Gray. At last, there was Gray, who had minus eight points… He hadn't gotten any points either.

But Rufus hadn't made a move yet. He hadn't been hit either, so he had zero points at the moment. I wondered what he was going to do. Sabertooth had won all the other times, so of course they wouldn't just hide here. He was going to make a move at some point.. And there were only three minutes left, he would have to hurry if he wanted to catch up with Nullpudding.

Then I heard the familiar set of footsteps approaching us and turned my head just in time for my mate to appear.

Gajeel grunted and looked at her. "What took you so long time? Even if you had to take a shit, it shouldn't take so long time." Gajeel asked her, grinning widely.

Lucy looked at him with an expression which showed him just how big an idiot he was. "I got lost on the way, moron." She told him.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her. "How could you get lost? It was just to go back to the room we stayed at. There was a toilet there, you know." He told her.

She scratched the back of her head. "Well, I forgot that, and there are so many hallways in this building, seriously. They should put up some pointers or something." She mumbled the last part. After a second of silence she came to stand next to me, leaning lightly over the railing, with her hands on the railing. "So, what did I miss?" She asked, looking at the many different screens.

Laxus looked at her with a smirk. "Only everything." He simply said, sarcastically. When he didn't make any indication to continue, Lucy turned to me, knowing the two others wouldn't give her much more of an answer.

I sighed and gestured to the screen showing the points. "Well, as expected, Nullpudding went after Fairy Tail, but he didn't seem to be able to find Juvia at all, as you predicted. So he went after Gray instead." I told her. "Juvia has been doing really well, actually, hit Gray, Lyon and Beth, after the girl had hit Jäger and Gray." I explained and looked at her. "But Rufus hasn't made a single move yet." As I said that, she looked up at the Lacrima screen with the points.

She nodded with furrowed eyebrows. "That's true…" She said. "It's suspicious. He has something up his sleeve. An ending move or something." She muttered to herself. "What was his magic again?" She asked herself, keeping her voice low as she tried to figure it out. You could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she looked up at Rufus' name on the screen. Then her face cleared up, as she had figured it out. "Oh! That's right! It's-"

"Memory Make!" She _and_ Rufus said at the same time. Finally, a screen with Rufus appeared. He was looking down at the ground with his index and middle fingers to his temples on top of a building. He spread his arms out wide as he let the magic he had apparently been gathering burst out of him. "A Night of Falling Stars!" He said loudly as what appeared to be seven 'stars' flew out of him and in each of their directions. They were golden and actually looked like shooting stars in a way. They had a kind of 'tail' still connected with Rufus, who was surrounded in the same, golden magic.

Lucy leaned even further forward over the railing with wide eyes. "You've got to be kidding me…" She mumbled, staring at the screen incredulously as each of the stars kept shooting forward at a furious pace.

Gajeel looked at Lucy too. "What is it Bunny-Girl?" He asked her curiously.

She didn't even look back at him as she answered. "They're set for a target..!" She told us. What.. What did she mean with that? She looked back at us, just as the seven stars each hit their target. "They're heat following, if you will." She told us and looked back at the screen. Nullpudding's screen enlarged, as the purple man quickly sidestepped and evaded the attack in the last second.

Then, he began charging at Rufus, with a wide smirk on his face. He laughed at the Memory Make mage. "You're sticking out like a sore thumb!" He told him. I couldn't help wondering why the Raven Tail mage hadn't attacked him earlier, then. He shot his short arm forward and hit Rufus right in the stomach. And then through it. "Crap! A copy?!" He yelled bewildered.

The 'real' Rufus appeared in a flash right behind Nullpudding. "That was a memory of me standing there." He stated. He kept his hat in place with one hand and he held his other hand in the air in 90 degrees. "I have no need for decoys." He tells Nullpudding as he hits the purple mage with the fallen star from before. Apparently, he had been able to turn it around before it hit the ground and quickly directed it to hit the member of Raven Tail, who yelled out in pain.

The crowd roared in cheers, hurting all four of our ears. "He.. He got them all!" They yelled. "In one instant, he took the lead! That's the power of Rufus! That's the power of Sabertooth!" They all yelled loudly.

I had to admit.. That was quite a feat. And his magic, it had spiked my interest. I had never seen _or_ heard of a magic like that. It was a special kind of creation magic..

Rufus stood back at the top of the very same building and looked all high and mighty. "This challenge isn't interesting at all, organizers." He told.. Well.. The organizers. "So I have no need to hide whatsoever." He stated. A faint 'kabo' could be heard from the Pumpkin-man. "Even if I were to be found, I wouldn't be able to be hit." He said. His lips turned up in a smirk. "What's left of me there is just a memory, after all." He told everyone.

The crowd roared in cheers once again, clapping and yelling at the top of their lungs. Meanwhile, Gajeel and Laxus were staring up at the screen, just as everyone else. "Being the strongest of Fiore…" Gajeel muttered. "Wasn't just an act." He ended off.

It was true, this guy was strong. It was no wonder that Sabertooth was the strongest, if all of them were this skilled.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the gong sounded, the same one as when the game started, marking the end of the game.

Of course, Chapati was already ready to tell us what was happening. "And that's the end of it!" He told us excitedly as the Lacrima screens disappeared apart from four, which faced every direction and much bigger. "These are the standings!" He said as the standings were showed on the screen.

Sabertooth lay in top with 10 points, then Raven Tail with 8, my team with 6, Blue Pegasus with 4, Mermaid Heel with 3, Quatro Cerberus with 2, Lamia Scale with 1 and Fairy Tail A with 0.

Once again, Chapati spoke. "This is just the first event, so these rankings can still change at any time." He reassured us. "Just as we all expected-" He said again, getting pumped up himself. "First place goes to Sabertooth's Rufus Lore!" He announced as the crowd once again cheered for the Memory Make mage. "Fairy Tail Team B surprisingly came in on a third place!" He said excitedly. "Maybe Fairy Tail will once again become a top notch guild!" He said. Not many cheered for us, but the distinctive sound of our guild and the Dragons were cheering loudly for us. "But… Is that because it's their top members…?" Chapati then added. "Is Fairy Tail Team B not as strong..? Was it just a stroke of luck?" He asked all of us.

"How dare he…!" Lucy growled next to me, drawing Team B's attention. I took a step back in surprise as I felt the aura of fury around her. Her silver hair, if let loose, would have been flying in the air around her. Her face was shadowed and she seemed to be trembling in anger.

It didn't make it better when the crowd agreed with Chapati. "I knew they were weak!" Someone yelled. I flinched. That word, that word of all words. I looked down at Lucy again, the aura of fury around her seemed to have intensified. "Last as always!" Someone else yelled. "Face it, you time is over Fairy Tail!" They yelled and laughed at the same time.

That was about when the cord snapped for Lucy. The veins at her temple bulged out more than they had ever bulged out before. "WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY, SHIT HEADS?!" She yelled loudly, surprising everyone. Including me. I hadn't ever heard her swear before, so this was a first for me. Besides that, somehow she had put some magic into her voice or something, because it rang through the stadium as if it had been a Dragon's roar. Actually… It might've been a Dragon's roar.

The crowd was completely silent. "Uwaah, she snapped!" Someone said, looking slightly scared. "Th-that's scary!" Someone commented. Then a last one. "Who _is_ that girl?!" Ohh, so he was the clever one of them all. "And that guy too!" He added. "Probably someone they hired so they stood a chance!" Someone laughed, sending the crowd into yet another round of laughs.

Lucy grit her teeth and was about to yell something else at them all. I placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Forget it, Lucy. If they want to laugh, let them." I told her. "They have no idea what they're laughing at." I reassured her with a smile.

Gajeel laughed that annoying laugh he and his father shared and smirked widely. "You just show 'em, Bunny-Girl! They'll wet their pants like small kids! Gihi!" He laughed.

Lucy turned around and smiled a little at him. "Yes, you're right Gajeel!" She nodded. "We'll show them!" She said with determination glinting in her eyes.

Right about then, Juvia appeared on our balcony. Lucy turned to her and smiled. "You did great Juvia!" She praised the Rain woman.

I nodded along with Laxus, while Gajeel hit her on the arm as if she was one of the dudes. "Yeah, you did good, Rain woman!" He complimented her.

I looked at where the other Fairy Tail Team was. They all seemed gloomy and were cheering Gray up. Or trying to at least. Even Summer, surprisingly.

Chapati once again interfered with the crowd's laughing. "We'll be entering the battle part next." He told us a little nervously. I looked up where he and the two others sat. Yajima had a vein bulging out near his forehead, it seemed he had given Chapati some of what was on his mind. "If we call your name, please step forward." He told us all. "Let's take a look at the battle part's system." He commented.

Yet another Lacrima screen appeared and showed the matchups for the next battle. A Team VS B Team, C Team VS D Team, E Team VS F Team, G team VS H Team.

Chapati continued where he had left off. "Each team will be paired up like so." He said, referring to the screen. "Just like a tournament." He commented. Wasn't it a tournament though? "The matchups were decided by the organizers. I hope there are some interesting matchups…" He sidetracked. "And down on the event grounds, the first battle is about to begin." He said.

The crowd was sitting at the edge of their seats, anticipating Chapati's next words, telling everyone who would be battling who.

"The first match of day one! Fairy Tail A's Lisanna Strauss versus Raven Tail's Flare Corona!" He announced loudly.

I heard Lucy gasp next to me and I knew I would have done the same if I hadn't had at least some control over myself. Gasping wasn't manly, to use Elfman's words. That battle was deliberately made that way. Everyone knew Raven Tail and Fairy tail had had their squabbles and were basically arc enemies. Even the most ignorant person knew that, if they at least knew something of the guilds in this land.

I looked at Lisanna, who stood with the rest of her team on the other side of the stadium. She was staring forward, her blue eyes wide and shocked. She seemed to be shocked she had been chosen to battle as the first one.

Summer began yelling at Lisanna with his fist held high. "Lisanna! Show them the result of our training!" He yelled at her. Elfman yelled something similar to that, but with an added 'sis' in the end.

Lisanna looked at the ground, seemingly nervous. I believed I faintly saw the girl's lips turn upwards. She looked up again. She had a determined expression on her face. "Leave it to me!" She reassured them. "I'll definitely win." She added.

The pumpkin-thing appeared on the field. "You two, please proceed ahead!" He told the two girls. Both of the ladies made their way to the middle of the arena, standing in front of each other. Once again, the screens above the arena shifted to show Flare and Lisanna. "From this point forward, the entire tournament grounds are the battlefield." He told us. That was quite a big battlefield… For humans that was.

That Raven Tail member tilted her head in a disturbingly creepy way, accompanied with the just as disturbing look in her red eyes. She seemed to be muttering something to Lisanna.

Judging by Flare's look, I was guessing she was some kind of Fire mage. Her flame-red hair was braided in two pigtails. I couldn't remember seeing anyone putting it in the way she had either. It was falling over her shoulders, but was pulled back under her… Well, armpits. It was tied behind her back, just above her waist.

Her dress was red as well, but a darker shade of red. It had a deep, v-cut at the neck, it barely even covered her cleavage, and reached down to just above her navel. She had her guild mark over her right breast in an even darker shade of red and half covered by the straps of the dress, which went around her neck. The dress was slit in the right side, almost starting from her hip and bared her whole leg. Her back was completely bared, the braids covered the edges of the dress.

She wore a pair of long, red gloves, covering almost all of her arms, except the top part closest to her shoulders, the same color as the dress. She had a cross-scar over the glove on her left shoulder. I wondered what she could have gotten the scar from…

The pumpkin began speaking again. "The time limit is 30 minutes. If within that time, the opponent is rendered unable to battle, that's a win." He explained. "And with that, the first match… BEGINS!" He yelled and started the battle.

Lisanna and Flare had a short stare-off, both probably trying to gauge the other's magic and abilities as well as they could. Maybe… I think. Or was that not it at all? Was it just because they were Fairy and Raven?

At either rate, Lisanna was the one to make the first move. "Animal Soul: Harpy!" She yelled as she let herself be covered in a golden light. Instead of waiting for it to disappear again, she seemed to jump high up in the air, too high for it to be normal. As she kept going up, it was as if the magic slowly drizzled off her, as though she had jumped up from a sea of golden Take Over magic.

Finally, as the last of the magic had disappeared, she appeared again. Now, instead of arms, she had green wings, with the very outer layer of feathers being a soft, baby-pink color instead. Waist down, she had also become a bird, with long, thin legs. The feathers there were also green, but at her tail, which looked like a big puff, they turned pink in the end. Other than that, she retained her human features.

She stayed in the air for a second, before she then shot down at Flare, charging at her like a human missile. Flare looked up at Lisanna with her rather creepy expression and just stood there, waiting for Lisanna to come close enough. When she deemed that the girl was close enough, she easily evaded the attack. Lisanna kept going not being able to stop, because she was going too fast, and crashed down on the ground with a frightening sound. But we couldn't see anything, a cloud of dust rose and obscured our view completely.

You could hear Lisanna's team and basically all of Fairy Tail at the same time, yelling at her. Amazing how they could time it without hesitation or planning.

Slowly, the cloud disappeared, while Flare was just standing around, waiting for it. The same golden light as before shone from the cloud, lighting it up into a golden hue. "Animal Soul: Cat!" Lisanna yelled from the cloud. Then she burst out, a trail of dust following her behind. She once again charged recklessly at Flare, with claws bared.

Instead of being a hybrid bird, she was now more like a cat. Kind of. Her hair had changed in style, so it showed a pair of cat ears, like Lucy's Lion Spirit in some ways, except her hair was still flat. She wore a two-piece bikini in a bluish white color, with black tiger stripes. She suddenly had a tail with the same colors which acted just like a real tail. It was long and, of course, cat-like. She wore some kind of boots over her feet, also bluish white and black striped, like the bikini. It also kind of looked like she wore a pair of oversized gloves, looking like cat paws, with long claws.. Or maybe rather a tiger's. It covered half of her arm, once again in the same striped pattern.

She slashed forward at Flare with a cat-like outburst. Flare dodged the attack, but somehow Lisanna got her claws in Flare's hair and pulled it loose from its braid. Even though it was just a single strand that was pulled out, all of her hair flared out, it was actually much longer than it first seemed.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Something was wrong. Just pulling that single strand out wouldn't have made the braid go all up, I knew from experience. It took forever to unbraid Lucy's braid at night and you had to do it _all_, strand for strand. So maybe Flare could…

My suspicions were confirmed just a moment later, when Lisanna once again swiped out at Flare, she actually scratched the other girl's cheek, blood gently rippled out of the shallow scratch. The red-haired Raven carefully put her fingers to the wound and looked at her fingers, which were a little red in the ends.

Then she looked at Lisanna with a creepy smile, as her red hair waved behind her, even though there was no wind. All out of nothing, Flare's hair shot out and extended till it reached Lisanna. It snaked around the other girl's waist, got a good grip, and finally, it threw her all the way across the arena.

Lisanna, having no time to react, crashed into the wall, denting it deeply. There was so silent in the stadium, we could hear how the air left the Strauss' lungs. She stayed where she was, in the wall, for a second, then she slowly slid down on the ground, where she sat motionlessly.

We all stayed in silence, waiting for some kind of reaction from Lisanna. Or Flare… But none of them did anything. They stayed completely still. Until finally, a little voice broke the silence. "I won't… Lose!" It said determinedly.

While Flare chuckled like a maniac, Lisanna slowly got to her feet and glared at her opponent, still not standing completely straight. Flare giggled. "Hmm, girly?" She muttered, her voice just as menacing as her looks.

Her hair shot out again at a high speed. Once again, it extended to unreal lengths, grabbed Lisanna's wrist and slammed her roughly into another wall. Lisanna didn't have time to react this time either and was emptied completely for air.

Flare's hair released Lisanna's wrist, and the owner giggled as if she was enjoying it. Lisanna stayed still for a moment, but got up on her feet again, panting. Flare tilted her head at the girl again and smirked wider. "Didn't you get enough, girly?" She asked tilting her head backwards a little, leaving it halfway covered in shadows.

Flare shot her hair towards the other girl quickly. Somehow, it felt like there was something about it this time. There was magic behind it.

Before Lisanna got the time to react at all, the red hair had already hit her. Instead of grabbing her, it just stayed there, at her stomach. There was a sizzling sound coming from Lisanna, then she screamed in pain.

Mira and Elfman both screamed at their sister, only calling her name. But their fear and worry for their sister, it was very apparent in their voices and in the way they were almost falling down from where they stood. They were also the only ones which could be heard in the whole Grand Magic Games arena.

The voices of her two siblings seemed to wake her up. She glared up at Flare, determination in her eyes. She roughly grabbed Flare's hair, the sizzling sound only intensifying, as it had a new place to burn, but paid it no mind as she tore it away from her now red stomach. Somehow, she had still maintained her Animal Soul form.

She stood steady for a second, as if to show that she was still ready for battle, then she crouched down, standing on all fours, but somehow it seemed natural. She pounced forward and ran faster than I thought possible for a human on all four.

Suddenly, she used her legs to push off the ground and jumped high into the sky. "Animal Soul: Wings!" She yelled and was once again covered in a golden light. When she appeared again, the cat-costume had disappeared and she was back in the other clothes, but this time with the wings from her Harpy form. She flapped her wings in the air and got even higher into the sky. Above us, even. She flapped her wings twice, staying at that particular height, then she pointed her whole body downwards towards Flare. She let herself fall down, the speed only increasing with every little moment. "Animal Soul: Penguin!" She called loudly and once again, got surrounded in a golden light.

This time she wasn't a hybrid penguin, which was probably for the best. She had taken the full-body Take Over, which was the most difficult part of being a Take Over mage. She was apparently the first of her siblings to learn to do a full-body, even though she was the youngest of them.

She looked like she was a little bigger than a human in size, but otherwise looked like a normal penguin, with the black back and white stomach. She also had a yellow cockscomb on top of her head and her beak and feet were bright orange. Her eye-color was the same as it was normally.

That, and she was what could be classified as fat. Which in return meant she had become heavy. Basically, her plan was to squash Flare under her now increased weight. And because she had become so heavy, she was now also falling faster.

I looked at Flare, curious to see what the Raven was going to do. But, I found myself surprised to see that the girl was actually trembling in fear. She was hugging herself, looking up at the rapidly approaching Lisanna-penguin in what seemed to be a paralyzed state. She knew she would lose, probably also get badly hurt, if she didn't move, yet she was paralyzed and made no sign as if she was going to move. At this rate… The Raven was going to lose!

But, just as it seemed as if Flare would lose, Lisanna's Penguin Take Over disappeared in a puff of golden light. Lisanna kept crashing down, unable to stop herself from continuing downwards. She was aware the Take Over had disappeared right as it did and she also knew she had no way to stop the crashing. Her eyes widened and she looked truly terrified.

Crashing down at the speed she was going now could be quite dangerous for her. No matter what she did, she would be hurt. But.. That was if she was lucky, the most likely result would be breaking a bone or more. If she was unlucky… She wouldn't even survive.

Flare regained her courage and instead of standing under Lisanna, she moved away, now with a smirk, knowing she would win this one, no matter what. Lisanna was now only a second away from hitting the ground and it felt like every person in the whole arena was holding their breaths in anticipation of what was coming.

I felt a faint spike of magic beside me. A familiar magic too. I looked at the direction of it. Lucy was standing with closed eyes and her palms facing the ground of the battlefield underneath us. The magic she was leaking was so weak I doubted anyone else could feel it. I had trouble feeling what kind of magic she was using, it was so concentrated on the ground and so little. All I knew was that it wasn't Celestial magic.

The whole crowd gasped. I abandoned the sight of my beautiful mate and down at where the white haired girl was now lying on the ground, not moving.

Now I knew what kind of magic Lucy had used, Earth magic. I could see it on the ground Lisanna was lying on. It seemed softer, more like sand. I looked back at her, as she looked at Lisanna with a relieved smile, yet with concern shining in her eyes.

"LISANNA!" Summer yelled loudly from the balcony he was standing on. Without thinking at all, he jumped over the railing and down on the ground of the battlefield, where he swiftly made his way to his fallen team mate.

When he was just a few meters away from her, he crouched all the way down and slid the rest of the way to the girl, the ground Lucy had softened slumped a little down when Natsu ended up next to the girl, but no one seemed to notice that little detail.

Summer quickly put one arm around her shoulders, steadying her and the other around her stomach, but he was making sure he didn't touch her stomach. Her forehead seemed to be resting against his chest from where I stood, but I couldn't be sure from this distance.

Summer gently shook the girl. "Lisanna! Wake up!" He yelled at her, worried about the girl. The rest of the team also made their way to their team mates on the ground. Summer moved the arm he had around the girl's stomach to gently caressing her face with his hand.

Erza kneeled down next to Summer and looked the girl over. She closed her eyes and sighed. "She's unconscious." She told him and stroked the girl's head. If their conversation hadn't been shown on the Lacrima screen, I would have had a hard time catching the soft words Erza uttered. The screen zoomed in on Lisanna's head. You couldn't hear it, but you could see the drop of water landing on Erza's hand, which just then appeared in the screen. I looked down at the battleground again instead. The Requip mage looked up at Natsu with lightly widened eyes. "Natsu…?" She asked questioningly.

Summer seemed like he was trembling. Whether it was in sorrow or something else was unclear in the start but when his head shot up at Flare with a glare worthy of a Dragon, it was quite obvious it was in intense hatred. "Raven Tail! I won't forgive you for this! I _WILL _get you back!" He yelled at the red haired mage, who had just been standing there, looking at the whole scene with that creepy expression.

The rest of Team A also looked at Flare with a glare, except Lisanna, who was unable to do that kind of thing in her current state. Erza got back up on her feet and took a step forward, glaring at Flare with the kind of glare I had only heard of. Now I understood why the Ice Bastard and Summer feared this girl, I would also be trembling if that glare was directed at me.

Of course, Flare did too. "Raven Tail…" She muttered demonically. "I don't know why you are here… But hurting our friends is _unacceptable_!" She half yelled in the end, lightning shooting from her eyes and her hair whipping behind her.

The sound of someone else landing on the ground of the arena, came from the opposite side of the battlefield. It was the guy who seemed decidedly normal out of all of the Ravens. He casually walked over to Flare with his hands in his pockets, until he actually reached her. That was when he placed one of his arms around her shoulder, while the other stayed in the pocket. "Now, now, Titania." He said with shining green eyes. "This was a battle after all, someone _had_ to get hurt at some point. It was a shame it was that girl." He said, looking down at Lisanna. When he looked up at Erza again, his eyes flashed to blue instead. "I guess this just goes to show those seven years really did have an effect on your magical abilities, huh?" He asked amusedly.

Erza's eyes were covered in shadows and you could almost see the wings and tail sprouting from her back with the dark aura she was surrounded in. The whole crowd burst in laughter. They muttered between each other about how Fairy Tail really had no chance of winning the Grand Magic Games and that Team B getting in first was just a stroke of luck.

I felt the same aura Era was leaking down on the field, right next to me and jumped back in surprise when I saw Lucy with the maddest expression I'd ever seen her wear. "Can't they see Raven Tail cheated?!" She snarled. "They interfered with Lisanna's Take Over!" She growled, her eyes going completely red and the whole top part of her body covered in shadows, her hair whipping around her much like Erza's.

I looked back down at Flare and that other guy with changing eyes. She was right, it was obvious they had cheated back there. Lisanna was a skilled mage and was able to hold her Take Over, even if full-body, for longer than that. The way it disappeared too, Lisanna was surprised it did. It should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

I looked up at the judges. They were looking down at the scene down there with widened eyes, probably not sure what to do. Well, it wasn't clear with the old guy, but for Jenny and Chapati. Wasn't it about now they would announce that Raven Tail had cheated? But on the other hand…

I looked at Lucy again, she was still raging. The other three had also made sure to be as far away from her as possible. Lucy had also used her magic. But I doubted anyone had felt it other than me and the other Dragons maybe. Dravola was for sure. Even if they somehow had, they would know Lucy had done it to save Lisanna from a possible death. It didn't directly affect the match, since Lisanna would have been unconscious one way or another, so why weren't they saying anything?

Finally, Chapati spoke in the microphone. "W-well… The win goes to Flare Corona of Raven Tail!" Chapati announced.

I felt the dark aura from Lucy intensify tenfold, but I was well on the way to develop one myself, so I didn't give a damn. Those guys… Surely this couldn't have missed Yajima _or_ Jenny! She was a mage herself, she should have noticed this.

Chapati looked at Yajima. "This match had us on the edges of our seats all the way through. Bravely fought of both sides!" He praised the two teams. "What do you think Yajima-san?" He asked the elder man. Yajima looked at Chapati with an angry expression and refused to answer the question.

I could hear the Fairy Tail members from the stand yelling different things and talking together about how Lisanna's magic cancelled suddenly. But of course, it changed nothing.

That was when the crowd erupted into laughter again. "What was that?! She didn't have enough magic for her Take Over?!" Someone yelled amused. "That's right, she was too weak!" Someone else agreed. "With this, Raven Tail has eighteen points and Fairy Tail A has - haha! - zero points!" Someone laughed loudly.

I felt my anger heighten, alongside the four around me. How dare they…?! I hadn't been in this guild for long, but I _knew_ they were all very strong both physically and mentally. Well, most of the time. They- no _we_ didn't deserve to be degraded like this! Oh, just they wait… I would show them the fearsome power of a Chaos Dragon!

Suddenly, the dark aura around Lucy - which was the biggest of all five of us - disappeared completely and she adopted a blank face. She jumped down at the battlefield without saying anything at all. I watched as she calmly made her way to Team A, not showing how much the laughter of the crowd affected her.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

How could people laugh at this? How can you find it in yourself to laugh at someone who could have died? I didn't understand these people at all. They didn't realize what risky situation Lisanna had just been in and they didn't see the obvious when it was right in front of them. It was really sad that people of Fiore was like this after only seven years.

I walked towards Natsu and his team, who were staying still. All of them with a depressed and angry aura around them. They didn't even notice that I was approaching them until I place a hand gently on Natsu's shoulder. I don't even know why I did it, I just didn't care about my personal matters with the idiot right now, we needed to have a look at Lisanna, so we were sure she was alright. I knew my Earth magic had softened the crash, but Lisanna wasn't completely free of injuries, I couldn't do that in such a short time or make sure no one noticed it.

Natsu looked up at me with surprise. I saw that tears were slowly forming in his onyx eyes. "Lucy…" He muttered, not using the nickname he had made for me so long ago.

Natsu wasn't used to losing or being laughed at like this. Anywhere he went, people would say hi and adore him and the rest of Fairy Tail, that was what he was used to. What it was like now was beyond his comprehension and he couldn't deal with it.

I sighed. "Natsu, take Lisanna to the infirmary, I have a Spirit that knows healing magic." I reassured him. I couldn't believe I already had to call out Alae…

Natsu nodded and got up to his feet, making his way out of the stadium, locking out everything as he held Lisanna close and safely in his arms.

I turned to the two Ravens and bowed lightly, even though I resented it almost as much as I resented Jude. "Excuse us." I said, trying as well as I could to not snarl at them.

"Oh, never mind that." The guy said. I straightened my back and looked at him. His eyes were shining green. Hadn't they been blue just before? He smirked widely. "I hope your _friend's_ alright." He said insincerely and amusedly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes, so do I." I told him. There was something wrong with that guy. Or at least something about him. Not only that he was a Raven, but something else too.. I wouldn't underestimate this guy, he was stronger than he looked.

I turned away from him and walked after Natsu and Elfman. Gray walked a little behind Natsu with his head lowered. Erza followed me and walked next to me as we walked through their gate. Erza looked down at me. "Porlyusica is here, she can take care of healing Lisanna, you can go back to your team, Lucy. You might be the next one to battle." She said to me.

I looked up at her, my expression not changing at all. "I doubt it. Even if I am, they'll just have the other battles before mine instead." I told her and looked forward at Gray's back, since I couldn't see Natsu's. "Besides, Porlyusica can only put on bandages and such. If Lisanna has a broken arm, Porlyusica can't heal it." I told her. I knew Porlyusica could probably heal Lisanna and I didn't think Lisanna had any broken bones, but there was something else I had to do too…

I could see Erza keeping her gaze at me for a moment longer at the edge of my peripheral, before she looked forward as well. "There's something else you want to find out as well, isn't there?" She asked me.

I smiled and let out a little laugh. "Of course you would know…" I said. "I wanted to see if my Spirit will confirm that Lisanna's magic was cut off with another magic." I told her.

Erza nodded, not tearing her gaze from whatever she was looking at. "I figured it was something like that." She agreed. There was a silence between us for a while as we made our way through the hallways. I briefly found myself wondering how Natsu knew his way around here so well. Then Erza looked at me again. "I don't remember any of your Spirits having healing abilities." She commented. "Have you acquired new ones?" She asked, probably just to start some kind of conversation so the laughing of the stadium could be forgotten.

I nodded. "Yes, they're called Elemental keys. I already have eight out of twelve." I told her. Now I thought about it, I actually had quite a lot of keys already.

"Elemental keys?" Erza asked confusedly. Well, it was obvious why, it wasn't even sure Elemental keys existed.

I nodded. "Yes, there's twelve keys and they each rule over their elements." I said and looked at her with a smile, while I found Alae's key. I showed her the key. "This is Alae, the Spirit of the Wings." I introduced her. "Like Wendy, she's a Sky magic user. She can, of course, manipulate the wind and use the same healing abilities Wendy has." I told Erza.

Erza nodded. "I see." She said, looking forward. "Say, I've always been wondering. Wendy's Sky magic, what exactly can the girl do? Sky isn't exactly an element like Wind or Air, like Ren from Pegasus." She looked at me again. "I was wondering if maybe you knew, since your Spirit owns the same magic?" She asked me.

I was briefly surprised with the strong mage asking me such a question. Well, she had always been able to show me her weak spots and I hoped it continued to be like that.

I smiled at her and nodded. "Sure." I told her. "Well, Sky magic is simply everything associated with wind and air. So both Wendy and Alae, my Spirit, can do what they want with the air around us." I told her. "They can whip up powerful storms and tornadoes if they want to. They can make us suffocate from lack of oxygen." I smiled. "And they can stop the wind, if that's what they wish." I told her. "They can also push the wind together and use it as a shield." I explained. The only reason I knew of all of this was because I had the same magic myself and had been practicing with in several years.

Erza nodded and smiled. "I see, thank you Lucy." She said and looked forward. After a moment of silence, she stopped up suddenly and just looked forward with a blank stare. I looked back at her, wondering why she had stopped up. "So…" She started. "Wendy could really be a monster and deprive entire villages of air, blow people away or guilds?!" She asked quite shocked.

I laughed at her and nodded. "Yeah, she could." I agreed, gaining a surprised look from Erza. "But, since it's Wendy it'd be more like she'd stop tornadoes from hitting people rather than sending them herself." I said with a smile.

Erza's face softened up and she laughed as well. "I'm so ridiculous, of course Wendy would never do that kind of thing." She reprimanded herself. Then she turned serious again and began walking a little faster to catch up with the boys, who were now somewhat far away from us.

I nodded and followed her. Suddenly, I realized we had completely forgotten the fact that we had just been ridiculed in front of all of Fiore _by_ all of Fiore. How in the world had we talked our way around that fact? Well, the power of girl talk, I guess.

Soon Natsu turned right and in through a door, with the help of Elfman, who held the door for Natsu. I quickly followed in before either Gray or Elfman could and stood on the other side of the bed as the Dragon Slayer put the Strauss sibling down on the bed. Her head tilted to the side and she lay without even twitching once. The only sign that she was still alive was the slow heaving of her chest.

She was fine, probably just exhausted and shocked from the fall. Otherwise than that, she didn't seem to have any broken bones. So there was really nothing to worry about. Or that was what it would seem like anyway. But I was quite sure she wouldn't wake up before that intruding magic was out of her system. If it was there anyway, I wasn't even sure it was there, I hadn't gotten the chance to check.

Gray was the one to pull me out of my thoughts. "So, Lucy." He said to capture my attention. I looked at him with a questioning gaze. "What are you going to do? Last I knew, you didn't have healing magic." He commented.

I smiled. So he hadn't been listening when I talked before? "I have a Spirit with the same magic as Wendy. She's the one who's going to heal Lisanna." I explained, not mentioning that I had only just gotten the Spirit the day before.

Gray nodded, looking away again. I looked at him with furrowed brows. I would really have to talk to him at some point. "Well, call that Spirit out, then." Another male voice told me. I looked at Natsu, who was looking at Lisanna with a concerned look on his face.

Normally, I wouldn't have taken that tone with anyone, but because I knew he was beyond worried about the unconscious girl, I nodded and held Alae's key. "Gate of the Wings, Alae. Open." I said calmly.

The usual golden light appeared beside me, but with a gust of wind, and my beautiful winged Spirit appeared, bowing lightly at me. "Hello Lucy-sama, how can I help you?" She asked me with her feminine and gentle voice.

I smiled at her. "Alae." I greeted her. I looked down at the unconscious patient. "I need your help with healing this girl. She fell from a great height and may be badly injured. I think she was lucky though. She doesn't seem like she has any broken bones." I told the Sky Spirit.

Natsu looked at me with a confused expression. "Of course she doesn't have any broken bones, why would she?" He asked me.

I sweat dropped. "Natsu… Not everyone can take as much damage as you can." I told him, leaving out that she might have died there, and turned to Alae. "Please take a look at her." I told the Spirit, bowing my head lightly.

My Spirit nodded. "Of course, and please raise your head Lucy-sama." She said and pushed my head up with a finger. She gave me a radiant smile, then turned to Lisanna with a focused expression. She closed her eyes and held her hand over the Take Over mage.

Soon her hand began glowing a faint blue, the same color as the middle of her wings. I felt a faint tug at my own magic, warning me that Alae was using magic. She held the pulsating, blue light over the Take Over mage and slowly moved them around over the girl's body, checking every inch out.

I figured this would take some time, so I looked around at the other people around me and fund we missed a little girl. I turned to Erza. "Erza, where's Wendy?" I asked her.

Erza looked at me with a grim expression. "She was attacked yesterday before the Sky Labyrinth." She told me. She gestured to something behind me. "She's lying on the bed behind you." She told me.

I looked at her with surprise and turned around, finding the little Wendy fast asleep on the bed behind me. It was a wonder I hadn't noticed when I entered the room, I guess I was too focused on getting Lisanna healed and all to notice what was around me.

She had a few bandages here and there, but it really didn't look like it was anything special at all. She was probably just exhausted - like Lisanna. But Team A might be facing a problem with both of them down. But if Alae had a look on Wendy too then… But I couldn't ask so much of Alae already, I had only just met her after all.

But who would have attacked Wendy and why? Wouldn't Basuril have been with her? It wouldn't surprise me if that Dragon had run off without realizing Wendy hadn't been able to keep up with him. Again.

I felt Alae stop her use of magic and turned around just as she pulled her hands away. Natsu leaned forward with an expectant gaze on the Spirit. "So? Is she alright?" He asked her.

Alae glanced at me shortly, before answering Natsu's question. "Yes. It's only minor injuries and no broken bones." She told the Dragon Slayer. Natsu heaved a relieved sigh and Elfman began crying 'manly'.

That glance Alae had given me, there was something she needed to talk about with me privately. I had to figure something out so I could be left alone with my Spirit..

I looked at Erza. "Could you please send Porlyusica here? We need her skill with bandages." I told the Requip mage. Erza nodded, but before she could say anything, I continued. "Great, then you can return to the arena and watch the battles, you need to get as much understanding of how everyone moves as possible." I told them.

Gray looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and a scowl. "Then what about you, Lucy?" He asked me. "Don't you need to see them too?" He asked.

I smiled at him. "I'll just have my team tell me." I reassured him. I looked at Erza again. "I'll wait here for Porlyusica and tell her what has happened." I told her.

She nodded. "Alright Lucy, I'll leave it to you then." She said as she grabbed Natsu and Gray and dragged them out of the room. "You two come with me." She said and talked with Elfman without looking at him. "Elfman, you go find Porlyusica." She told the Take Over brother.

Elfman began weeping again. "Why does a manly man like me have to do this kind of unmanly thing? I don't even know where that manly woman is!" He complained.

Erza stopped up and turned her head slowly, glaring at the white haired guy. "Stop complaining like a child and find Porlyusica." She told him with an underlying 'I'll kill you if you don't do as I say'.

Elfman blanched and nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am!" He told her quickly. "I'll find Porlyusica in a manly way!" He said and brushed away the last tears. Then the whole team exited the room, closing the door after them.

I turned to my Spirit, looking at her with a questioning gaze. "So, what did you find out, Alae?" I asked her. I already was quite sure of what she was going to say.

She looked at me with a rather serious expression. "There's a dark magic lingering inside the girl." She told me. Just as expected. She bowed down again. "I'm afraid I can't heal her, I do not own the skill to do so." She told me and straightened her back again. "Do you have Ceterum?" She suddenly asked me.

Ceterum was the Water Spirit of the Dragon keys. She probably thought that he would be able to cleanse Lisanna from this dark magic. Unfortunately, I didn't have his key. Yet anyway.

I shook my head. "No, I don't have his key." I told her and smiled. "But I figured we would be in need of some Water magic, so now that Team A is out of the room, I can do it myself." I told her. "Thank you for healing her, Alae." I told her gratefully. I had only just gotten the Spirit, yet I had already called her out to heal someone, when I had the power to do so myself.

She smiled at me and gently shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Lucy-sama. I'm glad I could help you." She told me. She looked at Wendy behind me, while I was looking at Lisanna, trying to figure out where to start. "Should I heal this girl as well?" She asked me.

I turned my head around and met her bright, blue eyes. I smiled gently at her. "If you don't mind, that would be wonderful." I told her.

She shook her head and smiled at me. "Of course I don't mind." She turned around and held her hands over Wendy, just as she had with Lisanna. Once again, I felt a little tug on my magic. I didn't even get started on Lisanna before Alae was done with Wendy. Apparently Porlyusica had done a good job on the girl. "There wasn't much to heal, just a few cuts and bruises here and there. She should wake up sometime later today, fully healed." Alae told me.

I smiled at her. "Once again, thank you Alae, you've been a great help today." I thanked my winged Spirit.

She bowed lightly at me and nodded. "It was my pleasure." She told me. "I'll return to the Spirit World now, call me if you need something." She told me and disappeared in a swoosh of air and a golden light.

I smiled at the empty space where my Spirit had just been. I looked back at Lisanna, getting ready to purify the girl of the magic that was still coursing through her, keeping her asleep.

I nodded to myself, closed my eyes and held my hands, palms facing down, over Lisanna's stomach. I quickly sent my Water magic out to my hands. I slowly lowered my hands to the unconscious girl's stomach, which was clothed once again. I let the magic I had gathered flow freely out of my hands and cover Lisanna as a protective yet thin layer of Water around her whole body.

I let my magic search for the evil magic which wasn't supposed to be there. When it found it, it gently sucked it out of the girl and let it float around in the layer of Water around her.

Suddenly, I heard the door getting opened violently and looked up surprised to see the elder lady with pink hair. She looked back at me with an equally surprised expression, even though it wasn't quite as obvious.

Porlyusica looked down at Lisanna, then back up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Who are you and what are you doing to that girl?" She asked harshly, taking a threatening step forward.

Both of my eyebrows shot up. She didn't recognize me? That or she didn't remember me… She thought I was an outsider, doing who knows what to Lisanna!

I looked down at the patient, wondering what made the elder lady furrow her eyebrows so deeply. What I saw surprised me as well. The magic I had sucked out was completely black and had changed the color of the Water magic I had used. It looked evil now and had an evil intent about it, of course the lady would be suspicious of me.

I smiled gently at the elder lady, then went back to sucking out the evil magic from Lisanna. "Don't worry, Porlyusica, I'm only purifying her of the intruding magic." I told her, saying as little as possible, so I could get the last magic out as fast as possible.

I sped up the process a little, knowing how impatient the lady was. Finally, I could feel all the magic was out of Lisanna. I pulled my Water magic back, with the dark magic swirling around in it, making the otherwise clear, blue Water black and impossible to see through. I collected it all in a big ball of Water magic, hovering over my hand.

It was faint, but I could actually feel two magic in it. The strongest one was of course the one that had cancelled her magic before, but there was also the remainder of another unfamiliar magic. Somehow it was much more complicated than the new one, it did something much more complicated than just blocking someone's magic. Much deeper, if you could say it like that…

I shook myself out of my thoughts and absorbed the Water magic again, letting the dark magic disappear as the Water magic released it.

I looked at Porlyusica with a smile and bowed lightly. "I apologize for surprising you and seeming suspicious." I apologized to her and straightened my back again. "I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, or as you would probably know me as, Lucy Heartfilia." I introduced myself.

Porlyusica gave me a levelling gaze, then nodded in approval, making me sigh in relief internally. That woman was seriously scary sometimes, it didn't matter if you were a Dragon or not. "I see…" She simply said, looking me over once again. It didn't feel comfortable when she did that. "What was that magic you used? Makarov hasn't told me of any 'Lucy' using Water magic." She told me.

I sweat dropped. So she wasn't about to let that go. But I couldn't tell her… I hadn't even told Makarov or my other closest friends yet, Porlyusica couldn't be the first. "Well…" I trailed off. "I'm sorry but it's a secret." I said, scratching the back of my head.

Porlyusica raise an eyebrow in irritation. Then sighed and went to Lisanna, but didn't look at her, she still looked at me. "What did you do, then? Surely that isn't a secret as well." She said in an exasperated voice. I guess she wasn't satisfied with my answer.

I nodded and looked her dead in the eyes. I don't think I had ever done anything so scary in my life ever before. "I simply pulled out the dark magic in her." I told the old healer. Porlyusica looked at me with a blank expression. Okay, so she didn't know what had happened. "Well, while Lisanna was battling against a Raven, someone blocked her magic. I simply pulled out that barrier some outsider has put up." I explained.

Porlyusica nodded. "Right. The added ability to Water magic, purification, am I right?" She asked me, finally turning to Lisanna, looking her over closely for any injuries.

I nodded even though I knew she couldn't see it. "Yes, that's right." I agreed. It was a wonder she knew so much about it, since she didn't actually have magic herself.

Porlyusica straightened her back again and looked at me with an annoyed expression. "Why was I called here, this girl doesn't need to be seen to." She told me.

I looked at her with a surprised expression myself and looked at Lisanna. I knew she had gotten at least some kind of injuries from that fall. It was impossible for me to have cushioned the fall so much that she didn't even get something that should be at least looked at or bandaged up.

But when I looked down at her, she really didn't have any injuries. Her skin was as perfect and milky white as always. I put a hand over my mouth and giggled. "I'm so sorry, it seems my Spirit overdid it." I giggled.

Porlyusica looked at me. "Your Spirit?" She asked me confused. What so did she also know about Spirits now? She was like a human Dravola.

I looked at her and nodded with a smile. "Yes, I have a Spirit than can use healing magic." I told her. She probably wasn't going to ask me what kind of key it was and it wasn't too farfetched that a Silver key possessed healing magic. Honestly, sometimes the Silver keys were stronger than the Gold. But that was only at some points. Overall, the Gold keys won.

Porlyusica looked at me silently with a blank expression, then quickly turned around and walked out the door. "Useless humans. That's why I hate them." She muttered to herself, not sparing me a second glance as she left.

I giggled at her again while also making my way out. There was nothing else I could do in here, so I better return to my team to let them know everything was alright and so I didn't miss out on the battles. And that 'major' thing Acnologia felt was going to happen.

So I quickly made my way through the hallways, it was a miracle I could even find my way through all these hallways and end up at the other side, but somehow I had managed to do just that.

I walked out on the balcony behind the three males and next to Juvia, who all seemed somewhat bored. I turned to Juvia with a smile. "Who's against who?" I asked her.

Juvia looked at me with a smile. "Lucy-sama!" She greeted me. "How is Lisanna?" She asked me a little worried.

I smiled at her. "Lisanna will be fine, she was lucky. She didn't even break any bones." I told her, or rather all of them. They had all turned around and paid attention to me, rather than the arena.

Laxus sighed in relief. Now I realize it, there had actually been a lot of sighing recently… "That's a relief." He said, dragging his big hand over his just as big head. "I really don't want to deal with a crying Mira." He stated.

I sweat dropped. "Is that all you were worried about?" I muttered. I looked around at the others. "So my other question..?" I asked them.

Gajeel grunted. "They decided they would take a break, so nothing's happened at all." He told me dissatisfied.

But before he could continue, Chapati broke him off, announcing the end of the break. "The break is over and we're returning to the second battle of day one!" Chapati announced. "The next battle will be between Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus and Araña Webb of Mermaid Heel!" He told everyone, making us focus on the Lacrima screens once again.

Ren and Araña quickly made their way down to the battlefield and stood facing each other. Ren smiled at Araña with a confident smile. "It looks like you've improved your skills since last year, Araña." He said to the green haired woman. So they'd probably fought last year as well. Nicely chosen by whoever did that, it would make the crowd excited to see who would win.

Araña smiled back at Ren, just as confident as Ren. "Is it alright for someone of Pegasus to attack a woman, I wonder Ren-chan?" She asked. 'Chan'? So they were maybe friends..? Or was she just teasing him?

"Second match! It seems like neither side is yielding an inch!" Chapati said excitedly. The crowd cheered with the judge's words.

Yajima agreed that it was indeed a god matchup, but it was kind of drowned out with Jenny's cheering for her team member. "Ren-kun! Good luck!" Jenny cheered for the Wind mage. "Remember, Sherry's also cheering you on!" She teased the mage on. Oh, so she was also making sure his male instinct to impress his girlfriend kicked in… Surprisingly clever of her.

Just as Jenny finished talking, the battle started for Araña and Ren, with the sound of the gong. "You're full of openings, Ren-chan!" Araña told the Pegasus. She crossed her arms and spread her legs, crouching down just a little. In a matter of seconds, web shot out from her two hands and towards an unsuspecting Ren.

A familiar voice called out over the crowd. "What are you doing, Ren?!" Sherry's distinctive voice yelled. "Please try your best!" She told her boyfriend.

The guild master of Lamia Scale turned to Sherry and began spinning her finger around in a circle. "Don't go cheering for an enemy team!" She yelled at Sherry.

Some other member looked at the elder lady. "It's fine, isn't it Ooba? They're engaged after all.." He stated. Oh… I actually didn't know that. I only thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

The elder lady spun around and glared at the other member. "Shut up!" She screamed at him and began whirling her finger around in a circle over her head. "Go spin off!" She yelled at him. She was… Quite an interesting guild master. Why did the Lamia Scale guild also have to be right next to us..? And that was both those not participating in the Games and those who didn't.

The Lamia Scale member began spinning around himself at the same pace Babasaama's finger spun around. "I'm already spinning ning ning ning!" The guy said and seemed like he was getting more and more dizzy with every spin.

Ren looked back at Sherry and Babasaama . "We… We're not engaged or anything like that!" He yelled. How he thought he should do that in the middle of a battle, was beyond me. "We're just resigned to being together! That's it!" He yelled at the two women. He looked back at Araña in time to evade her next attack. He flipped backwards, landing on one hand on the ground, narrowly evading another string of web. "You're always hanging around me…" He said. "It's irritating…" He pushed off the ground and landed on his feet with his back to Sherry. "But… When you're not by my side, I'm just not at my best." He told her.

That was just too sweet and so typical Ren. Sherry was also melting where she stood, while her fellow guild members muttered about how she had fallen for a troublesome guy.

Ren took some stance with widely spread legs and his arms stretched out on either side of him. "When I'm in front of you, I simply can't allow you to see me looking uncool." He told her. He spun his arms around and whipped up a strong wind. "Aerial Phose!" He yelled as a cyclone of wind hit Araña head on.

Araña flew back with a scream. She only flew back a little, but then landed on the ground with her back, sliding the rest of the way. In any case, she was now unable to continue battling and Chapati also made sure everyone knew who had won. "The victory goes to Blue Pegasus, Ren Akatsuki!" He announced. "With this, Blue Pegasus has earned 14 points on the first day!" He told us. "Mermaid Heel has 3 points!" He added quickly. It was almost as if he had forgotten and suddenly remembered.

Ren really had improved a lot during those seven years. The skill he just showed down there was nothing like what it had been back when we fought Oración Seis.

Chapati continued to speak as Ren and Araña both made their way off the field. "We will continue with the third match of the first day." He told us. "Quatro Cerberus, Warcry VS Sabertooth, Orga Nanagear!" He said.

Warcry's team members cheered Warcry on loudly. "With you as you are now, you can do it Warcry!" They yelled at him. "You soul will always be… WILD!" They all yelled in unison. Warcry yelled something in return.

Sabertooth stayed more silent, but that was probably because the crowd did all the cheering for them. There was simply no need to cheer the big guy even more on. But they seemed genuinely interested in the guy's magic.

Just then, the gong sounded again, marking the start of the battle. "Third match, start!" Chapati said loudly in the mic.

None of the two made any move, but suddenly it looked as if tears were building up in Warcry's eyes. He first looked at the ground, then up at Orga.

Gajeel snorted a laugh. "What a wimp." He commented. "Crying right from the start." He laughed.

I smiled and shook my head. "You're quite wrong, Gajeel." I told him. He looked at me over his shoulder confusedly. I shook my head and grinned at him. "You'll see what I mean." I told him.

I could hear Rufus and Sting chatting about whether Orga could dodge Warcry's attack or not. They were also right next to us, but on the other side.

Orga looked at Warcry with a semi-nervous expression, probably wondering what the guy was up to. Suddenly, Warcry burst into tears. "Ooooooohh!" He yelled, it kind of sounded like a wolf, fitting the clothes he wore. A poncho with dog ears hanging on both sides and it was as if his head was in a dog's mouth. The tears stood out of his eyes as a fountain.

Chapati also commentated on this, of course. "There it is! Warcry's Tear magic!" He said loudly into the mic.

"Tear Magic?" Laxus asked, not looking away from the battle.

I nodded. "Yes, Tear magic." I confirmed. I looked up at the Lacrima screen, which as currently at Warcry. "I don't know much about the magic, but apparently the user will get stronger the more he or she cries." I explained.

Warcry looked up at Orga with tears flying out of his eyes. "Only through tears will people become st-" Warcry started, but was cut off when he was hit with a big, black ball of Lightning magic. "Rong… Er…" He finished off as he got electrocuted. The crackling sound of Lightning made me cringe, but subtly enough so no one noticed. I couldn't be afraid of Lightning, when two members on my team owned that magic. Most of the audience sucked air into their lungs, while the other part cheered for Orga.

Orga stopped supplying the spell with magic and Warcry began falling down, burnt to a crisp. He… He defeated Warcry with a single blow? That was impressive… And he had similar magic to Laxus', surely the Lightning Dragon Slayer felt some kind of rivalry between the two of them.

"The match is over!" Chapati yelled as Warcry landed back on the ground, head tilted back and remaining tears running down his face. "It was truly over in a flash! Orga's black Lightning seared the tears in an instant!" He yelled.

The crowd answered to his words. "He is so strong!" Someone yelled loudly. "What was that, just now..?" Someone asked. "In an instant! Mon… Monster!" Aside from those few coherent sentences, the rest just screamed either Orga's name or his guild's name.

Chapati continued speaking. "The victor is Sabertooth's Orga Nanagear! This make a total of 20 points! First place in the whole competition!" He yelled into the mic. "Quatro Cerberus has 2 points! How unfortunate!" He said, still hyped up with commentating about Sabertooth's win.

Sting looked down at Orga with a little smile. "Couldn't you at least have made it a bit more exciting, Orga?" He asked the big guy.

Orga looked up at Sting with an annoyed expression. Then turned around and went to the middle of the arena. "I'll go sing a song." He simply said.

Sting shook his head and waved one hand in the air quickly. "That… That's now what I meant…" He trailed off, probably aware that the guy wasn't listening.

Somehow, a mic appeared for Orga to grab. He took it and sang, bending so far forward he was facing the ground. "Strongest, strongest, number one! We rule! SABERTOOTH!" He 'sang'. I sweat dropped. That guy's singing talent was just as horrible as Gajeel's. But even then, the crowd was still cheering for him. That just went to show how popular Sabertooth was.

"Well then." Chapati said, once again getting the attention back to himself. "At last we've arrived at the final match of the first day." He announced. "The remaining teams are Fairy Tail B and Lamia Scale." He stated. It was actually impressive that he could change his mood from over-cheering to this… Neutral I guess. "In the past, he strength of these two guilds was balanced, so this will be quite an interesting match." Chapati stated. "The ones who are going to battle are…" He held a dramatic pause. "Fairy Tail B, Acnologia Tehepo VS Lamia Scale, Jura Neekis." He said.

**Aaaand, I'm going to be a douche and end it off there. :3 Don't you guys just **_**love**_** me right now? **

**Well, the chapter was getting long and nothing's better than cliffhangers~ But, next time, things will go down. Acnologia is going to battle Jura! I wonder… Is Jura strongest? Or is Acnologia? Wizard Saint VS Dragon. Who'll win? Well, we'll see next time, won't we?**

**I don't know if I got as many of my misspellings this chapter, I decided to proofread it just before I uploaded and I've kind of been hit by a fever, so my head is pounding like crazy right now _**

**Sora lazuli, I would very much like to see that fan art, if you decide to actually go through with it.**

**Thank you Maiannaise, Aira0906, Nicole (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, BecauseIamSoBored, mjb379, ThunderWolf395, ShadowsBlackRose01, wheafel, Konan15, DeadendAngel4, booklover21567, whitelion20202, The Only Heicho (Guest), clumzybeans, Darkverger1, allanimefreak73754, Alberto Salinas, OtakuLover43, zyxzyz, Moonlight Starlove, MoonStar1312, Kirigaya Miyuki, Xx-iLoveAnime-xX, AmethystSNow123, Guest, MachikoTakara, aristofthemind, SillyKitty88, LovelyKpopMess23, BANKAIZEN, Sarah1994, ZinaThePanda, ,75, Just Another Girl99, sora lazuli (Guest), yachiru-chan92, Acnologia Prime, RavenLord27, Ice Jewel of eternal beauty, Kocchi-chan, Bellsness, PetiteEmperor4, BustNjust9, Mewrlise, Infinity Snowfire, PuddyKatz, BlizzardPhoenix222, Anita Jay, Blackwings45LL, fairychime-diamond47 and everyone else for everything!**

**~Line464d**


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

**Yes, yes I know I was an asshole, but here it is, the battle between Jura and Acnologia~ I've decided to put the chapter up in a different way, please tell me how you like it ^_^**

**And… THE 900****TH**** REVIEW! Thank you and congratulations Konan15 for reviewing as the 900****th****!**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. You guessed it, I still don't own Fairy Tail. For now, Slowpoke owns Fairy Tail.**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

So I was to fight that old man, was I? He was strong, according to Lucy's stories. And one of the Ten Wizard Saints. I would have to watch myself in this battle, it was going to be difficult.

Of course, the crowd also roared in appreciation. "There he is! It's Jura!" Someone yelled. "I wanted to see Jura, who would've thought he'd come out on the first day, huh?" Someone else said, much calmer.

Chapati commentated, as he was supposed to. "Who is this 'Acnologia' from Fairy Tail? A new recruit?" He asked rhetorically. "And why is his name the same as the Dragon who attacked them 7 years ago?" He asked the crowd. "What do you think, Yajima-san?" He asked the elder man.

"Hmm…" Yajima muttered. "I have never heard nor seen of this mage before in my life…" He said. Well, naturally, 'cause I wasn't even a mage.

Chapati sweat dropped. "That wasn't exactly the question…" He trailed off. "Could it be? Is he so strong they named him after the Dragon?" He asked. That would actually have been pretty cool, if that had been the case…

The crowd laughed here and there, pissing me lightly off. "What the heck is that?" Someone asked. "He's going to get it!" They added. Ooh, they were going to see just _how_ strong I was. Then they wouldn't laugh anymore.

Chapati continued his speech. "His opponent is the strongest ace member in this competition, he who holds the title of one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jura Neekis!" He explained. Yes, number Ten, the 'weakest' of them. Surely a Dragon, such as myself, would be able to beat him.

Gajeel grunted. "Well, you're unlucky Acnologia." He told me. I looked at him with a raised brow. "That guy's bulky as hell, he won't go down just like that." He told me with crossed arms.

I smirked at him. "That might be, but he isn't facing just any opponent, now is he?" I asked. "I'm sure even a Wizard Saint will crumble under the pressure of a Dragon." I said confidently. Actually, I was really excited with this battle, apart from the Dragons, it had been too long since I had had a nice challenge. That was something I knew this guy could provide.

Lucy sighed. "I know what you're thinking Acnologia, but…" She looked at Jura. "That guy is really strong, I'm not sure even you can beat him." She told me, then smirked. "The way you are now anyway." She told me.

I grinned and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it, I'll win us some points." I told her. I pulled off my jacket and handed it to Lucy. "Would you put this in our room? I don't want it to be destroyed during the battle." I told her.

She looked confused at me, but took the jacket anyway, then she seemed to get what I meant. I was basically giving her a reason to get away from this balcony without it being too suspicious. She nodded and smiled at me. "Alright! Make sure you win!" She told me.

I nodded, then turned out, dropping the smile in an instant. I jumped down on the battlefield, readying myself to battle a formidable enemy.

Jura already stood down on the field, ready to meet me in battle. "On a personal level, I'd like Fairy Tail to do its best, but our master's been nagging quite a bit you see. I'm sorry, but I won't go easy on you." He told me.

I nodded to him. "Just as I like it." I rolled my shoulders. "Neither will I." I reassured him. Well, with what I had to work with, I wouldn't hold back. I thought I felt my mate's magical pressure for just a second, but passed it off as my imagination.

"Lamia Scale, Jura Neekis VS Fairy Tail B, Acnologia Tehepo!" Chapati yelled into the microphone. "Today's final match…" The usual gong sounded. "START!" He yelled loudly.

I narrowed my eyes at the old man. I wouldn't lose, for the sake of Fairy Tail and my mate, I would win this match, no matter what it took. My team believed in me.

I crouched down, ready to pounce. I looked calmly into the Saint's eyes, my gaze not wavering even once. He was a terrifying man, I could see, just from looking into his eyes, why people would regard him with such respect and call him a Wizard Saint. He was strong, his magical presence was big and I got the feeling he was keeping it down, just like I was. Maybe it was time to finally unveil some of the power I was suppressing.

I turned my lips just a bit upwards and released a little of the barrier I was putting on my magic, but for a start, only a little of it, if it turned out that I needed to release more, I'd do that at that point.

I crouched down just a little more, while Jura was feeling my magical pressure out, just now finding out it was different than before. Then I shot forward, it would be awesome if I could land a solid hit before he really got started.

But it seemed Jura was prepared for anything, judging by how he quickly swiped his left hand to the side with his index and middle fingers raised. Suddenly, the ground heaved under me in three pillars of earth. I just managed to stop up before I fell down from the one I was standing on and regained my balance.

I looked down at Jura, wondering what he was plotting. But just as I did that, he looked up at me with what I would call a smug expression and swiped his hand upwards, palm facing the sky. Five other pillars rose from the ground in a circle around me. They didn't just go up in a straight line, no, these five pillars of Earth bent and went straight for me.

And they weren't going at a leisurely pace either, they went fast. I quickly leaped into the air, narrowly missing the pillars. I somersaulted above all of the pillars and landed on top the one of them which ended closest to Jura, they all crashed together at the place I had just been.

While I ran down the pillar, I charged my magic in my mouth. I inhaled the air into my lungs and mixed it with my Chaos magic. "Chaos Dragon's…" I muttered as I pulled my head back a little, then quickly leaned forward again. "ROAR!" I yelled as I let my black and blue magic shoot out of my mouth and towards Jura at a quick pace. My Roar hit him head on.

"What is this?!" Chapati screamed into the microphone. "Fairy Tail has gotten their hands on yet another Dragon Slayer?!" He asked rhetorically. "And this one seems on equal terms with Jura-san!" He yelled into the mic. Well that was good enough for now, I guess.

But I knew not to let that commentator's words sway me, I hadn't won yet. A mage of this guy's magnitude wasn't going to go down after just a single Roar.

And right as I was, a giant hand of earth shot out of my Roar and split it apart as it flew towards me. I had no chance to evade this thing and it would be a hard hit to take right from the start. The only option I had was to face the attack head on.

Okay then, there was only one thing to do. I gathered my Chaos magic around my hand. This was just like fighting that old Iron Bastard and his Iron poles. If I couldn't evade them, the only thing I could do was smashing them to pieces.

I gathered a lot of my magic around my arm and strengthened it as much as I could without going into my Dragon Strength mode. There was no reason to reveal my trump card yet if I didn't need to.

I bent my knees and collected it around my right hand. I quickly shot my fist forward, I had already used a little too much time on charging up. I hit the Earth fist straight on with my own, but to my surprise, the Earth fist bounced off mine and back to Jura. But of course the guy was prepared for this kind of outcome and when the fist was close enough, he sent it right back to me.

On the other hand, I wasn't prepared for this possibility and the fist sped up and hit me. It was so much bigger than me, it sent me flying backwards. "Aah!" I said loudly as the air left my lungs. This guy… He was stronger than I expected…

**Before the match began, at Team B's balcony~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I watched my mate jump down on the battle field, getting ready to face the Wizard Saint. I smiled. This was going to be a tough match for him, but I knew Acnologia would make it. He was like Natsu, always pulling through in the end.

I clutched his jacket close to me, letting his delicious scent fill my nose. Well, I had something to do myself. Now, to show the two girls we should go, I had to give them the signal and I had already figured out just how to do it. I closed my eyes and let down the barrier I had put up for my Dragon and Celestial magic for a second, letting my magical pressure free for a second, then putting the barrier back up. I knew Skyadrum and 464 would have felt that.

But as it turned out, not only the Dragons would have felt it. When I turned around and saw my three team mates panting for air.

Gajeel looked at me with an annoyed expression. "What the hell was that, Bunny-Girl?!" He asked me with a low growl as he breathed in air.

I smiled at him and scratched the back of my head. "Sorry guys! I might've let my barrier slip for a second there." I apologized. I guess I hadn't really thought that plan through, I kind of forgot that letting down the barrier completely had a big impact on humans, but I thought since these guys had been training and were as strong as they were, it wouldn't affect them as much. Apparently I was mistaken. Gajeel had been with Metallicana back when he was a little boy too, shouldn't he be able to handle this pressure? Or was it just too long ago… No, I believe it was just the sudden shift that caught them off guard.

Laxus sighed. "Damn Blondie, was your magic as huge last time?" He asked me, trying not to let it show how much it had affected him.

I smiled at him, trying to keep myself from laughing. It was funny to see a mage as strong as him trembling under the weight of the magic from a girl. No rather, it was funny to see 'The Great Laxus' tremble under _my _magic. "Yeah, you just didn't notice, since there were three other than me." I told him. I folded Acnologia's jacket over my arms and clutching it. "Besides, I need to get this to our room." I said with a smile.

Juvia looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "But Lucy-sama will miss Acnologia-sama's battle with Jura-sama." She said. It was actually almost hard understanding what she was saying, that girl really talked in riddles sometimes.

I smiled at her. "Yes, I know, but I'm sure Acnologia will win, even against Jura." I told them. I was sure he'd win, he _was_ a Dragon after all. And he wasn't just _any_ Dragon, he was a Head Dragon, a Chaos Head Dragon. One of those from the original Clans and a direct descendant of Acnologia, the Savior of Dragons and the one to create a whole realm, just to keep the other Dragons safe. Even a Great Wizard Saint couldn't keep up with that.

Gajeel looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're acting suspiciously, Bunny-Girl. This is the biggest thing that has happened today, why don't you just bring that up to the room _after_ watching this battle?" He asked me.

I sweat dropped. "Well…" I trailed off. What could I say? He had a point, this _was_ the most exciting thing that had happened all day, and then it was my mate right in the middle of it. I had to make something up quickly, something so it didn't seem so suspicious. Something that could happen just like that… "I actually feel a little tired." I told them. "A lot has happened these past two days, and especially the incident with Wendy took the energy from me." I said. That seemed realistic enough, right?

Gajeel sighed and waved his hand in front of his face. "Right, whatever." He said. "I don't know what you're thinking, Bunny-Girl, but just go if that's what you feel like." He said at last.

Ah.. So he realized I was lying… Well, he let me go either way, so everything was fine, wasn't it? I nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you Gajeel." I said and hurried out before anyone else could ask me any questions. I faintly heard Juvia asking the two guys what happened with Wendy.

I smiled and hurried down the hallway I had taken earlier. I looked down at Acnologia's jacket. Well… It would be a bother carrying around if I was going to meet up with Kurama and all, and I didn't really have the time to go back to our room and put it there.

Well, then there was only one option. I folded the jacket out, while walking, and put my arms through the sleeves. I felt the remainder of Acnologia's warmth in the jacket and his scent envelop me as if he was actually there, embracing me as he had done so many times. Of course, the sleeves were way too long for me and it was more like a little dress to me than a jacket, but it was the best, tiny dress I'd ever worn.

I pulled the jacket closer around me, it was already somewhat late, the air was getting chilly. There was no time to waste, I only had 30 minutes to work with. That wasn't much time. But I couldn't run either, that would be suspicious too.

I felt my mate's magical pressure rise significantly. I guessed he was really getting into the battle. But it wasn't surprising, he hadn't had a proper match in too long, he was secretly dying with excitement right about now.

Finally, I reached the exit once again. I turned the corner and went out, outside stood the two Shadow Dragons I had signaled to just a second ago. Skyadrum smiled at me. "Ready to go, Lucy?" She asked me.

I nodded, also with a smile. "Yes, let's go." I agreed. I was getting excited to finally meet Acnologia's father as a grown woman, rather than a kid. Now I finally had the chance.

**At the same time on the Sabertooth balcony~**

**Rogue's P.O.V**

I looked at the balcony next to ours. Fairy Tail Team B's balcony. That guy, Acnologia, he was going to fight Jura, the Wizard Saint from Lamia Scale. That was a strong opponent, I doubted even I and Sting together would be able to beat him. Although, I would never tell him that.

But Acnologia… Lucy's boyfriend. He was a Dragon Slayer, I still had yet to find out which. But, something told me he was a special kind of Dragon Slayer. He didn't have the feeling around him that neither the first, second or third generation had. He was different, a fourth generation maybe? At any rate, he was strong, stronger than Gajeel and Dragneel, that was for sure. And he seemed to be holding it down. Something told me we hadn't even gotten a taste of that man's true strength.

But, I was guessing we would see what he was capable of in this match. I doubted he could beat Jura, but I had a feeling he would at least give the Saint some kind of challenge.

Acnologia handed his jacket to Lucy. "Would you put this in our room? I don't want it to be destroyed during the battle." He asked the silver haired girl.

It bothered me how she accepted to do that so quickly. She was up to something. Maybe… It had something to do with the conversation she had with those two women earlier. It definitely had something to do with that conversation I overheard back then.

Before I realized what was happening, Lucy was already on her way away from her team's balcony. I turned around to follow her, I was quite curious as to what she was going to do. Maybe it was simply just bringing that jacket to the room. Either way, I'd find out.

"Oi, Rogue!" The distinctive voice of my fellow third generation Dragon Slayer called out to me. I turned my head and looked at him. "Where are you going? Don't you want to see this match? It's with Lucy's mate!" He told me.

Yukino looked at Sting with furrowed eyebrows. "Her… Mate?" She asked confused, but no one heard her question, and so she got no answer.

I looked at Sting with an emotionless expression. "I'm going out." I simply told him. I saw no reason to share with him what my purpose was. He would mess it up if he followed along.

Rufus corrected the hat on his head, pulling it down a little. "I have no memory of a battle as exciting as this one. It is certainly something to remember." He commented. "Do you not also want to remember how that Acnologia does against the Wizard Saint?" He asked me.

I looked at him instead of Sting. "I do not care what happens during the battle, only the outcome is important." I told him. It was partly true. The outcome would show whether or not this Dragon Slayer was indeed stronger than the Wizard Saint. It was an interesting match, there was no doubt about that, but at the moment there were other things which were more interesting to me.

Rufus sighed and nodded. "I will memorize this battle for you Rogue, then you can also see it when you come back." He told me.

I nodded at him, my expression still not changing at all. "Thank you Rufus." I said, looked forward again and walked out on the hallway. I couldn't see Lucy anywhere close by, but I could faintly hear her footsteps coming from somewhere considerably far away.

It wasn't enough to point out where she was. I closed my eyes and focused on the shadows. Most of this building's hallways would be cast in Shadows, I would be able to feel where she was as long as she stepped in the Shadows.

As I expected, Lucy did indeed walk in the Shadows and I could quickly follow the path she had taken. I sped up my walk a little, but made sure I still stepped carefully, so she wouldn't hear. I also stayed a corner away, so she wouldn't see me even if she looked back.

Finally it seemed she reached the exit. I could smell that someone was with her too. "Ready to go, Lucy?" A voice that somehow seemed familiar to me asked. It was the one of the pretty lady with long, black hair.

"Yes, let's go." Lucy replied. It sounded like they left afterwards. It sounded like they were really off to rescue the man they had spoken of earlier, Kurama I believe they called him. It was as I had expected, Lucy wasn't just going to her room with her mate's jacket, she was going to see this Kurama.

**In the Grand Magic Games' arena~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

He might've landed one hit, but that wasn't at all enough to get me down. I quickly twisted myself around so I landed on the ground with both of my feet and a hand in a crouched position. I slid as I slowed down, dust rising from my feet and hand.

The crowd's cheering was so loud it almost hurt my ears. I sighed, why did they _all_ have to be cheering for the old dude? Couldn't at least some of them just cheer a little for me? Well either way, I'd have to lock out every unnecessary sound coming from anyone but Jura.

I looked up at the Wizard Saint, getting up from the ground. As I had expected, this guy wasn't to be underestimated, he was stronger than he looked. I would have to step up my game.

I grinned, it was fantastic finally being able to release at least some part of my magic completely. Finally after several months of keeping it down, I could let my Chaos magic flow free, if only just for a moment.

I let the barrier down a little more. I hated that we even had them, but Lucy had insisted that we kept them up, because our magical pressure was as big as it was. And we weren't supposed to have the same magic as Dragons, especially not her. Mine could go as an earlier form of Dragon Slaying, but if her Celestial magic began feeling similar to Dragon magic, people would become suspicious.

It felt great, after having almost all of those barriers down when we were training these last three months, putting them up again was difficult.

I relaxed a bit more in my shoulders and looked right into Jura's surprised eyes with a grin. So he wasn't prepared for me to suddenly have a rise in magic. I could feel my more instinctual side make its presence known in me, so that jackass decided to finally show up, did he? Then this was bound to be interesting.

I crouched down in an almost animalistic way. Stared into Jura's eyes for only a second, then shot off from the ground and charged forward. I quickly ran across the field at a speed that wasn't normal for a human being.

I quickly reached Jura, but suddenly he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. "This guy.." He muttered and held his hand up, palm facing me, as if he believed he could stop me that way. "Iron Rock Wall!" He yelled loudly.

A big and thick wall of Earth bricks rose from the ground. It was more than twice as tall as Jura himself and just as thick. It was the kind of wall that seemed unbreakable.

But as that Iron Bastard had told me, nothing was unbreakable, if only you used enough force! I pulled my fist up, keeping the pace I was at. I would break that wall! As I kept running, I build up more and more force in my arm and my speed quickened. "AAAH!" I yelled while I gathered up my strength, my gaze set on the wall in front of me. "HAH!" I yelled again as I shot my hand forward at the wall.

Cracks appeared on the wall and it quickly broke without hesitation, but before it broke down completely I charged through the hole that appeared right around my fist.

Jura stood defenseless on the other side. I aimed for his stomach and hit exactly where I wanted to. "Hah.." I heard the air leaving his lungs in an instant. I felt him move his hand and quickly jumped down just as a brick from the now crumbled wall came flying past me, right where I was just a moment ago.

Jura looked up at me from his lightly stooping posture. He raised his hand and I could hear noise coming from behind me. I looked behind me to see what the old man was doing. Behind me were the bricks from that wall, whether whole or not, hovering in the air behind me, ready to be fired just like the first one.

Of course, one of them also came flying at me. All I could manage to do at that moment was evading it. As I turned around, I jumped to the side, the piece of Earth narrowly missing me. Before I had time to do anything else, the next piece also shot at me.

I couldn't keep evading these bricks for the rest of my life, so instead of just jumping to the side, I smashed this one with my fist, making it explode into hundreds of smaller pieces, scattered all around me. The next one met the same fate.

But just as I thought I had found my pace, the small pebbles also rose and shot at me like small bullets. This wouldn't do, at this rate I'd be tired out and Jura would have an almost free shot at me. And he was too strong as he was now. He could manage controlling bricks of an entire wall of bricks even when he had just gotten a fist in the stomach.

I had underestimated him again. I hadn't expected him to actually be so strong, I hadn't imagined a human could be so strong. But I hadn't met him before, so I wouldn't have known. I only had the rumors passed around between the humans and they tended to exaggerate a lot. How should I have known they didn't this time?

I shook myself out of my thoughts and focused on the battle again, just as another brick came flying. I didn't have time to aim a punch on this one, I had to avoid it. I did that with a single jump back. I looked at all the rocks in front of me, wondering which of them would attack me next.

"I thought you would know-" Someone started off their sentence behind me. I tensed up and glanced behind me. "Not to have your back to your enemy!" Jura said standing directly behind me, in less the arm's length. He jabbed his hand forward and hit my back with what felt like the side of his hand. But he knew to hit where it hurt.

First it felt like my body went numb, then I began falling forward, but caught myself in a kneeling position before I landed on the ground like a Summer. I regained motion in all of my limbs and pushed off from the ground before the Earth mage had any chance to do anything else. I shot forward, under the bricks and past them. I stopped myself with planting one foot firmly on the ground and sliding around in a circle, facing Jura again.

I had to step up my game yet again. I was still not strong enough. But I still had my trump card up my sleeve. I had hoped I would first have to show this to Summer, the day I could finally deliver a beating to him, just so I could show him exactly how inferior he was, I hadn't considered there were humans as strong as this one. But I was fine with it, this was much more enjoyable than any battle with Summer could ever be.

**On the streets of Crocus~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Skyadrum, 464 and I began walking down the street as fast as we could without it being too suspicious. But it didn't really matter, there weren't many people on the street, most of them were watching the Games.

464 looked at me. "Lucy, do you know where they are keeping Kurama-sama?" She asked me, her voice as blank as her face.

I looked at her over my shoulder. "Of course, sorry I didn't tell you." I apologized to them. "Kurama is kept in a cell at the castle. The Magic Council works closely with the royal family, so they keep the 'worst' criminals at the castle, since the security is tighter there." I explained. I'd learned this on a mission with Acnologia, when we passed a pair of Rune Knights talking about it with hushed voices.

Skyadrum nodded. "I see." She looked around and finally found what she was looking for. "The castle, it's the one over there, right?" She asked and pointed at the tallest building in sight.

I nodded. "Yes, that's right." I confirmed. "We need to hurry up, we only have a half an hour." I told them. The castle wasn't exactly close to the Grand Magic Games.

I looked around to see if there were any people around, when I confirmed that there weren't, I broke into a run. I could hear the other two following suit right behind me. We had to reach the castle as soon as possible… Even though I _did_ say that, I felt bad. I still wanted to hear what Chapati would say after the battle and maybe catch the last of it too.

When we ran, it didn't take long before we finally reached the castle. It towered up above us, much taller than I had first expected it to be. I turned around and nodded at the other two. "Okay, it will probably be under the castle." I told them. I couldn't imagine that they would have the prison visible to everyone. In the first place, it was probably not supposed to be a commonly known fact.

Skyadrum looked at me with an incredulous expression. "Probably?" She asked me. "Are you telling me you don't even know for sure?" She asked me.

I sent her a lopsided smile and nodded. "Yeah, well.. It isn't something they run around telling everyone. It was something Acnologia and I caught when we passed a pair of Rune Knights talking secretively." I explained to the two of them. "According to them, they keep the worst of the criminals there." I looked back at them. "With other words, the special ones." I added.

464 nodded, looking up at the big building in front of her. "Yes, I think that is the right deduction of it. It is probably the special cases." She said and looked at me. "I believe they keep the strongest of the criminal mages here." She said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I believe you're right." I agreed. This building… Kurama was sure to be in there, but what other kind of people would I find in there? What kind of.. Criminals? Probably someone like Eisenwald's Guild Master, probably even all of Oración Seis and Jellal Fernandes. But, he wasn't really a criminal in my eyes. How I remembered him, he seemed like a nice person. Well, there was no time for that kind of thinking at the moment, we had something we had to do. I turned around to the two Shadow Dragons. "This is where I need your help, girls." I told them with a smile.

Skyadrum nodded with a grin. "I was beginning to wonder why you had brought us along." She said to me a laughed a little. "So what do you want us to do, Lucy?" She asked me.

I smiled at her. "Oh, simply to sneak us into the jail-part of this thing." I told them, laughing like it was no problem at all.

464 looked at me with the usual deadpan expression. "Do you know where the entrance to the prisons is, Lucy?" She asked me. Somehow I got the feeling she didn't think I did.

And she was completely right, if that was the case. I shook my head with a bright smile. "Of course I don't~" I told them, putting up the most angelic expression I could muster at that moment.

Skyadrum sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose exasperatedly. "Right, so you want us to find the entrance _and_ get you down there?" She asked me. I nodded, still smiling angelically at her. She sighed again. "Honestly, you could at the very least have found the entrance." She muttered.

464 shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She stated. Both I and Skyadrum looked at her quizzically. "Most of the Knights in there don't have magic, and can therefore not feel magic, in other words, it will be fairly easy if we just stay in the Shadows." She explained. "The entrance will also be simple enough to find." She said. Once again, Skyadrum and I looked at her with quizzical and incredulous expressions. "It will most likely be kept in a corner and guarded by at least one guard on both sides of the door or opening." She said. "Then there'll be a dark set of stairs down to a place underneath the castle." She added.

Skyadrum and I both dropped our jaws and our eyes popped out of our skulls. "H-h-how did y-you..?" I stammered, then quickly regained my composure. "How many prisons have you been breaking into?" I asked her, mostly for fun.

She looked at me with a blank expression. Then she held her hand up. "There was the one in Maletame, and that one, that one and the one back then, then there was also that one and…" She continued, sticking a finger in the air as she counted.

At the end, I had lost count of how many fingers she had put in the air already. I guess that was how it was working under Skyadrum. I waved my hand in front of me, towards 464. "Okay, okay, you can stop now." I told her. She looked up at me in the middle of counting, with three fingers in the air. I sweat dropped. "I see you're used to this kind of thing, so what about you guide the way and then she takes me?" I suggested.

"Awww!" I heard Skyadrum say behind me. "Why do I have to take you, Lucy?" She whined. "It's no fair, I want to guide the way too!" She complained, looking at me with puppy-eyes.

I sweat dropped. "Skya…" I stopped myself before I could call her by her first name. I was supposed to use her last name while we were still in Earthland. "Atarangi." I corrected myself. "You're a grown woman, come on. Besides, you're the strongest of you and Akane with your Shadow magic, and you know it." I told her.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess you're right.." She said slowly. Then her face melted into a wide grin. "Let's get going then!" She said enthusiastically and grabbed me by the wrist, quickly transforming into her Shadow form, pulling me into the Shadows. 464 quickly followed suit and also went to her Shadow form.

It felt just like it did when Acnologia transformed into his Shadow form, but it didn't feel like Skyadrum was holding back as much as Acnologia had. I could also still feel Skyadrum's grip on my wrist.

Don't ask me how it was possible, I wouldn't have an answer, but somehow, in their Shadow form, they could sneak under the tiny space there was from ground to door and into the castle. Or in this case… Gate. It was too big to be called a door, really.

Inside it was almost just all white, the floor, the roof, the walls, heck even the guards wore white, it was almost blinding. I wasn't exactly sure how Skyadrum knew where 464 was, but she did follow the other Dragon - I'm guessing anyway - through several hallways and past even more guards. Who, as 464 had expected, didn't notice anything.

It didn't take long for 464 to navigate through the castle, as if she had been here before and done that exact thing many times before. I couldn't help but wonder whether it was like this no matter where you went. Anyway, she quickly found out where the entrance to the prison was.

And it was just as she had described it. Two guards were standing on either side of a big, arched opening. From what I could see, there was a staircase going down on the other side of the opening. It was completely different from the rest of the castle, the bricks on the walls were showing visibly, where on the walls outside, where we still were, there was tapestry over, concealing the bricks. The hallway with the staircase was also much darker, the bricks being a dark shade of gray. The only light there seemed to come from the staircase were torches, which were further down. The two guards' shadows flickered in the light of the torches.

It wasn't hard to figure out that that was where the prison was. Skyadrum also noticed and stopped up for a second, before making her way to the other side of the hallway, following the shadows made by the windows. When we reached the guards, Skyadrum instinctively went a little slower, as if it made our presence smaller somehow. But of course, we didn't make any noise being in Shadow form and all.

As we passed them, their brow didn't even twitch. I guessed they had found someone highly professional, who wouldn't let anything distract them. Yet, they didn't seem to be able to feel our presence, even as we passed through right next to them. Who hired guards without the ability to feel magical presence to stand guard for a prison filled with mages? It didn't make much sense to me. But it _did_ help us out right now, so it was lucky that they for once were so careless with the security.

Skyadrum continued dragging me down the stairs, staying in her Shadow form all the way. When we finally reached the bottom, and we'd made sure there were no guards around, Skyadrum and 464 finally released their Shadow forms.

Skyadrum stretched her arms over her head. "Ahh, it's been a long time since I've stayed in my Shadow form for so long!" She said as her elbow finally cracked. "Now, let's find that old guy, shall we?" She asked with a grin.

I nodded and quickly looked around the cells I could see, trying to find out if Kurama was in any of them. The cells were really simple-looking to be honest. They seemed like something a Dragon could easily break, with just some thick iron-poles being the only thing between them and freedom. But, when you felt them, they reeked of Rune magic and were enforced with Iron magic as well as Earth magic to the walls, floor and roof.

But, I didn't see anything like the Kurama I remembered from my childhood days. I sighed and began walking forward slowly, glancing into the cells. But the people locked in them all stayed completely in the back, cast in shadows, making it much harder to recognize them.

I quickly created a ball of Light magic hovering above my hand. That made it way easier to see the people behind the poles. They all looked sickly thin and like they hadn't had a proper meal in ages. But then some of them also looked like they'd been working out in their cells. I guessed those were the newer ones, those who hadn't given up yet.

There was an occasional rustle from the cells all around, but at some point there was one that was louder than the others. "You…" Someone said. A male obviously, he seemed surprisingly fine, probably one of those who hadn't given up yet. "You… With the silver hair…" He muttered. I looked around trying to find the person. Finally, I found the owner of the voice. "I've met you before.. Haven't I?" He asked. My eyes widened when I saw him.

**Right outside the castle~**

**Rogue's P.O.V**

Lucy and those women had sneaked in just a little while ago. Apparently the two others owned Shadow magic and when they used it, it felt awfully similar to mine. One of them especially, probably the magic of the woman with the black hair. I just couldn't place it, but there was something about her, which made her seem familiar in a way.

I had decided not to follow them into the castle, they would surely notice me if I began using my magic. Especially when there were two of them who used Shadow magic, just like me.

I sighed. Well, I probably wouldn't get any more out of this, if I decided to wait for them to return and follow them back, I doubted I would understand their conversation. They also said that they would see how this guy's condition was, so all they were going to talk about was probably how that guy was.

And then, didn't they also talk about how they would rescue him later? They would probably also be talking about that.. And I couldn't offer to help for two reasons. One, I was from another team, basically their rival and two, I was not supposed to know.

I began walking back towards the Games. Well, maybe I could catch the last of the Saint's and the Dragon Slayer's battle.

**At the arena~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

There was one way left with which I was sure to beat this guy. At this point against this guy, I couldn't beat him without it, he was simply too strong to not give it more than what I was giving now. You could say I was giving it my all. On the Chaos magic department, anyway.

I closed my eyes as I slowly rose to a standing position. I had more than enough magic left to do it properly. I found all of my Chaos magic, grabbed it all at once - metaphorically of course - and let it pour out of my skin, yet I made sure it wouldn't disappear. When I felt I had emptied myself completely of Chaos magic, I absorbed it all into my skin again.

Gradually, but at a fast speed, my skin transformed to small black and blue scales all over my body. I grinned shortly at Jura, whose eyes were widened, then I threw my head back, looking up at the sky. "DRAGON STRENGTH!" I roared loudly. And just then I felt my magic explode around me.

Then the transformation was done. I looked back down at my hands. They were covered in scales similar to the ones I had when I was in my Dragon form, except much smaller. But, what made them even more Dragon-like was that my nails were longer and thicker. Maybe it would be more appropriate to call them claws.. It wasn't the first time I used this, so I had seen how I looked.

Just behind my ears were the five fan-like things I had on my head in Dragon form, in miniature size. I also had similar wings and tail, but again, much smaller so it fitted my human size. As I'd heard, apparently the Dragon Slayers owned a similar ability 'Dragon Force', but they didn't get tail, wings or horns or claws for that matter. Only enhanced strength, one way or another, and scales all over their bodies. Or something like that.

It had been too long since I had been forced to go to these lengths in a battle. I was rather enjoying having the magic coursing around in my veins.

At any rate, there was no way I would lose with this. I had much more magic left than usual, I had only used three spells after all. That also meant I became that much stronger and had that much more magic.

I looked up at Jura, ready to go back to battling. I was surprised to see that the pieces of the bricks from the broken wall had disappeared completely. I guess the explosion of my magic had made them disappear completely. Apart from that, Jura also seemed to be a little higher in the sky than he was before.

I glanced down at the ground and sweat dropped. The ground went down in a big round dent, with me in the middle. Okay, so apparently Earthland wasn't as accustomed to Dragon magic as the Dragon Realm was.. Maybe Dragons hadn't been walking around in this world for too long…

Well, even so, it would just have to get more used to it, then. Starting today. I returned my gaze to Jura, finally seeing his reaction. It was just as I expected, the high magical pressure I was freely releasing right now was heavy on even him. Humans didn't stand a chance against Dragons after all.

I had too much pride to attack a man while he was still not ready. Jura finally looked at me, with a confused expression. "You… What are you?" He asked me.

I adjusted my wings behind me so they lay comfortably. "A Dragon Slayer, didn't I tell you?" I asked him. I was sure I'd told him, or was it just an imagination?

He nodded. "Yes." He said, straightening his back, getting ready to battle again. "But which generation? None of the Dragon Slayer generations I know of have that kind of transformation." He commented.

I sighed and nodded. "Generation 0." I answered the Saint. I knew he would be curious about this generation, anyone would be I guess. "I'll take answers _after_ I beat you." I told him with a grin, feeling my lengthened teeth.

Jura nodded. "Okay then, show me what you've got, Dragon Slayer." He ordered me. I crouched down, focusing on my opponent. His only weakness so far seemed to be his speed. Even though I had hit him with a fist to the stomach earlier, he quickly recovered from it and made a comeback. The only reason I even landed that hit was because I surprised him with my sudden burst of speed.

Well then, I would just have to out speed the old guy then. I spread my wings and shot off from the ground with as much force as I could. Right now it would've been wonderful with Basuril's insane speed. But still, I wasn't slow myself.

I flapped my wings once to get even more speed. I flew through the air just above the ground and towards Jura. The old man looked at me calmly, waiting for me and what my next move would be.

So he knew I had figured out speed was his weak point. I narrowed my eyes, of course he would have, he was one of the strongest humans in Fiore. Well then, I would just have to take another course of action. Even if he knew what I was trying to do, it didn't mean he could counter it.

I flapped my wings once more, they were very different from the ones in my Dragon form, they couldn't push as much air with just one beat, but on the other hand they didn't carry quite as much weight either.

Just before I crashed into the big man, I quickly turned to the right and towards the wall, but reached out with my claws in the last second and tore his shirt with all five fingers, only reaching his skin with the middle three. When I reached the wall, I turned right again, taking advantage of my smaller form and how much easier it was to turn and making 'tricks' as I was much smaller.

I followed the curve of the outer wall, and when I was at the wall, where Jura was currently facing, I shot a quick, thin ray of Chaos magic at him and while he got ready to block the black and blue ray, I continued quickly, still following the curve of the wall. I made my way around him, even before the ray had reached him. I turned right again, towards him this time, knowing he would probably prefer just putting up a block of Earth, since - as I was sure he knew - it wasn't very strong.

But just as I was close to reaching him, he simply swatted the ray away without a second thought, sending it off towards the wall. Meanwhile he was looking at me, swiping his hand upwards, raising a block of Earth, the block I had though he would have raised against the ray instead. Was this supposed to be a joke?

No it definitely wasn't. "Iron Rock Wall." He said rather calmly. Right, so this was a strong one, fine, I'd just try again.

I turned to the left and towards the wall of the arena, but secretly sent yet another ray behind me at Jura again. Just as I reached the wall again, I heard him say a surprised 'ow', it was probably more out of surprise than pain. So I had hit him, had I? I beat my wings again, speeding up even more.

When I had come around half of the arena, I sent a ball of Chaos magic at him this time. It wasn't strong, but it wasn't weak like the ray either. I continued on to where I started off. Once again, I turned in towards Jura, who now couldn't follow my speed.

I quickly gave one more beat of my wings and sent my magic to my hand. "Chaos Dragon's Claw." I said lowly. I charged right at the Earth mage, while my 'natural' claws became even longer with the added Chaos magic.

This time he didn't have time to either block or dodge my attacks, so when I flashed past him, I quickly slashed him with my claws across his chest and continued away, before my Chaos ball also hit him, right over the now open wound I had inflicted on his chest, powering up the Claw attack.

I continued on to the wall again, but this time instead of following it around, I made a quick U-Turn, pushing off the wall for extra speed. Once again, I gathered my magic in both of my hands evenly and charged at him again. "Chaos Dragon's Slashes!" I yelled loudly and slashed my hands down in a cross over Jura, who looked directly into my eyes as I released the spell.

A big bubble of black and blue covered the Earth mage. As I jumped back, landing on my feet a few paces away, I felt my magic doing its work. I furrowed my eyebrows, something was wrong, it was as if my attack hit something that didn't move an inch by being hurt.

And yes, although this guy _was_ bulky, even the great Iron Bastard in his ugly Dragon form thrashed around in that bubble, the day I got annoyed with him and cast the spell on him. And if that ugly bastard couldn't do it without moving, even though he was the image of bulkiness, this guy couldn't do it without moving.

And right as I were, I heard the Earth mage's voice form inside that bubble. "ROCK MOUNTAIN!" He yelled loudly, I could almost have mistaken him for a Dragon.

**At the prison under the castle~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

That guy, sitting in the very back, covered in shadows. The only thing visible was the faint outlining of his spiky hair and his face. The only thing actually in the light at the moment was his legs from his knees down. They seemed well-toned and strong. So he was one of those who hadn't given up.

But that voice… I recognized that voice. But.. Surely it couldn't be him. I'd only ever seen him a little, I shouldn't be able to recognize him. So, I moved my Light ball to the cell the guy was imprisoned in and walked up to his cell. Right as I was, I did indeed recognize this guy.

His dark red hair, spiked around his head. His small, black, yet menacing eyes, and the scar over his right eyes, forcing him to keep it closed. And those lightly pointy ears. That was none other than… "You are… Cobra!" I said, surprised. I knew there was a possibility that the guy was hiding down here, but to actually meet him, I hadn't expected that.

He nodded. "So we _have _met." He stated. "Now, girlie, I know I'm handsome, but who the hell are you?" He asked me, with a grin spreading on his face. "And would you mind letting me out of here?" He added.

I sweat dropped. "I see your attitude didn't change at all." Honestly, he was confident last I met him, but I didn't remember this kind of confidence. "I guess you wouldn't recognize me, Cobra." I smiled at him. "Or should I call you Erik?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes at me and got to his feet, stalking over to me. I didn't take a step back, even as he - much taller than me - stood right on the other side, glaring down at me with a cringe-worthy glare. "How do you know that name, woman?" He asked me menacingly. Maybe he thought he could kill me. In my honest opinion, he would first need to break out of this prison and then he could _try_ killing me.

I smiled at him, using Mira's attitude of menacing sweetness. "Oh, it was about seven years ago when I beat Angel, and my team mates the rest of your guild." I told him with that sweet smile Mira so often used when faced with uncomfortable situations. I tapped my chin gently. "And the meeting with Kinana, your snake? Very touching." I said thoughtfully.

He looked at me with disgust in his eyes. "Oh, don't tell me you're a Fairy." He asked med, disgusted.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "And what if I am?" I asked him. Oh come on, just because Natsu beat him once in a battle, he harbors such disgust for Fairy Tail? That could only be the reason why he was still not giving up. He was hoping to beat Natsu.

He sighed. "Why of all people do I have to meet a Fairy?" He asked and made a noise as if he was puking. He looked back at me with the one eye. "So who are you?" He asked me.

I tilted my head at him. "I'm quite sure you wouldn't know me." I told him. "But I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, earlier a Heartfilia." I told him, almost actually puking at that last name. He looked at me confused. I sighed and did the same thing I had with Sting and Rogue, added Celestial magic to my hair. I looked at him with a lightly annoyed expression. "So, recognize me now?" I asked him.

He looked at me with a face of recognition and nodded. "Riiight, I remember you now, Blondie." He confirmed. "You're Salamander's girlfriend, right?" He asked me.

I felt a vein bulging out at my temple and my anger spiking. "I WAS NEVER THAT IDIOT'S GIRLFRIEND!" I yelled at the Poison Dragon Slayer. He looked at me with a surprised expression, but didn't cringe or flinch at all. I sighed, calming myself down. "No, he's not the one you can smell." I told him.

He grunted. "Whatever." He said. "I'm sure he's another one who believes he's been raised by a Dragon." He told me. "Ridiculous 1st generation." He muttered.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "So you still don't believe that he was raised by a Dragon, huh?" I asked him, remembering how he had taunted Natsu about it back then.

He looked at me, with a raised eyebrow as well. "Of course not, it's ridiculous. Dragons are extinct, it just something the foolish idiot dreamt." He told me.

I looked into his eyes for a second longer, before putting my right hand into his cell, between the bars. Skyadrum gasped behind me. "Lucy! What are you doing?! He's a criminal!" She asked me. "And a Dragon Slayer too…" She added.

I looked back at her and nodded with a smile. "I know, remember I'm only a half blood and besides, these Runes prevents people from inside the cell to use magic, so I'll be fine." I reassured them, then looked back at Cobra's just as surprised face, even though he wasn't showing it as much. "Touch me and you'll know. They haven't taken your hearing-thing from you, right?" I asked him.

He slowly shook his head and grabbed my wrist. It seemed like he was attacked by thoughts and what else, with a widened eye. I guessed right about now all of my memories were flashing through him. As they were what I was thinking about at the moment. Specifically these last fourteen years for me and all the Dragons I had been surrounded by.

I heard someone talking behind me. "We're going to continue our search for Kurama until you're done with… That." 464 commented.

I nodded without looking at her and when I heard she had left, I looked up at Cobra. "Sorry." I apologized, knowing he was seeing memories unrelated to what he was supposed to see.

I had almost showed him all of what he was supposed to see, so when I knew I had gone through them all, I ended my thoughts and told him we were done through thought alone. Quite handy, actually.

He quickly released my wrist and looked at me with a shocked expression, not bothering to hide it this time. "Y-yo-you are a D-D-Dra-" He stammered.

I quickly shook my head, telling him to shut up. I shushed him. "Shh!" I told him, putting a finger over my mouth. "No one is supposed to know. I only told you because you're a Dragon Slayer." I explained to him.

He looked at me with lightly widened eyes. Well I guess that was natural when you were told that something you thought extinct was actually alive and standing before you. "Lucy! I believe we found him!" I heard Skyadrum call. I looked surprised in their direction.

I nodded, determined. Finally I could meet my father-in-law. "Right, I'm coming now." I told them. I looked back at Cobra and smiled at him. "Well, enjoy yourself, Erik." I told him and got ready to go to Kurama and the two Shadow Dragons, but before I could go, Cobra grabbed my wrist again. I looked back at him, wondering what he wanted of me. "Cobra…?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked at me with an indescribable expression. "Lucy…" He said, using my actual name. "Can I meet Sacheba when I get out..?" He asked me just as hesitantly. "He could teach me so much.." He muttered in the end.

I smiled gently at him. I guess even the worst criminal had his soft side. "That will be up to Sacheba to decide, but I will ask him next time I see him." I promised him.

He showed me an actual genuine smile. "Thank you Fairy." He thanked me and released my wrist. I gave him a last smile and slipped my hand out of the cell. I quickly made my way towards Kurama and my two friends.

Skyadrum sighed at me, but grinned. "Jeez, Lucy. You make friends anywhere you go, don't you?" She asked me playfully.

I shook my head at her. "I wouldn't exactly call that guy my friend, though." I told them. I didn't even know what to call our relationship, really. I walked up next to the girls. "So where is he?" I asked them.

464 pointed forward. "There, at the end of this hallway." She told me blankly. I looked the way she was pointing, and there was indeed a single prison there much larger than the others in length, that was. In there, lay a big, dark Dragon.

I nodded. Yes, that could only be him. I stepped closer to the cell. When I stepped closer, I felt I passed through another Rune barrier. It would seem this one kept all sound from passing through.. So whenever Kurama - if this was him - changed to his Dragon form, or guards talked with him, the other prisoners wouldn't hear whatever they were talking about. Besides that, it was also placed so that even if the other prisoners tried, they wouldn't be able to see the Dragon no matter what they did.

Now, coming closer, bearing the Light ball with me, I could see the Dragon in the cell. It didn't look like any of the other Dragons in the way that it was much thinner and seemed sick. You could see the bones through its black scales. it was almost all black, but with a semi-dark blue belly. Its wings were similar to Acnologia's but completely black. It looked like it had once had two horns, but they looked like they had been cut off roughly and without much precision. Its tail was also very similar to Acnologia's, with the two fan-like things on either side, also the same blue. Besides that, much like every other Chaos Dragon, it had some strange marking, but with this one it was only in the face, the rest of its body was more 'plain' and only had one color.

As I looked at the Dragon in front of me, I could see that this had once been a mighty and strong Dragon. But that seemed to be far in the past. This Dragon looked like he hadn't had a proper meal in ages and the cell it was in could only barely fit the Dragon in it, and that was when the Dragon made itself as small as it could.

I sighed and walked all up to the cell, just as I had with Cobra's. If I reached out, I could touch the Dragon's snout, but I wasn't sure whether he was still stable mentally, so for the sake of keeping my hand, I only stood at the cell.

Just as I was about to say something, the Dragon opened its eyes and looked directly at me with its dark blue eyes. For a second, I was too frightened to move, but the Dragon's gaze quickly shifted to being much softer instead. He shifted to his Human form, but just as he submerged himself in the Chaos magic, he showed a very painful face.

The transformation was too slow for it to be normal in any way, and I believe I heard small grunts of pain. It was trying to keep the fact that it was hurting secret.

After a little while, the Chaos magic disappeared and revealed a very sickly and thin man, with pale skin and messy and dirty, black hair, hanging around his face in long, wavy strands. He wore the loose, white prison-clothes Cobra also had worn, but he seemed even thinner wearing it.

He didn't exactly look like the guy I remembered from my childhood, but on the other hand, that was also a fair amount of time back, so my memory could be a bit distorted. But, I felt a little weird with that weird, soft gaze he was giving me.

He slowly took unsteady steps towards me, grabbing the bars right in front of me and looking into my eyes with what I would describe as surprise, yet there also was a big part of it that was love. "L-Layla?" He asked me with a croaky and hoarse voice, confirming to me that he was really Kurama. I could recognize the voice. Not many others would mistake me for my mother either.

I slowly reached my hand out to put it over his, carefully watching his reaction. When I finally reached his hand on the bar, I gently placed mine over his. His skin was really cold and uncomfortable. I shook my head slowly. "I'm afraid I'm not Layla." I told him. "I'm her daughter, Lucy." I explained.

He looked disappointed for a second, then his gaze softened again, as if he was looking at a little child. "Lucy…" He muttered and smiled a tiny smile. "I'm glad to see you're alright, child." He told me hoarsely.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Of course I am, Kurama, it's been a long time." I said. The smile he sent me, it was in no way reassuring, he wasn't as old as Dravola yet, that was impossible, so he should only look like a 25-year old, but when I looked at him, I didn't see a young man, he looked much more like someone over 40 years old.

He nodded, suddenly becoming solemn. "Why are you here, Lucy? This is a dangerous place." He looked at me with a worried expression.

I smiled at him and squeezed his icy cold hand gently. "I'm here to check up on you Kurama, for your son and the other Heads." I told him and gestured to Skyadrum behind me, who winked at us and waved.

Kurama looked at Skyadrum for a second longer with a nostalgic expression on his face, then looked back to me, but before he got the chance to say anything, someone interrupted him. "What are you doing down here?" Someone asked me with a stern voice. I looked to my right, where I saw the guard which had come to get me and my team in the morning. "And who are you?" He asked me, expression non-changing.

**At the Grand Magic Games~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

From the edges of my black and blue bubble of Chaos magic, I could see parts of some Earth formation sticking out. So the old guy had used some kind of defense?

I quickly felt the defense he had made out. Since it could apparently keep the Chaos Slashes from hitting him it would have to be quite a strong defense. But I had to figure out just how strong it was so I could break it down right in front of him.

T-this defense. It was so unimaginably strong, even the old Iron Bastard would take pride in using such a defense. Well, those two, Jura and the Iron Bastard, they might be quite alike, if you didn't count the fact that one of them were actually a Dragon.

I jumped into the air and flew up - with the help of my wings - just as high in the air as Lisanna had earlier, if not maybe a little higher. Then I began inhaling the air around me sharply and the magic in it too. Honestly, the Roars I could produce on Earthland were nothing compared to the Roars I could make in the Dragon Realm, there was a lot more Eternano in the air there, than there was in Earthland.

As my other spell slowly vanished, I kept charging up the Roar in my mouth. Finally, the defense Jura had put up let itself be shown as the black and blue bubble of magic disappeared. It looked like a big human-like rock formation, wearing an armor of a kind with helmet and everything and spike-like stone jutting out from its back. The human stone held his hand all around Jura, protecting him from all directions. Specially made for my attack, eh?

Well, it would just have to go down. I inhaled the last air and magic I needed and blended as much magic of my own into the mix I had in my mouth, so I was 110 percent sure that defense of his would break. "Chaos Dragon's…" I blew my chest up and then released the magic I kept in my mouth. "ROAR!" I roared and sent the gigantic Roar at Jura's defense.

The torrent of black and blue magic, swirling around and blending together, was actually bigger than I had expected. But that didn't mean it was stronger than what I had expected, but it did make it look that way, which suited me just fine.

The big Roar hurled at the stone formation around Jura, it seemed he wasn't letting it up just yet either. Could he maybe feel the impending doom, that was my Roar, approaching? Probably.

But, whether the old guy down there could feel it or not, that Roar had been made so that it would break that certain defense. I betted that was his strongest defense and he thought that it would take this Roar too. But this match wouldn't be his win, I was afraid.

The black and blue Chaos magic hit the Earth mage's defense right on. It didn't take more than a second before the sound of cracks came from the Earth mage's protection. I pushed on and kept releasing magic, now at a harder level, so that I could break that thing faster.

I felt the hands of the defense give way for the Roar and heard as the stone crumbled down and hit the ground, making dust rise covering Jura from view, while the Roar continued on and hit him. "AH!" I heard the Saint yell and just like that, the Earth spell disappeared into thin air, as if it had never even been there.

I cut the Roar short, after I felt I had given the Earth mage what I felt was enough, and slowly landed on the ground a little away from the guy. I waited for the dust that had risen to lie down again before I let my guard down. I had been attacked so many times from a cloud of dust I had lost count of it.

Well, I could wait, or I could just remember my fight against the Shadow man and sense him out. So I quickly did that, closing my eyes shortly to make it easier to focus on him. He was lying on the ground on his back, that's what it felt like anyway, and he didn't seem like he was going to get up anytime soon.

I sighed and let go of some of the pressure I knew I was radiating. As I made my way towards Jura casually, the dust cloud gradually disappeared as well. Honestly, all these dust clouds.

As I reached Jura, standing right next to him, finding my expectations were right, the dust cloud had disappeared completely. He was conscious, but lay there, defeated. He moved his gaze from the sky to me.

I grinned down at him. "Thanks for the match, old man, it was the toughest challenge I've had in a while." For a human anyway. I added in my thoughts. I extended my hand to him, to help him up from the ground.

He smiled at me like some kind of grandfather and accepted my hand, getting up to his feet. You wouldn't guess it, but we were actually the same height. That guy seriously seemed big at a distance, I wondered if I did too..

But Jura cut my thoughts off with a nod. "Yes, let's have a battle another time, Acnologia." He suggested. That could actually turn out to be really nice to have a human who _could _beat me. If he was lucky that was.

I nodded in return and grinned at him. "Sure, Saint, we can do that after we win these games." I told him confidently. But we _would_ win this, with two Dragons on our team there was no way we would lose. Although, you could say one was handicapped.

Jura laughed and punched me lightly on the shoulder, from one man to another, I guess. "It's been a long time since I met someone who could joke with my title without cowering in fear." He laughed. Oh, I knew that feeling too well. Other Dragons never made any fun with my title as a Head, I only had the other Head Dragons to take care of that. Especially one bastard.

Suddenly, I noticed that the whole arena had fallen completely silent. You could throw a stone on the ground and everyone would have heard it, that's how silent there was. "Say.. Aren't they a bit silent?" I asked the Wizard Saint.

Jura nodded, looking around. "They are Acnologia-dono." He said and looked back at me. "But you just beat a Wizard Saint as an entirely unknown mage until now, it's only natural that they are surprised." He commented.

I nodded, looking all around me at the silent crowd, who were gaping at the two of us. "Well I guess you're right." I agreed. That was something I guess..

Finally Chapati came back to life and did his job. "I-it seems th-the match is o-over!" He stammered. He sounded like he didn't believe it himself. Was it so hard to believe? A Fairy winning over the great Wizard Saint? "The winner is - much to everyone's surprise - Acnologia of Fairy Tail!" Chapati announced. I didn't know whether that was an insult or a compliment. Somehow, it felt more like the first of those. "Ten points goes to Fairy Tail B! Now they have 16 points!" He told everyone loudly.

The crowd wasn't exploding in cheers like they were supposed to at a time like this, they were almost completely silent. Then they erupted into whispers instead, talking with the one they sat next to, probably thinking I wouldn't hear it.

"So naming him after that Dragon wasn't just for fun..?" Someone asked the one sitting next to him. "Just look at him, he looks like a Dragon. The wings, tail and scales, maybe they aren't extinct after all!" Someone commented. Oh, this guy was clever, he just wasn't aware of it. "He looks like a dark angel!" Some woman squealed.

I actually sweat dropped at that last comment. "I don't think Lucy would appreciate that.." I muttered. I turned to the old man. "Need help getting up there, old man? I asked, gesturing to where the rest of his team was standing.

He shook his head and laughed. "I'll be fine, I'm not that old yet." He said as he, with the help of an Earth pillar he created as if it was nothing and we hadn't just fought the battle of the century.

I turned to my team balcony as well and when I stood almost just under it, I flew up and landed on the railing. As I jumped down and landed among my gaping team mates, I let the Dragon Strength spell disappear from my skin.

Gajeel was staring at me, obviously gaping. "You're aware that you just beat the strongest man here, right?" He asked me.

Laxus nodded with a brow raised. "I hate to admit it, but that was quite impressive, Dragon boy." He complimented me. _That _was rare.

Before I even got the chance to reply, a pair of small arms locked around me and the most beautiful face, surrounded with silky, silver hair, looked up at me with her big, brown orbs. She smiled widely at me. "I only saw the last part, but you were really cool, Sweetie!" She told me with a smile.

**At the prison under the castle~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, earlier Heartfilia, from Fairy Tail." I told him. "Who are you?" I asked him. I hadn't caught his name when he woke us up, I was kind of in a sense of hurry back then.

While I heard Skyadrum and Akane coming closer, to try and back me up perhaps, while I also listened in to what the two knights with the guard were whispering about. "Lucy Heartfilia was the girl this guy tried to kidnap fifteen years ago. Why would she be here?" One of them commented.

The other nodded, which he thought he did without me noticing. "I don't know. Do you think she saw the Dragon?" Number two asked back.

I sighed, already annoyed with their conversation. If they had something to say, they could say it directly to me. The guard cleared his throat to draw my attention. "I am Doranbolt, Division Head of the Rune Knights and a member of the Magic Council." He introduced himself. Ohh, so that was what that white cape was? Well, the Magic Council and its trends weren't really the biggest concerns of the Dragons, to be honest. "Now, what are you doing down here, Lucy Mau'Te Rongo?" He asked me.

I looked at him with my head held high. I would not bow under a mere human. Magic Council or not. Not that I didn't like humans, but I had my pride as a Dragon. And that was what Metallicana had been pounding into my head these last many years… "I was here to forgive this man for attempting to kidnap me back when I was a child." I flat out lied. I would have loved to go with Acnologia and Kurama back then, if I had the choice.

Doranbolt looked at me for a long while, judging whether my statement was right or not. Finally he sighed and nodded. "I see. Even though it is a noble cause, you should know this isn't a place for unauthorized persons." He said, giving me a hardened gaze. "I'm not going to ask how you came down here without being noticed and let it slip this time. But if I find you down here again, I'm going to have to send you before the Magic Council." He told me.

I nodded and bowed lightly in thanks, giving him a smile. "Thank you, Doranbolt, I'm grateful for your help." I told him and turned to Kurama again. He looked at Doranbolt with a frightening expression and stood up, facing the Magic Council member. "K-Kurama..?" I asked the man hesitantly. What was this behavior?

Kurama glanced at me, a fire burning in his eyes. "Lucy, get out of here. Now!" He told me firmly and looked back at Doranbolt. He took a threatening step forward, even though he was still in his cell. "I won't let you take them too. Leave them alone." He told the man. It seemed that the old man still had some fight left in him.

Doranbolt just looked at him carelessly. "You have nothing to say in this, Kurama." He said, putting extra emphasis on his name. He looked at me again with yet another hard gaze. "You're leaving now." He told me.

Well, I guess I had no choice then. I nodded and turned to Skyadrum and 464. "Atarangi and Akane, let's go." I told them, I turned around and began walking towards the stairs at the end of the hall. Just before we passed the Rune barrier, I looked back at Kurama over my shoulder. "We'll rescue you one of these days, Kurama. I promise we will." I whispered so only he would hear it and passed through the barrier of sound.

**Okay, so this chapter was getting too long. I decided to cut it off there. I'm sure you can figure the rest out Lucy makes her way back to the Grand Magic Games arena, the three go their separate ways and Lucy makes her way to her Team, seeing the rest of the battle. Basically. And no fun to write **

**So, as I'm sure you can figure out, both 'story-lines' happen at the same time. Please tell me what you thought of the way I put the chapter up, I thought it was fun and a bit exciting to write it like this, 'cause it is so different than the usual chapter.**

**I've accepted that I will always suck at writing battle scenes, and I will do my best - as always - but don't expect them to be extremely awesome in the way some other people can write them. **

**Anyway, so Acnologia beat Jura (of course?), we met Cobra again and his softer side apparently and at last we also found Kurama. So what was that old Dragon talking about and what did it have to do with Doranbolt? We'll see~ **

**Thank you SillyKitty88, whitelion20202, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), wheafel (Guest), clairedamoon, Konan15, wheafel, Maiannaise, BustNjust9, AnimeOnCookie, Little Lady Slytherin, mjb379, Mirror Night, Acnologia Prime, Alaina Kuski, aristofthemind, Aira0906, scarlet00500, ZinaThePanda, Sapphire Water Maiden, Kirigaya Miyuki, allanimefreak73754, Guest, lttlluvestrella, Guest, Guest, Guest, Guest, Guest, MoonStar1312, Moonlight Starlove, Yukino-nyan, Guest, Darkverger1, ShadowsBlackRose01, Sustaitasister, Guest, Francesfrany (Guest), Astroman1000, Xero-zombie30, OtakuLover43, Tobirama666, Givihe, Faux Princess, booklover21567, vixxbabe94, iloveturtles19, ElevenRaven, OSM (Guest), Lineal3, Animelover2215 (Guest), Guest, Guest and everyone else for all the support you give me!**

**Just look at all those Guests ._. 1, 2, 3, 4… 15! Fifteen Guests on one chapter! It's amazing, just plain amazing.**

**~ Line464d**


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

**Okay, I know many of you are craving a battle with Lucy, and I promise there'll be one. It's already at day 3, so not too far away, I think. Besides, it'd be no fun if I pulled out all the good stuff in the start, aren't I right?**

**Thank you, DesolationDeath, for helping me with the story**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! ****R&amp;R!**

**At Silver Tail inn~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I hadn't ever thought this small inn we were in could hold so many people. Right now, our team, the teams from Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale - with Sherry tagging along - were all in our little inn. It was also quite crowded here. And as Fairy Tail now was quit poor, we hadn't had the money to buy anything bigger or better than Silver Tail, not that we expected so many people to be here.

Currently I was sitting on Acnologia's lap at a table with Sabertooth. I guessed he was having a burst of possessiveness with all these other teams around and men he didn't know and I knew he felt the need to show I wasn't available, even if everyone already knew.

Sabertooth was actually much like Fairy Tail, they all seemed like great friends. A little like Fairy Tail, or how I had known them to be anyway. I wondered what kind of guild Sabertooth was?

I wiggled a little around in Acnologia's lap until I found a comfortable position. He had his arms around my stomach, keeping me in place. The rest of our Team B was spread around, talking with the members from other teams.

Sting leaned in over the table, with a hand under his chin and the elbow resting on the table. He looked at Acnologia and I with curiosity shining in his eyes. "Say, Acnologia, what generation Dragon Slayer are you? A fourth one?" He asked Acnologia. I noticed from the edge of my peripheral that our conversation drew the attention from Jura as he made his way to stand behind us with crossed arms.

Rufus nodded. "Yes, I have no memory of a Dragon Slaying art quite like yours." He commented. "Also I remember you saying 'Dragon Strength' rather than 'Dragon Force', once again, I have no memory of that spell." He said. That guy was awfully perceptive. It seemed he was the brain of that team.

Acnologia shook his head with a little smile playing at his lips. "Not quite." He admitted. "Just like my cousin and a girl from our guild, I'm a 0th generation Dragon Slayer." He told them. I wondered how many time we'd told people this already.

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows, except the expressionless Rogue, who just stared at Acnologia. "Uhm, Acnologia-san?" Yukino asked. Acnologia and I both looked at her, I smiled at her. I'd learned that she was actually a Celestial mage, like me. I could feel it in her magic, that it was similar to mine, I was sure she could feel it as well. "W-what is a 0th generation exactly? And why haven't we heard of it?" She asked, getting less nervous as she spoke. "It must have come before the first generation, but I have never heard of it before." She commented.

Acnologia nodded. "Yeah, there's only a few of us and we have been trying to keep ourselves hidden for a long time, but we all know each other, because our Dragons did." He said. So, I guess he counted the other Dragon Heads as Dragon Slayers of 'his' generation too. It seemed he finally also remembered her first question. "The 0th generation is, as the number suggests, older than the first generation." He explained. "The second generation's pretty new, but the first is actually a bit over 50 years old." He told them. "In comparison, generation 0 is over 400 years old." He explained.

Funny thing was, there actually was a generation 0. What he said was completely true, the only reason that generation 0 wasn't so widely known was because, as Acnologia said, that those of them that there were left, really did try to keep themselves hidden _and_ their Dragon Slaying art, to use Rufus' words, hadn't been recognized as a generation back when they didn't teach generation 1, so the numbering of it first started from generation 1. This was something Dravola had taught me one of the times I went with her and the 'team' to Earthland. I guess Acnologia already knew of all this being born a Dragon, he'd probably been told this long ago. Acnologia, the Savior of the Dragons, was one of the generation 0 Dragon Slayers, before he became a Dragon.

Sting stared at him with widened eyes, more than the others that is. Everyone else - of course except Rogue - were also gawking at Acnologia. "So, Acnologia-san what makes yours different from the first generation?!" Sting asked excitedly. I smiled at how Sting suddenly changed over to a more formal figure of speech. It would seem the Light Dragon Slayer looked up to Acnologia, probably because he just beat the Wizard Saint just an hour ago.

Acnologia half-smiled at Sting. "The magic we use is ancient and it is more like the magic of the actual Dragons. Besides that, as you can see with our 'Dragon force', we don't just get a bit of scales here and there and longer teeth, we get a little closer to being actual Dragons." He explained to them.

Sting nodded quickly and seemed genuinely interested. He hadn't changed too much since the time I met him when he was a boy, he was still as energetic as he was back then. Rogue seemed to have become more silent though and he never made an expression.

I heard Jura taking a step away from the wall. "Acnologia-dono, does that have anything to do with your strength in magic?" He asked my mate.

Acnologia turned his head and looked up at Jura. "It might have, but there's always both strong and weak, even among people with the same magic, it all depends on the person." He said to Jura. "But it is closer to a Dragon's magic, so it might be stronger than the other generations." He added.

Jura nodded with a little smile. "I see." He simply said, getting caught up in his thoughts.

I looked back at Sting and Rogue alternately. "What generation are you two from?" I asked them. They could only be from generation one, because Weisslogia and Skyadrum had raised them respectively. But I wasn't supposed to know that, since I shouldn't have met those two.

Sting grinned widely. "We're from the third generation!" He said excitedly. I furrowed my eyebrows. I had never heard of a generation three. Wouldn't we have heard at our monthly visit to Earthland if something like this showed up? It seemed quite important to me. Apparently Sting noticed my confusion and began explaining. "Basically, we're a mix of the two generations!" He told me, still excited. "We were raised by Dragons _and_ we have a Lacrima in us." He explained.

So… They would do all that to get stronger? Laxus had told us that when he got his Dragon Lacrima inserted, it hurt so much he couldn't even describe it. These two… What made them do that to themselves?

Well, I was actually pretty sure what it was now I thought about it. The first thing they asked me about when we met seven years ago was whether or not I knew Natsu and Gajeel. I was guessing they felt some kind of rivalry with those two and wanted to show them they were stronger, I could only wonder why. But that would probably come out at some point, there wouldn't come anything good out of rushing it.

I smiled at the two. "Who were your Dragon parents?" I asked them. It would be weird if you didn't ask, wouldn't it?

Suddenly, Sting dropped the big grin he wore before. He looked down at the table, avoiding eye-contact. "My dad was Weisslogia and Rogue's mom was Skyadrum.." He trailed off.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the way he was reacting. As far as I remembered, Weisslogia and Skyadrum both put up and illusion of themselves, when they had to leave, that could be touched and everything, because the two boys were so small and needed more training. Did they find out about that?

Since I was lost in my own thoughts, Acnologia asked them the question I wanted to instead. "Where are Skyadrum and Weisslogia now then?" He asked them. I could hear in the way he spoke that he was curious. But on the other hand, who wouldn't be in this situation?

Finally, Sting looked up at both of us. His expression was completely like stone, he didn't show any of the energy he had up to now. Actually, he didn't show anything, probably something he had learned from Rogue. But he didn't say anything, the one who spoke was Rogue. "We killed them." He stated.

A thick silence lay around our table. They had killed them? They killed their parents? Then… What had happened back then?

I could see that the two of them didn't like talking about this topic, so I quickly found another one to talk about. "I see.." I said to end the other topic. Then I looked at Orga. "What magic do you have, Orga?" I asked him. I couldn't remember ever seeing a magic like his. And it was powerful too.

Orga, catching on to what I was trying to do, looked at me. "I have Lightning God Slaying magic." He told me. The deep bass of his voice almost made the ground shake. Okay, maybe not, but he really had an exceptionally deep voice.

I nodded at him with a smile. "Is it like Dragon Slaying magic?" I asked him. "Like them, were you also raised by a God?" I asked him. Now I thought about it, I actually once heard some citizens somewhere talking about God Slaying magic, and they mentioned Sabertooth too. So I guess they had been talking about this guy.

Orga nodded. "Yes, but it is much stronger." He stated. I sweat dropped. You were supposed to say that, I guess. Should I say that Dragon magic and Celestial magic could top both of them now, or what?

Sting glared up at Orga, forgetting the solemn mood we had had at the table just a second ago. "Hell no it's not!" He protested to the big mage.

Orga looked down at him, a smirk slowly forming on his face. "Of course it is, you just can't face the facts." He told the Light Dragon Slayer.

Sting put his face right up into Orga's, not at all intimidated by the other mage's big size. "What did you say, Sparky?" He asked the other mage menacingly. From then, they broke out into a quarrel much like the ones Natsu and Gray constantly had.

I smiled at them, it was funny to see that again. A cough brought my attention to Rufus, who had been quite quiet. "So, Miss Lucy, what magic do you have?" He asked me, with a radiant smile.

I felt Acnologia growl lowly at the brilliant smile and I put my hands over his, intertwining my fingers with his. As expected, his growling quickly stopped. I looked up at Rufus, returning the smile. "I'm a Celestial mage, of course." I told him.

I heard a soft gasp from Yukino. I looked at her. She actually looked confused. Hadn't she felt that I was a Celestial mage too? "Y-you're a Celestial mage too?" She asked me.

I nodded at her with a smile. "Of course. Maybe it's not so obvious now, but I was once Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail, a part of the strongest team there." I told her. The pride I once took in being a part of that team was completely nonexistent now. That team was strong back then, but if you compared it to the team I was on now… Well, let's just say they'd be squashed like bugs.

Rufus nodded with a lopsided grin. "So you really are the Lucy of Fairy Tail I remember from seven years ago." He stated. I couldn't help but think it was a little weird to say that to someone… "Have you been training these past seven years?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I have." Well, with the addition of six Dragon magic too and such and fourteen rather than seven years, but you know, it's not so important. "And of course I've also been training my body too." I told him. Now, after fourteen years, it was hard to believe I had once barely been able to take a hit. I really did change a lot over the years, I guess.

Rufus nodded. "I remember Yukino also trained her skills in material arts back when she came to our guild. In my memory, Celestial mages often have weaker bodies, is that true?" He asked me.

I nodded again. Seriously, all these nods, my neck would begin hurting at some point. "Well, I would say that generally that's true." I agreed. "We're Holder mages after all, and many just let their Spirits do the work." I told him. I hated that kind of mages. There was nothing worse.

"So am I to assume you fight alongside your Spirits, Miss Lucy?" Rufus asked me. Definitely the brain of this team. How could he be anything else? "You have always done that, my memory tells me so." He commented.

How could he know all that? Was he a stalker or something? Former stalker maybe… I nodded and smiled at him. "Yeah, that's right. It isn't right that they're the only ones fighting, we should fight too. That's what I think anyway." I told him.

Yukino leaned in closer, while Sting and Orga finally got up from their seats, ready to begin a fight. "Who's been teaching you Lucy-san? Or have you just been training alone?" She asked me, sending a short glance in Acnologia's direction.

I smiled at her. "Actually, I've had my Lion Spirit, Leo, teach me hand to hand combat and then the Spirit King has helped me with my Celestial magic." I said as if that was completely normal. It was to me now, I forgot just how big it actually was to have the Spirit King teach me. Of course, I quickly realized I had just said something outrageous, because Yukino stared at me with wide eyes and open mouth. Slowly she slid off the chair and landed on the ground next to it. I leaned as far forward as Acnologia allowed me to see if Yukino was okay. "Uhm.. Yukino?" I asked slowly.

Suddenly her head shot over the edge of the table, coming into view, still staring at me. "L-Lucy-san! Do you even realize _how_ big that is?!" She asked me loudly, yet not completely yelling.

I sweat dropped and laughed a little. "Yeah, but you know.. I kind of forgot for a moment." I said, laughing. It was funny what you could get used to with time.

Rufus shook his head with a little laugh. "I see, according to my memory, this Spirit King is the most powerful Spirit there currently is." He stated.

Yukino nodded. "Yes, that's true Rufus. Only, he's so strong no Celestial mage owns his key or could ever open his Gate." She added to his explanation. She suddenly widened her eyes, as if she remembered something important, and quickly looked at me. "Then, Lucy… Does that mean you have the Spirit King's key?!" She asked me quickly and eagerly.

I widened my eyes myself and quickly shook my head. "No, no, no. I'm not even close to strong enough to open his Gate!" I reassured her. You'd have to be at least a Celestial Dragon to do that. And a strong one at that. "What made you think I did?" I asked her, smiling.

She blushed weakly and began fidgeting nervously. "W-well…" She started off. "It's just that you trained with him and maybe, you know, he gave you his key." She said with a low and nervous voice. It was kind of cute. "A-and your magical presence, it's quite big." She added, with an even lower voice.

I raised both my eyebrows. "Really?" I asked. "But I've been keeping it down." I mumbled. "How weird…" I trailed off. It can't be that big with as much as I'm pushing it down.

Rufus nodded. "Yes, according to my memory, it is as strong as the magical pressure Orga released." He told me. "Right before he cast his spell on Warcry earlier today." He added.

I just stared at him for a while, trying to remember how high Orga's magical pressure was back then. "Hmm…" Finally, I remembered. It was actually quite high, but of course it would be, it was right at that moment the guy had the most magic around him. I stared at Rufus again. "You've gotta be kidding me! I can't be running around with such a high magical pressure!" That was too much. It would seem like I'm a monster or something.

Rufus shook his head. "I am not kidding you, Miss Lucy." He told me, laughing a little. "Since you react this way, is it wrong of me to assume that you are keeping around half of your magic down?" He asked me.

"Not exactly." I told him with my eyebrows creased. "It's more like, well, ¾ I'd say." I told him, as if that too was completely normal.

This time, Rufus was the one to do what Yukino had done, sliding off the chair and landing on the floor. What was with these Sabertooth mages? Could it be so hard to sit straight in your chairs?

He quickly got up again though and placed himself properly in the chair again. He put his hat back in place, and _then_ looked at me with a freaked out expression. "WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DID YOU GO THROUGH?!" He yelled at me. I was almost clapping like a little girl seeing a seal catch a fish in the air. I saw him freaking out! There was already so noisy in the guild, with Orga and Sting throwing chairs and tables after one another and drawing other people into the fight, that it didn't draw too much attention. Then he looked at Acnologia with wide eyes as well. "And what about you?!" He asked my mate.

Acnologia pressed his cheek lightly into the side of my head. "Right now, I'd say it's about the same. Earlier when I fought Jura was the first time in a long time I let my Chaos magic flow freely." He said calmly.

I smelled fear in the air from Yukino's direction. I looked at her to see that she was trembling and hugging her knees to herself, while looking at us with big, scared, brown eyes. "Y-y-you a-are _monsters_!" She told us with a trembling voice.

Well, she wasn't far off. I guess you - in a human perspective - could call a Dragon a monster. I just smiled at her. "Well, in that case, I'm probably the nicest monster you'll meet." I reassured her.

Rogue finally stepped away from the wall. Even though his expression hadn't changed at all. "Are everyone in Fairy Tail like you?" He asked me.

I looked at him with a smile and shook my head. "Nah, only Acnologia and I keep that much magic hidden. Or rather, we're the only ones who have to keep our magic hidden, the rest lets it free, just like everyone else does." I told him. And that included Basuril and 464, they didn't have much magical pressure, 464 especially, so there was no need for them to keep it down, it was just a bit higher than most. The Head Dragons here on the other hand probably all toned it down. It's also something different when you're a spectator, you're not supposed to be stronger than those on the field, it would kind of ruin the whole thing.

Rufus breathed out unevenly. "That is kind of a relief…" He said slowly. "But, even though we know this, we will fight for our throne, so watch out Team B." He told us with a wink.

I laughed. "That's what I had hoped, it would be no fun with at least a little resistance." I told him jokingly.

Suddenly I felt my instincts screaming at me that I was in danger and looked to the right to see a table flying towards me. I quickly reacted with putting up a barrier of pure Celestial magic, lighting up the area around it and marking its existence with a soft, golden glow. The table crashed into the wall of Celestial magic and landed on the floor on all four legs. Maybe it had been a cat in its former life.

I pulled down the barrier again and looked at the people who had thrown it. Well, I knew it even without seeing them, of course it was Sting and Orga. And they didn't seem to have realized anything. They continued fighting, and at this rate they would destroy the little inn in no time.

And Fairy Tail would be the ones who had to pay for that. I felt my inner demon awaken and pushing its way forth. There was no way I would let those two let Fairy Tail pay for what they had destroyed. It was probably about time to show these two boys what they could and couldn't do.

Acnologia, probably feeling my inner demon's resurrection, released me from his grip and let me stand up. Which I did. I walked towards the two boys in the same manner I had often seen Erza approach Natsu and Gray in, when they fought. Slowly and lightly, yet authoritatively. And just like they had done with Erza, people also cleared the way instinctively to avoid certain death and destruction.

When I reached Sting and Orga, they still hadn't noticed my approach. Which only served to tick me even more off. I saw my chance when the two suddenly charged at each other, fists held high, ready to smash the other's face.

When they were close enough, I quickly stepped in and caught both of their fists in my small hands, stopping them from moving completely. I stood there, facing forward, but keeping my eyes closed, with both of them staring at me as if I was a stranger.

Slowly I breathed out and opened my eyes, not looking at any of them. "Boys…" I breathed out. "Learn some MANNERS!" I yelled and let my Celestial magic into them, mixing with their own magic. They both quickly fell to the floor, screaming in agony as their bodies rejected the magic that had been put into them.

Well, it was actually only something I thought would work, I wasn't exactly sure. But I based it off of when I got my Dragon magic released from my Second Origin. My body had also rejected the magic at first, recognizing it as unfamiliar.

I looked down at the two boys writhing in pain. And they had only gotten a little dose, I couldn't help but think of them to be a little pathetic for just a second.

I kneeled down next to them. "Now, when you're done screaming, I would like you to think about what you did wrong and never do it again. Okay?" I asked them in my best Mira-fashion.

I sighed a last time and made my way back to the table, placing myself back on Acnologia's lap. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as I found a comfortable way to sit.

Yukino looked at her two agonizing team members with worry shining in her eyes. "Will they be okay?" She asked nervously.

I nodded, adopting a wide smile. "Of course, they'll be fine. They won't feel this at all tomorrow." I reassured her, waving my hand in front of my head.

Rufus looked at me with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression. "I don't remember anything like this. What did you do to them, Miss Lucy?" He asked me curiously.

I smiled at him. "Oh, it's simple. I just mixed a little of my own magic with theirs." I explained, looking back at the two boys still rolling around on the floor. "Now their bodies are rejecting my magic." I said and looked back at him again with a radiant smile. "It'll be over in about fifteen minutes." I told him.

Rufus snickered. "I see. I will memorize this, it will most likely come in handy in the future." He said with a smile.

I was just about to say something else, when the doors to the inn were smashed open, startling everyone in the room. What was most amusing though, was that Lyon encased Juvia in his arms and protected the Water Woman with his own body. Oh, how much fun I would have watching those two.

But, my happy moment was quickly cut off when a certain pink haired Dragon Slayer walked through. "WHERE'S THE FIGHT?!" He yelled. He looked at Acnologia and his face lit up into a bright grin. "Acnologia! You're strong, fight me!" He yelled.

I put my hand to my forehead. Not this again, when would he stop with this? But before I could do anything else, Acnologia answered the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Gladly." He simply said, picked me off from his lap and placed me back down on the chair again, after having moved away from it himself.

I looked up at him. He had a determined expression and one filled with the purest kind of hatred I had seen for a long time. Well, I guess that grudge would never go away.

Natsu laughed manically. "FINALLY!" He yelled happily. He rushed out of the door. "OUTSIDE!" You could hear him yell from the other side of the door. Acnologia smirked and made his way outside. Just after he had left, everyone else slowly filtered out as well, wanting to see this match.

Yukino looked around confused. "W-What happened?" She asked confused and with her tiny, sweet voice.

I looked at her. "Ever since Acnologia found out Natsu kicked me off the team, he has held a grudge against the Fire Dragon Slayer and has been wanting to get a reason to have a shot at killing the guy." I sighed. "He won't waste any chance he's got." I added, breathing out. I got up from my seat and made my way across the now deserted inn and over to the owner of it, who was looking around confused. I stopped up right in front of the man. "I'll help clean this up later, don't worry." I told him with a smile.

He smiled at me and bowed. "Thank you very much, miss." He thanked me with his hands clapped together like in a prayer.

I nodded at him and also began walking out. I couldn't believe myself, I was actually looking forward to this.

"I have no memory of Celestial magic being able to restore anything like this." Rufus commented. "What are you going to do, Miss Lucy?" He asked me.

I smiled at him. "Oh I have my ways." I told him. I continued out the door with the three Sabertooth mages following me. The two others were still lying in the middle of the floor, recovering from their round of pain and grunting sometimes.

Outside was a big crowd. I made my way through to the front seats, with the three others following me close behind. We stood in a line, me standing at the edge, next to a black haired man and Rogue on my other side.

Natsu and Acnologia stood on either side of the space they had been offered and looked at each other. Acnologia with a hateful glare and Natsu with a grin. "I'm all fired up!" Natsu said, lighting his fist on fire.

I sighed in exasperation. "That idiot is going to die." I muttered to myself. He didn't have any idea about what he was facing at the moment.

The guy next to me nodded. "Yeah, there's no doubt about it." He agreed. That was a voice I recognized. I glanced at the guy just to see if I was right. And smiled by myself when I saw that he had a bare torso.

It was Gray Fullbuster, of course. I decided by myself that when this match was over, I would have to speak with him. It was so painfully obvious that he wanted to apologize or _something_, but he just never did. If he wouldn't take the initiative himself, then I would for him.

I focused back on the match that was about to start. Acnologia was ready to go, crouching lightly, but seemed to be waiting to see what the Fire Idiot was going to do, knowing the guy would lose his patience quickly and make the first move.

Just as I knew my mate had expected, Natsu made the first move. He charged forward, his fist still on fire. "Why aren't you giving it your all?" He asked Acnologia as he raced forward. He quickly reached Acnologia, who hadn't even twitched since he began running. "Acnologia!" Natsu yelled as he swung the fiery fist down at Acnologia.

Acnologia reacted quickly, evading the fist with a single step to the side and then he copied Natsu, covering his fist in Chaos magic and swung forward. He gave Natsu a forceful uppercut in the chin and the Fire Dragon Slayer flew up a little in the air, then landed on the ground not far away.

Acnologia only looked down at Natsu from where he stood. "Because if did, the match would already be over." He told the opponent.

Natsu looked up at him from where he lay, spit out a bit of blood, and got on his feet, facing Acnologia proudly. "I'm not that easy to take down, Chaos Dragon Slayer." He promised my mate.

Acnologia raised an eyebrow. "Let's put that to the test." Acnologia suggested. This time he made the move and ran at Natsu. Natsu wasn't prepared for it and didn't have time to react when Acnologia ran right up to him, so close they almost met cheek to cheek, and gave him another forceful punch, this time in the stomach. Natsu didn't fly backwards, but he did bend forward and held himself around the stomach, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs. Acnologia looked down at the suffering mage in front of him. "You should realize the huge gap in skill by now. You will never beat me, _Summer_." He spat out the nickname he had given him, as if it was poisonous.

Natsu looked up at Acnologia with a glare, but didn't say anything. He took a deep breath, but then kept sucking air in, readying a Roar.

Acnologia sighed and jumped back a little away. "I guess there's only one way to show you then." He breathed out. Then he too began sucking in air, much like Natsu.

When the Fire Dragon Slayer finally reached his limit and stopped his inhaling, Acnologia kept going for just a second longer, to show off. "Fire Dragons…" Natsu said, breathing in the last air.

Acnologia did the same, at the same time, having hurried up a bit. "Chaos Dragons…" He also said, their two voices blending together in the end. "ROAR!" They both yelled and released the magic they had stored in their mouths.

Two torrents, one a bright red flame the other a black and blue whirl, sped towards each other and collided with an explosion. The magic from both of the roars flew out in a firework-like way, but they disappeared before they could reach anyone or anything.

The two Roars fought for dominance for only a second before the black and blue Chaos magic quickly overwhelmed the Fire Roar and devoured it as it closed in on the one casting the spell on the other side.

It only took a split second before the Chaos magic completely surrounded Natsu. "AH!" He yelled as he was hit by the Chaos Roar head on. Somehow, this kind of reminded me of the day he kicked me off the team and Gajeel also hit Natsu in the face with a Roar.

Acnologia cut off the Roar and soon after the magic vanished to reveal a roughed up Natsu, but nothing serious that wouldn't heal overnight. But Natsu was just lying on the ground, staring up at the sky, having suffered one of his first loses. That I knew of anyway.

Acnologia looked down at Natsu, not making even the slightest hint of getting closer to the guy. "I made sure you'll be fine for the Games tomorrow, but I suggest you take it easy the rest of the day." Acnologia told the Fire Dragon Slayer almost venomously. But I believe I heard the slightest hint of something positive in his voice.

With that, the match was over. That was probably the shortest one I'd ever seen, but their levels were completely different. Natsu couldn't even hope to defeat Acnologia at any time, because Dragons would always be superior to humans, especially if that certain Dragon had Dragon Slayer blood in him.

The crowd around me slowly disappeared and went their own ways, there was another day again tomorrow we'd have to be fresh to after all. Although, I doubted they would actually go to sleep, it was probably more likely that they each did something with their own guilds.

Yukino waved at me with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Lucy-san!" She said and ran off with her two team mates. Rufus also waved at me with a smile, while Rogue only lifted his hand in a goodbye.

I smiled at them and waved. "Would you pick up Sting and Orga before you go?" I asked them. And got a yes accompanied with a laugh in the end.

I looked to my right so I could finally get a talk with Gray, but it looked like he had realized it was actually me he had been standing next to and had made it his mission to disappear in the crowd like some kind of criminal. He had also gotten a little training in it earlier, having to hide from Nullpudding and all.

I sighed. That idiot, I didn't bite. Much… I closed my eyes and used my heightened senses and Earth magic to feel out where he could be. I quickly found him running in the direction where he and his team stayed.

I opened my eyes quickly and started my pursue of him. It couldn't be right that he felt like he had to run from me, that wasn't very mature of him, but I couldn't help but also thinking it was a little funny.

I turned a corner and finally I could see the top of his black hair trying to run away from me. But this was what Dragons were best at, hunting their prey and playing with it.

I grinned, if I was going to do this, I might as well have a little fun with it and play around with him. I released a little of my Celestial magic, so I knew the black haired Ice Make mage would feel my presence.

And as expected, he looked back over his shoulder and at me. His eyes widened and then he quickly turned around and sped up. I sped up as well, only keeping my pace a little faster than his, so I slowly caught up to him.

After turning another corner, I released a little more of my magic to let him know I was still there. I could smell the desperation in the air as well as the frustration he felt when he began running even faster.

He couldn't run from me, not with the practice I'd gotten from trying to catch Basuril. Even though I never managed to, it did help me run faster. The buildings flew past us quickly and blurred together in a mush of brownish colors.

I could hear the other mage's panting in front of me and knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. I also found myself beginning to feel the strain of running so fast for so far.

Gray turned a final corner and met with a wall. I only knew this because I heard the crash of him running into this wall and then the bump when he fell down on the ground. I laughed a little by myself, it seems the Dragon won.

I stopped my running and instead slowed down to a walk as I too turned the corner, to see Gray was still on the ground. I made my way towards him, seeing that he wore a terrified expression, which only got worse as I close in on him.

He hadn't made a single move at all and when I finally stood right over him, he looked at me with widened eyes. He really behaved like a prey right now and looked at me like I was the predator. Well, I was, but that was smaller details.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He opened it again and this time he actually managed to speak. "Lucy, I'm-" He was cut off.

I held my hand down to him, offering a help to get up from the ground. "Come on Gray, get off the ground." I told him with a smile.

He looked up at me confusedly, but took my hand and got up on his feet. He dusted himself off and mumbled thanks. He looked at me again hesitantly and looked like he wanted to say something. He breathed in heavily and finally said what he needed to. "Listen, Lucy…" He started off. "I-I'm sorry for what I did back then and what I said." He told me.

I smiled at him and stepped closer, putting my arms around his bare torso. "It's alright Gray, I've already forgiven you." I reassured him.

His breath caught in his throat and he stayed completely silent for a second. "What…?" He slowly asked, not believing a word I said. "Why would you..?" He trailed off.

I held him a little tighter. "It's so painfully obvious you've felt bad about what you did." I told him. "Every time you looked at me, you would avert your gaze and look at the ground. Every time I tried getting close, you ran away, like now. And I often catch you glancing at me." I told him and rested the side of my head on his shoulder. It seemed he had grown a little in height these last three months. "I know you've wanted to apologize, and just knowing that you regret what you did is enough for me to forgive you." I explained to him.

I felt him slowly and carefully place his arms around me as well, instead of just having them hanging loosely at his sides. I felt him bury his head in my hair. "Thank you… Lucy." He whispered. Just then, I felt a drop of water on top of my head. I smiled, this was much better.

I don't know how long we had been standing like that, but Gray had finally stopped crying. Other than that we hadn't moved at all. But all good must come to an end, as they say. I heard and felt footsteps approaching us quickly and knew drama was coming.

The footsteps stopped right behind me. "What. The. Hell. Are. You. DOING?!" I heard the roar of my mate and felt his steadily rising magical pressure. I felt Gray stiffen up completely, also recognizing the roar.

I sighed and knew Gray had about ten seconds to escape. "Gray, you need to run." I whispered and released him. I looked into his eyes and saw him nod. He quickly turned around and made a staircase of Ice, getting over the wall and then letting the stairs disappear again as he escaped.

I turned to my mate who looked more or less like a burning flame. He had death written all over him. "I will kill him..!" He snarled at the Ice Make mage, who was running for his life. Again.

Before he could chase after the poor guy, I made my way toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was wondering how long it would take him to soften just a little more up, so I could hug my friends without having to worry about whether they'd die or not.

I looked up at him with my best innocent puppy-eyes. "Wouldn't you rather erase his scent from me completely?" I asked Acnologia. I knew that was an offer he couldn't resist whatever the case might be.

And of course, his magical pressure fell to the usual amount. He put one arm around me and lifted me up, so I could lock my legs around his waist, while he moved the other one around my back. Then he roughly pushed his lips to mine and gave me one of the more passionate kisses.

While our lips moved against each other and our tongues danced, I entangled one of my hands in his hair a softly tugged a little at it.

When we pulled apart again, we were both panting for air. Acnologia let me down on both of my feet again and I put my arms around him instead, pulling myself close to him.

He gently stroke my hair with soft strokes. "I've talked with the other Heads." He informed me. I looked up at him, curious about what they had been talking about. "One of these days, we're going to rescue my father. Now we know that he is weak, we know how we should go about rescuing him." Acnologia told me.

I nodded. "Okay, so what are you going to do about the Rune barriers?" I asked him, genuinely interested in what he had planned for them.

Acnologia looked at me confusedly. "Rune barriers? What are you talking about?" Acnologia asked me. What? They didn't know? Hadn't Skyadrum or 464 felt those?

I nodded again. "Yeah, there's put a Rune barrier up around his cell, otherwise how would you keep a Dragon locked in such a little cell?" I told him. "There's also some magic in the bars themselves, but it didn't feel as strong." I told him. Those could probably be melted with a bit of flames.

Acnologia looked at me. "Could you do something about the barriers?" He asked me. The other Head Dragons didn't have any practice with Rune barriers, they wouldn't be able to do a thing, not even Dravola.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can do a little." I answered. I had learnt a little from Levy sometimes in the guild. She was a genius at those things, I didn't measure up to her at all, I could only change small things, while she could maybe delete the barrier completely. She was amazing.

Acnologia nodded with a smile and placed a light kiss on my forehead. "That's my girl." He whispered. Soon after, we went back to our inn, there was a whole day in front of us tomorrow after all.

**Oh, jeez this chapter feels short. I decided to make this one a little shorter, since we've just had so many long ones - especially last chapter. **

**I don't know if you could see it in the way I wrote, but Sabertooth isn't this monstrous guild. In my story, they're just like any other guild, without a monster of a guild master ;)**

**Natsu and Acnologia finally had their match. I know you guys have been waiting for it and I know that it wasn't particularly awesome, but their skill level is so different the match could hardly be any longer than that. **

**And at last, Lucy forgave Gray. I thought it came out somewhat good. It could have been better, I guess, but alright**

**Thank you AsunaYuki88, Aira0906, clumzybeans, Nicole (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, BecauseIamSoBored, Alaina Kuski, Acnologia Prime, Black Eclipsed Soul, VortexisDragon, wheafel, Nilnna, Rilakkuma808, FairyTailNaluFan, Mirror Night, mjb379, Azuka the Youkai, fairychime-diamond47, zyxzyz, Amethystfairy1, ZinaThePanda, AnimeOnCookie, whitelion20202, Konan15, Darkverger1, The Kyr, lilmisssassy, SillyKitty88, aristofthemind, Moonlight Starlove, Maiannaise, ILovepenguins24, BustNjust9, DeathKitsune666, OSM (Guest), Esie22, Guest, FtLaJe (Guest), Aria Yumezuki, Seshou1388, Losing-A-Game-Of-Life, Guest, SamuraiButterfly8725, .5, ThunderWolf395, FireIce Kitsune Kayla, Anita Jay, StrongGuy159, torifashionglory, Zaralann, NerDeath, Bigdtwag, xxpinkgrlxx, Guest, Guest, Guest, Yelloitsme, GabrielaFrostBlack15, An Anonymoose, gotlost321, Guest, Theshadowspartan117, Virgil42 and all you other people for all you've done to support me all throughout this story!**

**I think these Guests are sometimes the same person reviewing on different chapters.. But you know, it's just a guess?**

**~Line64d**


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

**Ohhh.. My… God…. Guys. We've reached 1000 reviews. This is beyond **_**AWESOME**_**! I can't thank you guy enough, it's just…. Well, quite hard to describe for one thing. I just.. Can't thank you enough. A thousand thank yous to you. And the 1000****th**** reviewer, DeathKitsune666. Thank you, thank you, thank you, **_**thank you**_**. **

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&amp;R!**

**Day 2 at GMG~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Okay, so people didn't like it if you woke them up in the middle of the night, because you wanted to open your Spirit's Gate in your mind and accidentally released tremendous amounts of magic. I tried it out yesterday, when I opened Alae's Gate. I had moved to sitting on the roof watching the stars, as I couldn't fall asleep. My whole team had yelled at me to control myself, which I also did.

Well, in a sense anyway. First, I had wanted to see how she looked after the transformation she had. So of course I had called her out, not saying a word so I wouldn't wake the sleeping, even though that was probably useless at that point. As it turned out, Alae was a Pegasus with fairy wings.

It sounded funny, but she was actually really beautiful. She was around the size of a normal horse, a big one, but still something realistic. Her fur was the same color as her hair, almost white, but with a tiny hint of blue. Her mane and tail looked like feathers, very similar to the ones she had on her dress as well, and were pure white. Both her fur, tail and mane were silky to the touch and your fingers glided through it as if it was newly brushed.

She had kept both the wings and eyes from her Human form. Except the wings were a bit bigger and the colors were reversed. So, they were light blue, almost white, where they connected to her back and then gradually toned out into a much darker blue color, the same as the part of her wings that connected with her back in her Human form. Likewise, her eyes were still bright blue, that was the same darker blue as the tip of her wings in her Human form.

Even though it sounded kind of weird, she could fly even faster in her Pegasus form than she could in her Human form, which she had also shown me. To me it felt like she had flown as fast as Basuril, but that probably wasn't the case. That boy was special.

But that was yesterday, today was the second day of the Grand Magic Games and today we even made our way over here in time without having to be woken up by anyone or anything.

Actually, not only that, we were already about to start the event part of it all. It was called 'Chariot' and we were about to pick who would enter the games. Gajeel laughed behind me. "Gihi! I'll do it!" He said confidently.

I looked back at him with furrowed eyebrows. This game didn't sound like anything Dragon Slayers would enjoy, to me it sounded like it would be something with transportation, and by now, everyone should know that transportation wasn't exactly Dragon Slayer's forte.

But just as I was going to convince him otherwise, I saw the expression he wore. He was too determined, no matter what I did, he wouldn't not enter this game. I sighed and placed my hand on his shoulder just as he went past me. "Good luck Gajeel." I smiled at him.

I quickly sent a little of my Sky magic to him. And no, not like I did with Orga and Sting the other day, this was supposed to help him. Momentarily cure him from his motion sickness that was. Now the question was whether he would notice or not, maybe he had gotten so accustomed to being sick every time he entered a transportation device, that it was more mental than physical.

Gajeel grinned back at me. "I'll win us some points, Bunny-Girl, just you wait and see." He said with a last laugh and then jumped down.

"If that Iron Butt goes, then I'll go too!" A certain voice belonging to a certain Fire Dragon Slayer announced from the stand where he stood and now jumped down from. I groaned internally, idiots everywhere. Shouldn't they realize just from the name that it was about transportation one way or another?

"If Natsu-san is going, then I'm too!" Another Dragon Slayer announced at the stand next to ours. I almost didn't dare look, but there stood Sting, ready to jump down to go to the event too.

Rufus reached out to stop him. "Wait, Sti-" He called after the Light Dragon Slayer just as he jumped down on the ground. "Ng…" He trailed off, dropping his hand again. As if he could feel I was looking at him, he looked at me, our eyes meeting. He had probably also heard that Gajeel had entered from our team.

I shrugged to him, lifting my hand a little in the air for emphasis. He smiled and shrugged too. There was simply nothing we could do about those Dragon Slayers, they just wouldn't listen to us.

Well, while we did our little silent communication-thing, the other members had been chosen. From Blue Pegasus, Ichiya had been chosen, from Lamia Scale it was Yuuka, From Mermaid Heel Risley, from Raven Tail Kurohebi and from Quatro Cerberus it was Bacchus, who had suddenly come barging in in the middle of a party Fairy Tail held at a bar. He drank Cana under the table and stole her bikini-top. Apparently he was an acquaintance of Erza's.

Actually, the participants hadn't just been chosen, they were already about to start the games. How had I missed the gong?

Chapati began explaining the event. "This competition consists of reaching the goal without falling off from the interconnected chariots." Chapati explained, while the current guest, Jason from Sorcerer Weekly, told everyone that he thought this was cool. "The chariots underfoot are constantly in motion, so even a moment of carelessness will prove to be your undoing." I sighed internally again. As I thought, it _was_ about transportation after all. "They pass through the major sightseeing locales of Crocus." Chapati explained. Wasn't that just unnecessary bonus information? "Which team will be the first to arrive at the goal, here at the Grand Magic Games stadium?" He asked us.

I wondered if Gajeel would be okay on that thing, and Sting too of course. Actually, last I saw him, he didn't even have motion sickness when he rode that train. But was that something that came as you grew older?

Chapati continued where he left off. "We'll be transmitting images to everyone here in the arena through Lacrima screens." He reassured us and just as he finished, Lacrima screens indeed did pop up in front of us. They each showed the various members at some place far away. How had they even gotten there? Transportation?

Jason, being the weirdo he was, began screaming into the mic. "COOOOL!" He yelled so loudly it rang in my ears.

The participants began climbing up on the transportation devices, the three Dragon Slayers already looked like they would be sick, just by looking at the wagons. And they weren't even moving yet.

I sweat dropped. As I thought, it was all in their minds. If he'd known I had actually cured him, he wouldn't have to be dealing with this.. Maybe, if only he _believed_ he had gotten something against it, then he wouldn't feel anything, whether he actually got anything or not. The mind was a dangerously powerful thing. But how would I go about doing that in the first place? It was too late now at any rate.

The gong sounded and the race had begun. Right from the start, the people from other guilds were already far in front of both Fairy Tail teams and Sting. They all trailed behind pathetically, moaning and groaning, but still, although slowly, making their way forward.

They were all three dragging themselves along the chariots slowly and shakily. They were all three sweating bullets and had green faces, which were swelling as well, looking like they were about to puke. Of course, Chapati decided that he should tell everyone about this.

Chapati then told us who were where. Apparently, this event only took less than half the time the others did, it was short. "Well then, let's take a look at the group in the lead.." He trailed off dramatically. "It's a dead heat here!" He said loudly. "In the lead is Raven Tail's Kurohebi. And behind him Blue Pegasus' Ichiya, Lamia Scale's Yuuka and Mermaid Heel's Risley! Somewhat further behind is Quatro Cerberus' reserve member, Bacchus." He said. "Far behind all the others are Gajeel and Natsu from the Fairy Tail teams! And even Sabertooth's Sting is in the same condition." He told everyone and everything.

I sighed. Those idiots.. A screen with Gajeel popped up. "Why… Why did I- urgh!" He groaned. Similar sounds came from the two other Dragon Slayers around him.

The screen changed to Ichiya, Risley and Yuuka, just as Yuuka shot forward quickly. "Wave Boost!" He said as he shot forward by sending a hard wave of light blue magic back the two others. "You won't be able to use magic within this offensive wave!" He told Ichiya and Risley.

Risley grinned at Yuuka's back. "Don't look down on the chubby…!" She warned him. "It's no use!" She added as she suddenly began running at the side of the chariot, evading Yuuka's wave of magic.

"There it is!" Chapati suddenly yelled, catching me by surprise. "Risley's gravity transformation!" He said. Gravity magic, eh? "She's dodged the wave and is running on the edge of the chariots!" Chapati said excitedly.

The screen changed to Ichiya. "A wave that nullifies magic…" He muttered and then laughed a little. "If that's the case.." He trailed off, finding something in his pockets. "Fleet-foot perfume!" He announced, sticking two test tubes up in his nostrils. It looked beyond disgusting. "Zero distance inhalation!" He added. Eww..

And obviously I wasn't the only one thinking that, the whole crowd agreed with me. Even as the little imp suddenly charged forward, past Yuuka in an instant.

Then, the screen changed again and was now focusing on Bacchus. He was obviously still beat after the round he took with Cana the other day. I wondered why he was even in this event. "Hooooh…? They're trying their best, huh?" He asked no one in particular. "My soul is shaking. Damnit…" He mumbled. "I have to try a bit harder too, huh?..." He continued mumbling, lifting his one foot high into the air. "ALRIIIIGHT!" He yelled and stamped down on the wagon he was on.

Without a second's resistance, the chariot he was on broke on the middle, both ends sticking into the air. The other three chariots in front of his flew up in the air, one of them basically lying vertically in the air. Unfortunately - or not, depending on who you are - that was the chariot Yuuka, Risley and Ichiya were on. All three of them were sent flying towards the next, unsteady Chariot.

I stared in amazement at the effort of this Quatro Cerberus mage. That kind of power was amazing. What kind of magic did this guy have? That was impressive, for him to do all that with a single stomp. No wait… He hadn't even used magic at all.

"This… This is..!" He trailed off. "With Bacchus' power, the chariots…" He trailed off again. "DESTROYED!" He finally yelled, not able to make a complete sentence.

Suddenly, Bacchus charged forward, quickly passing the three fallen mages. "Ohhh! Going on ahead~!" He said excitedly as he continued running at the now messed up chariots. "If you fall you lose!" He reminded the other three.

All three of them were still messing around on the chariots, but still not touching the ground, having saved themselves for a loss by default. They were all surprised with the sudden boost in speed from Bacchus, and somehow Risley had lost all the extra weight she was carrying around and was now skinny and very beautiful, actually.

But, of course Bacchus didn't pay that much attention and kept running forward at this same speed and shooting past a confused Kurohebi, who had had the goal in sight, all the while the Quatro Cerberus mage laughed loudly.

It only took a second longer before Bacchus reached the goal, cutting the white ribbon there had been put up from one side to the other, falling on his knees with his hands in the air. "SHAKING, YEAH!" He yelled loudly and triumphantly.

Chapati began his commenting just as he actually passed the goal. "Straight to the goal! Quatro Cerberus receives 10 points!" He yelled into the mic. Bacchus' team mates began yelling something about 'wild' or something, I wasn't exactly sure I heard right from the roar of the crowd. "Next to arrive is Raven Tail's Kurohebi. Third is Risley, fourth is Yuuka and fifth is Ichiya!" He said as the last four rapidly made their way over the finish-line. "The remaining three are pathetically battling it out for last place…" Chapati said.

The three were still beyond close to puking, the bile was practically already building up in their cheeks, as if they were keeping it there, fighting to keep the puke from bursting out of their mouths. Maybe they were playing hamsters or something?

Gajeel held his hand over his mouth, as if that could assist in keeping it in. "It.. It can't be…" He mumbled. "I'm fine with transportation.. _Was_ fine.. Urgh.." He mumbled to himself.

Sting looked at Gajeel with a surprisingly confident expression for someone about to throw up. "Well then.. Ergh.. You finally got accustomed to it, huh?" He commented. "To being a real Dragon Slayer. Argh.. Congratulations…" He mumbled, fighting hard to keep his puke in.

Gajeel glared at him. "Newbie." He simply said, hatefully. Rivalry of Dragon Slayers, I guess "Nargh.." He moaned.

The Light and Iron Dragon Slayers pressed themselves into each other, although with barrier called Natsu between them. Was that just something men did when they didn't particularly like each other and battled it out? I would never get those half-Dragons.

"You bastard!" Gajeel yelled after they'd thrown a few insults at each other, and pushed even harder into Natsu. "Gah!" He finally blurted out. "I have no strength…" He muttered. Apparently he hadn't realized that the whole stadium could hear what he had muttered, but he quickly found out as they all burst into laughter.

"This is so 'basic', huh Rogue?" I heard Rufus ask the Shadow Dragon Slayer at the balcony next to ours.

Rogue nodded. "Dragon Slayers are bad with transportation… It seems.." He said with a low voice, looking down at his struggling team mate and fellow Dragon Slayer.

Juvia, who stood next to me, glanced at Laxus. "Could it be.. Laxus-sama too…?" She asked hesitantly, as if she was attempting to disarm a ticking bomb.

Laxus sent her a light glare with his arms crossed. "Don't you dare say a word to anyone else." He warned her. Instead, he looked up at my mate. "What about you then, Acnologia?" He asked the Chaos Dragon.

Acnologia looked at Laxus back over his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, it's a thing for all kinds of Dragon Slayers." He said. Laxus nodded, I wondered if he thought that what Acnologia meant was him, as a Dragon, or generation 0 of Dragon Slayers.

I was broken away from the conversation going on around me, when Gajeel suddenly broke the silence of the screen. "Ohhhhhhh!" He said, as if gathering up strength or something. "I'm.. Going forward!" He said as he fought his way forward even through his mental motion sickness.

Natsu looked up at the back of the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Don't leave me behind… Iron Bastard!" He yelled after the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Sting looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "They look pathetic.. Even though they can't summon any strength, they're still taking it seriously." He muttered and watched the two fight to get forward. "Fine." He called out to them after a second's silence. They both looked back at him. "I'll give it to you, this victory. Just one or two measly points don't change anything. We'll continue to win after this, don't think we'll give up our throne." He reassured them.

Gajeel glared back at him. "Don't go crying about that one or two measly points later, you Flashlight." He warned the other Dragon Slayer. And then quickly continued crawling his way over the chariots.

Natsu looked back at him too, also with a flare on his face and sweat pouring down. "We'll fight and we'll win! For our comrades!" He told Sting as he again faced forward and continued making his "They've been waiting for us for seven years." He told Sting.

From then, Gajeel took off, facing forward determinedly. "No matter how tough it was or how sad, even though they made some damn fools of themselves, they endured it and protected our guild." He explained. I raised an eyebrow. I had never thought I'd hear Gajeel say things like that. But it seemed he still kept at least _some_ of his character.

Natsu looked down at the floor of the chariot, steadying himself on his hands and knees. "For our comrades, we'll show you-" He looked up, but not at Sting. "THE PROOF THAT FAIRY TAIL HAD KEPT GOING!" He yelled at nothing. "AND THAT'S WHY WE'LL KEEP MOVING FORWARD!" He continued.

Gajeel nodded while sweat dropping. "What that idiot said." He said and got to his feet, keeping his steady pace forward.

I looked towards the stand where the rest of Fairy Tail stood. What I saw was the 'old' members those who hadn't gone to Tenrou, bawling openly. That was when I realized that no matter what you did, when you were crying, you just looked horrible. They had streams of tears running down from both eyes and most of them snot out of their noses as well.

At the same time, those who had gone to Tenrou were also smiling and nodding in agreement with Natsu's words.

Suddenly it looked like Gajeel had experienced something amazing and he had realized something. He grinned widely and out of the blue, all the sweat disappeared from his forehead and his head turned back to its original color. He began walking forward without trouble, not showing any signs of his motion sickness. So he finally realized it, did he?

He looked back at Natsu with an excited expression. "I'm gonna go forward Fire Idiot. Don't take too long." He said as he made his way forward, walking casually forward, mocking the two remaining Dragon Slayers. He couldn't get any better placement than third last anyway, so he was in no hurry. He wasn't at all affected by his earlier motion sickness and moved as if he was on steady ground.

I almost laughed at the scene. Both Natsu and Sting were looking at him as if he was a freak. Well, I guess he would've been if there hadn't been the logical explanation behind it, that I had used Sky magic on him to help him out. It wasn't only those two, though. The rest of the Dragon Slayers present were also looking at him with various confused expressions.

Acnologia looked from the screen and down at me. I just smiled at the screen. "It really is funny how many life-threatening situations Fairy Tail gets into." I said, probably confirming Acnologia's unasked question.

He chuckled next to me and looked forward at the screens again with a smile. But of course, someone became curious about what I said. "What're you talking about, Blondie?" Laxus asked me, behind me.

I looked at him over my shoulder with a smile. "Oh never mind, Laxus. It's something between Acnologia and I." I told him and giggled. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. Why did they do that all the time?

Our conversation was cut off as Chapati blew our ears out. "GOOOAL!" He yelled. I quickly looked up at the screen again, seeing that Gajeel had passed the finishing line with a big grin. "Fairy Tail B, Gajeel, 6th place! 2 points!" Chapati yelled.

Gajeel laughed his usual laugh, which could be heard through the screen, and looked up at me from where he stood down in the stadium, grinning even wider. He began walking towards us, but since he couldn't jump like the rest of us, he had to take the long walk, just like Juvia had.

After only a little moment, Natsu also appeared and made his way over the finishing line. Apparently, since Gajeel had suddenly recovered, Natsu fought even harder to get over the finishing line faster. That Fire Slayer was crazy, honestly.

"Natsu from Fairy Tail A comes in 7th and gets one point!" Chapati announced. "Sabertooth's Sting gives up! Zero points!" He added.

"COOOOOOOOOOLLL!" Jason added, just to make his presence known.

I quickly tuned in on the crowd, wondering what they could be thinking now, also with yesterday. They were completely speechless with Acnologia's win yesterday and hadn't said a word. Now, they were talking wildly.

"That guy's determination, look at it…" Someone said. "Yeah, it's amazing." Someone else answered. "And what about that guy from yesterday? He beat Jura!" Someone finally commented. It was about time too, a win like that couldn't just go off unnoticed. "Yeah, It was awesome!" Someone told the other guy. "Just what are they..?" Someone asked. That was actually a surprisingly good question. Hooligans, I'd say. But we're a bunch of mages, Dragon Slayers and Dragons even. You could call us monsters. "Fairy Tail is kinda cool after all, I'm going to cheer for them! Fairy Tail!" Someone announced loudly. "I was a little moved.." Someone admitted.

That was about when the whole crowd began clapping at Fairy Tail and cheering. I could hear Master's bawling over the crowd's noise. I smiled. Finally, we got some recognition. Now we just kept this course and there was no way we wouldn't win.

Now, it was about time to announce the standings. Which Chapati of course thought to be his job. "Now, things have changed around! Sabertooth has moved down one step with this loss and Raven Tail takes the lead with 26 points in total!" He said excitedly. "Sabertooth now has 20 points, coming in on a second! Then comes Fairy Tail B with their magnificent win yesterday, with 18 points! After that, following close up is Blue Pegasus with 17 points! On a fifth place with their amazing win in Chariot comes Quatro Cerberus with their 12 points! Following up on a sixth is Mermaid Heel! Then comes Lamia Scale on a seventh, with 5 points! It seems they're having some bad luck recently! At eighth place is Fairy Tail A with 1 point!" He finally announced.

So, we had a pretty good chance of winning, us from Team B anyway. Only 8 points and we'd have caught up to Raven Tail. We could do that, there was no doubt about it.

After Team A had come down to pick up the unmoving Natsu and gotten him away from the field and up to their stand, Wendy healed him. She'd quickly recovered after the healing Alae had given her. On the other hand, it seemed Lisanna was still absent. Porlyusica had probably ordered her to stay in bed for just one more day.

Then Gajeel appeared behind us, his scent of Iron revealing his approach. He was still grinning quite widely. Juvia turned around to Gajeel with a smile. "Juvia thinks Gajeel-sama did good!" She told him with a smile.

Gajeel laughed. "Yeah, I don't give a crap what happened down there, but I won!" He said triumphantly as if he'd just made sure we won the GMG.

I sweat dropped. "Yeah, two points…" I muttered to myself and looked down at the arena again, waiting to see who would be the first to battle against one another. And looking forward to when I was going to get some action time.

Of course, just then Chapati continued speaking. "Well then, it time for everyone's long awaited battles! What sort of passionate battles will be shown today?" He asked excitedly. "The first battle will be between the current point leader and newly registered guild, Raven Tail Kurohebi VS Lamia Scale's Tobi Horhorta!" He announced.

They both quickly made their way to the arena, Tobi with a yell of some kind. He really was a weird guy. Not that I had anything to say with my group of friends. They stood, looking into each other's eyes.

Chapati commentated again. "It's a staredown between serpent and hound! Who will claim victory in the end?" He asked rhetorically, but nonetheless getting the crowd excited.

While Yajima and Jason also made some comment, Gajeel made his way next to me. He looked down at me. "Bunny-Girl, you did something earlier, right?" He asked me.

I smiled. I wondered if he would have noticed, I did use _Dragon_ magic on him after all, I wondered if he as a _Dragon_ Slayer would feel it more easily then 'normal', human mages. "Hmm… I just gave you some peace of mind." I hinted.

He shook his head with a grin and laughed. "Gihi. I figured you did." He commented and looked down at the soon-to-be-battling people in the arena. "But I would have won even if you hadn't." He reassured me.

Hadn't he realized what had happened down there? I looked up at him with an incredulous expression. "Oh, really now? Then why did you first realize it right in the end and only won over Natsu with a ten seconds difference?" I asked him. If he had found out he had been 'lifted' of his motion sickness earlier, he might even have beat Bacchus, but what did he do? He crawled around on the chariots like a worm and picked a fight with Natsu and Sting.

Gajeel sweat dropped and laughed a little. "Well… You know. I just didn't want us to win easily, I wanted there to be a challenge." He attempted to save himself.

I began laughing at him. "Oh, never mind. We'll win either way. Besides I think that motion sickness of yours is more psychological than physical." I told him.

I could see he looked at me with a confused expression from the edge of my peripheral. Then he looked down at the arena again. "Right…" He trailed off. Which made me smile wider.

Finally, Chapati announced the beginning of the match. "Let's begin the first battle of day 2!" He said as the gong sounded. Why had they even put a gong here? Of all things..

Tobi quickly crossed his arms down there and the nails he had on his fingers grew out, kind of like how Acnologia and mine did when we were in Dragon Strength mode. "OON!" He yelled loudly. He quickly charged at Kurohebi quickly, claws bared. "SUPER PARALYZING CLAWS - MEGA MEGA JELLFISH!" He yelled as he swiped his claws at Kurohebi again and again.

But the Raven didn't seem fazed by Tobi's volume of voice or his merciless swiped. He easily evaded all of the dog-guy's attacks with a rather creepy grin on his face and without what seemed to be much effort. He was of little stature, so he was quick and agile.

But, suddenly he fell backwards as Tobi let off an especially quick slash. He was just about to fall, when he suddenly disappeared into thin air. Of course, Tobi also seemed really confused. "He disappeared!" He yelled. That guy never stopped yelling.

Jura leaned in over the railing in the balcony not too far from outs. "You idiot!" He yelled. That made my widened eyes widen even more. I never thought I would hear Jura yelling that. But I guess that even he would call people names in dire situations. "It's mimicry magic!" He yelled.

Mimicry magic? So… What? He could copy other people's magic? That was actually an awesome magic. Just think about it, a little guy like him, with not as much physical strength as, say Laxus, will be able to use the Dragon Slayer magic he possesses. Whether it will be as strong as the original or not was the question though.

I looked down, trying to see if I could spot the guy. My eyes landed on Tobi's shadow, which was darker than what was normal. I furrowed my eyebrows. Maybe Rogue also had a Shadow form, just like a Chaos Dragon had. He would probably have seen that more than once.

The darker shadow shot up behind Tobi, revealing the Raven. In a matter of seconds, one of Kurohebi's hands was covered in Shadows, which quickly transformed to longer Shadow claws. I widened my eyes. Wait… That couldn't be right.

Kurohebi slashed Tobi across the chest and sent the other mage flying with a single sentence. "Atarangi Tarakona's Maikuku." (Shadow Dragon's Claws) He stated calmly as the opponent flew away with a roar.

I widened my eyes and felt myself beginning to tremble. No… He couldn't have.. How did he know that? He shouldn't be able to do that. It was impossible. "Lucy." I heard a familiar voice say beside me.

I looked up at Acnologia with widened eyes. He had just as wide and confused eyes as me. I nodded. "Yes, I heard." I told him. I looked back at Kurohebi. How had that guy learned Dragon magic? None of us Dragons had even used that spell here in Earthland, it was only in the Dragon Realm.

What was going on…?! I felt myself tremble even more, uncontrollably and I have no idea why. I felt someone put a warm hand over mine, which was clutching the railing painfully much. I instantly calmed down, knowing just as quickly that it was Acnologia's. No matter what this was, we'd figure it out.

I could hear my whole guild yelling for Tobi to cut Kurohebi to pieces. Mavis sat there as the only one, not saying anything. She had quickly figured out I was a Dragon from my last name, she probably knew the Dragon language and had recognized it, which caused this reaction from her.

My eyes travelled to somewhere else in the stadium's audience. The Head Dragons, of course. They were all looking towards our balcony, not caring who would suspect something or not. I made eye contact with Dravola and nodded. Yes, there was something we would have to investigate here.

I looked back at the screen to see Tobi getting on his feet again, facing Kurohebi. "Ooon… You're strong." He complimented the Raven mage.

He certainly was if he could mimic Dragon magic, and one of the originals too. Kurohebi looked him up from down before replying. "You're tough too." He said with no emotion whatsoever in his voice. I realized this was the first time he spoke. The silent type, eh?

Tobi continued conversing with the opponent. "Kurohebi's a cool name." He told the other mage. What was he doing and why? What was he aiming to do here?

Kurohebi replied quicker this time, cutting off the looking. "It's not my real name." He stated, still blankly.

That made Tobi rage for some reason. "IT'S NOT YOUR REAL NAME?!" He roared, enraged for no reason at all.

It also seemed to bother Kurohebi - I think - that he suddenly changed so quickly. "You're getting mad?" He asked.

Tobi jumped forward again, looking like a monster with a too big mouth with long, sharp teeth. "YOU! IF I WIN YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME YOUR REAL NAME!" He yelled at the Raven Tail mage.

Kurohebi easily evaded the attack, simply leaning backwards. "That's no big deal.." He commented. "And if I win?" He asked the other mage.

Tobi's eyes turned completely white, as he was still raging. Right about now he was getting annoying with his yelling. Where was Yuuka when you needed him? "I'LL TELL YOU MY SUPER SECRET!" He roared at the unfazed mage.

This seemed to have some kind of impact on Kurohebi as he actually changed his expression. Although I had no way of describing it. "That sounds interesting…" He admitted.

Chapati saw his chance to say something. "It seems an odd wager has been struck!" He announced. It was indeed a weird wager. But you'd win a secret about the other if you win, it was on equal terms, I guess.

Yajima, a spoilsport as always, quickly killed the mood. "I'm not interested in either of them though…" He commented. He was nice and all.. But right now he was basically saying he didn't want to know about either of those two mages. That was a little harsh, if you asked me.

While Jason voiced yet another 'cool' thought, I focused back on the screen just in time to see Kurohebi widen his eyes, so his otherwise snake-like pupils widened to big circles. He stared right into Tobi's intimidatingly, scaring the Lamia Scale mage. Then he quickly flashed forward. I believed I heard a cackle of Lightning and a single word. Uira. Lightning in Dragon language. He did it again..

At any rate, the whole thing lasted for a second, and then Kurohebi was standing some space away from Tobi, who was lying flat on the ground with what looked like burn-marks from a hit of lightning around his stomach region, where he also had light scar from where he had been hit by the Shadow magic.

Chapati quickly reacted. "DOWN! Tobi is no longer standing!" He announced loudly, probably just as shocked as the rest of us that it had been done so quickly. "The match is over! The victor is Raven Tail's Kurohebi!" He announced.

Even though they hadn't cheated this time.. He was so strong. And it didn't even seem like he was giving it his all. He only showed two of the weaker spells, there wasn't much magic behind them. If he used Ngaro Tois (Secret Arts), he could be dangerous. Really dangerous.

"And with that.." Chapati said, once again drawing my attention to him. "Raven Tail now had 36 points, while Lamia Scale keeps their 5 points." He told us. 5 points… Lamia Scale really were unlucky with who they were facing.

Kurohebi looked down at Tobi, who looked like he could burst into tears. "Well?" He asked the fallen mage. "What's your secret?" He asked Tobi.

Tobi looked up at him with a sad expression. "My socks… I've lost one of them." He told the Raven, who looked down at him with a blank face. I believed I could see some exasperation in his eyes, though. Understandably too. Tobi continued explaining. "Even though I've been looking for it the past 3 months. Why can't I find it…?" He asked tearing up. "I couldn't tell anybody." He said pathetically.

I sighed. "You've got to be kidding me.." I said, face-palming. There should seriously be a limit as to how stupid you could be. This was horrible. And the rest of his team seemed to agree with me.

Kurohebi tapped his own chest. Tobi looked confused, then touched his chest, finding his 'missing' sock hanging around his neck, as it probably had these last three months. "IT WAS IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?!" He yelled. This made me scream in agony internally. How could you be so stupid?! He looked up at Kurohebi, tears pouring down his eyes. "You're such a good guy…" He told the other mage gratefully. "I finally found it!" He then yelled to himself again.

Kurohebi made his way towards Tobi, who was sitting on the ground, clutching his sock. He put his hand down to Tobi, I what looked like an invitation to help the other guy up. "Ohh…" Chapati said. "These two, who were battling just now, are going to shake-" He broke his own sentence off as Kurohebi kept his hand going forward as Tobi reached up to shake hands.

He grabbed the necklace holding the sock and pulled it off Tobi's neck, breaking the string as he did it. This silenced the whole crowd, who had thought it to be touching.

Kurohebi held the sock in both of his hands and began pulling it apart right in front of Tobi. "NO WAY!" Chapati yelled. Everyone else remained completely silent, watching the scene unfold. Tobi was already crying like a waterfall, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's too cruel!" He said, as if that wasn't already obvious.

Kurohebi released the remains of the sock and let the pieces fall to the ground. He turned around and began walking towards his team. "The more precious something is, the more I want to destroy it." Kurohebi explained. "That's me." He added.

Meanwhile, Tobi lay curled up on the ground and hammered his hand up and down in utter sorrow and frustration, crying and howling like a dog, who's just been separated from his master.

The whole stadium stayed silent, the only thing breaking it being the laughter from the Raven Tail team, which reverberated throughout the whole arena. Makarov and Mavis were both glaring furiously at the Ravens. But they weren't even the worst, all of the Head Dragons present, Acnologia, Basuril, 464 and I were all glaring at them even harder than those two Guild Masters were. They were aware of us Dragons and they were freely showing that they were. They were plotting something and there was no doubt that it had something to do with us Dragons, but no matter what it was, there was no way I- no _we'd_ let it go.

Chapati, deciding now was about time to change the topic, did so. "Well…" He said as Tobi finally made his way off the arena. "Let's compose ourselves and move on to the second match of the day." He said, trying to cheer the mortified arena up again. That scene was _not_ supposed to occur between legal, light guilds. "Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus against Fairy Tail A's Elfman!" He announced.

I heard Cana yell something about revenge from the Fairy Tail stand, where she stood. Oh yeah, that was right. Bacchus had taken her bra when he won over her in the dinking contest they'd had. Leaving her without anything else on. Although it was partly her fault for not wearing more than that, it was still quite the harassment.

Elfman… Vs Bacchus? An 'ordinary' mage VS an S-Class? And with the changed and much stronger magic there was now, compared to how it once was… There wasn't much chance for Elfman to win this. No matter how hard he had trained these last three months, I doubted he would be able to win this.

The crowd also agreed with me. "There's no contest here!" Someone yelled. "Bacchus' overwhelming victory is a given!" Someone else agreed. I halfway agreed with them, but I also knew there was no way Elfman would give up without a fight. I actually found myself lightly surprised, when I heard some of the people out there cheering for Elfman, although hesitantly.

When Elfman had made his way down on the arena, Bacchus was already lying on the ground with his blue shoulder and arm armor and the brown, loose pants. He had one elbow on the ground supporting his head as he lay on the side, facing Elfman.

He grinned a little at the big man. "Hey.." He said to catch attention. "Why don't we make a bet like those two guys just now?" He suggested. What? Was that a theme today? But nonetheless, Elfman seemed interested in this suggestion and urged the S-Class mage to continue with a single 'hm?'. Bacchus' expression changed from a grin to a sly smirk. "Your nee-chan and little sister are some real beauties.." He commented. Then, he smirked even wider. "If I win, lend them to me for a night." He said. "Both of them at once." He added. "And if you win.. Let's see…" He muttered, trying to figure out what Elfman could win in return.

Elfman glared at Bacchus. It was clear that he did not agree with this S-Class mage's proposition. And honestly, I would have beaten that guy up if I was allowed to. Girls weren't just wares you could throw around like that. But I knew Elfman thought that way as well and wouldn't let this go.

He caught Bacchus' attention again with his trademark word. "Ah?" Bacchus asked, for a deeper explanation from the Take Over mage.

Elfman clenched his fist so hard I could hear it from where I stood. "As a man, there are things I can't forgive, you hunting dog." He told the other mage. He looked down at him with a ferocious glare. "I'll tear you apart." He reassured the other mage. His voice right at that moment really sounded like a Dragon's. Powerful and deep, with a slight echo, it warned of a wild beast lying ready to attack.

Bacchus smirked and got to his feet. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement." He said. "My soul is shaking." He added. Oh, I was just about to get worried there, he might be the outcast of Quatro Cerberus.

I shivered. I could feel Elfman's killer-intent all the way over here. Right now, the demons he had taken over, over the years. All those demons he kept within, they seemed like they would burst out and kill this S-Class mage if he made the lightest twitch.

Acnologia noticed this shiver, as he was still holding my hand. He looked down at me with a worried expression. "Are you cold, Lucy?" He asked me.

I looked up at him without changing my expression for a moment. Then slowly shook my head. "No, that's not …" I trailed off when I realized he wasn't listening.

He had already released my hand and was about to leave the balcony. "I forgot my jacket back at the room, I'll go get it now." He told me and disappeared.

I looked after him with furrowed eyebrows. What the heck? If I had been freezing in the first place, the obvious solution - and much better, might I add - would be for him to hold me in his arms and warm me up with his body heat. It would have been preferred way above his jacket, although that was also nice.

I felt something somewhat heavy land on my head and then falling around me softly. I quickly realized it was Laxus' fur-lined coat, which he had worn all the time, no matter when I saw him. It wouldn't surprise me if he even slept with that instead of a cover.

I looked quizzically up at him and grabbed the fur lightly. It didn't really feel like fur though, not like how I imagined it. It was silky soft and I could easily let my fingers glide through it without meeting any resistance - also known as knots - at any time. "Laxus.. Thank you for the gesture, but I'm not really freezing." I explained to him and glanced at the screen, where Elfman was still glaring at Bacchus.

Laxus nodded and looked at the screen as well. "I know, it's that aura the guy is letting off right now. It's as if all those demons he's keeping trapped in him are raging alongside him right now." He agreed. I nodded as well and made to pull of the coat. But just then, a big hand landed on my head, preventing me from pulling it off. Laxus grinned at me. "But even so, this will piss Acnologia off." He said.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Rather than piss him off, this should make him grateful, right? Laxus was just trying to keep me warm, after all. What was there to be pissed about? Oh wait..

An arm landed around my shoulders just as Laxus released my head. But this arm was more tanned than Laxus'. "Gihi." Gajeel laughed, being the owner of the arm. "Don't you realize already, Bunny-Girl?" Gajeel asked me. Yes, I had actually already figured it out. "This'll leave Laxus' scent all over you~" He said gleefully. "It'll piss that Dragon off more than you can imagine." He said.

Juvia stepped forward. "Juvia doesn't think this is a good idea." She commented. "Acnologia-sama will be…" She trailed off as no one was listening to her.

I looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow. "If you know that, then why are you doing this?" I asked them. I looked at Gajeel. "Gajeel, move your arm away before your scent also get a grip." I told him. "Trust me, you haven't even seen the worst of his possessiveness." I told them, remembering the stories I'd been told of when I was in Crocus at my birthday, years ago, when I was attacked. Metallicana and Alodiculis both had trouble keeping him from tearing those three apart. They only barely survived.

Gajeel laughed again. "No way, I can't let Laxus have all the fun, now can I?" He asked me. "Besides, I have barely even touched my best friend in three months, I think he'll understand." He said with a mocking pout.

I looked at him incredulously for a while and shook my head. "Yeah, I really doubt that." I said and gave up getting his arm off me. I had warned him, so he couldn't blame me when Acnologia would return and rage. But, I did pull back the coat from my head, I hated having something over my head, it always felt like it was messing my hair up and I hated that.

I looked back at the screen, but now with extra deadweight hanging over my shoulders. Apparently I had missed the gong and the beginning of the match. Elfman was kneeling on the ground, a little roughed up, while Bacchus on the other hand seemed perfectly fine.

"This is quite the one-sided battle!" Chapati commented, explaining what was happening down there. "Elfman! He can't lay a hand on Bacchus!" He said loudly.

This was bad… Elfman was struggling against this S-Class mage, as I had expected he would, and there was a high probability Mira and Lisanna would have to stay with this perv over the night. Elfman was breathing hard, trying to get enough air into his lungs. Come on Elfman! I believe in you!

Bacchus smirked mockingly down at Elfman. "A night of dreams with those beautiful sisters, how wonderful." Bacchus taunted the Take Over mage. He was so extremely disgusting, it wasn't even funny. Even if Elfman lost, he would have to go through me to get those two. Who knows what he would do to them?

Elfman looked up at Bacchus, instead of the ground, with a glare rivalling Erza's. And that said something. He pushed off the ground and charged forward faster than I had thought he could with that size. "Nuoooh!" He said. Magic surrounded him in an instant. "BEAST SOUL: WERETIGER!" He yelled and transformed into some kind of tiger-hybrid. He used the longer claws he'd gotten and swiped down on the opposing mage.

I couldn't help wondering why he called it a Were_tiger_ transformation, because he wasn't striped, it looked more like those spots leopards had. Besides that, it seemed he had retained his human size and standing on two feet, other than that, he didn't have any other human features. He had a long mane, that looked a little like Metallicana's and Gajeel's hair except it was white rather than black, and of course he also had those black leopard-spots all over his otherwise golden-brown body. Instead of hands and feet, he had paws and claws. He also had a long tiger-like tail. He also wore what looked like black pants with white bands around his legs.

Then there was his face. His nose was flatter and broader and his mouth was bigger and filled with sharp, tiger-like teeth. He had long, pointy ears and his eyes also seemed more animalistic.

"That's a speed-type Take Over." A soft voice spoke behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see the white haired barmaid standing there with a serious expression.

I looked at her confused. Why was she here? "Why're you here, sister of a beast?" Gajeel asked for me, also looking back at Mira, still not having released my shoulders.

She smiled at him menacingly. "Oh, but Gajeel, I'm much worse than him." She reassured him, making him blanch and turn back to the match. Then she returned to her usual nice smile, without the demonic aura behind it. "But to answer your question, Acnologia sent me. Apparently he had something to do." Mira told us, looking at me for an explanation.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked towards the place where I knew the Dragons were sitting. But they were all gone there was a big, empty spot right there in the middle of the crowd. I sighed and nodded. So he had gone to speak with the Head Dragons about this matter of Raven Tail.

There was nothing I could do but play along with it. "I think there were some of his old friends here to see the match too. He probably just met up with them." I explained. Well, I wasn't too far from the truth, was I?

Our balcony fell silent once again as we looked at the screens following the battle again. We looked in time to see Bacchus kneel down to avoid a blow from Elfman. In succession with the kneeling down, he reached up to Elfman's head as if he wanted to deal him a blow, but to me it really looked like an obvious fake.

But Elfman didn't take any chances and attempted to kick the hand away, but Bacchus had already anticipated that and instantly moved his hand away, aiming at Elfman's leg instead. He pushed it up with a flat palm and thereby tripped Elfman, so the big guy landed on the ground in a rather painful way.

The Strauss sibling's attacks weren't landing at all. Was it because he moved so weirdly? It almost seemed random. I remembered Erza's explanation the other day, when he won over Cana in that drinking contest.

She had said his magic was a type that focused magic in the palm. Apparently it was a relatively orthodox magic. The secret to his strength was a mastery of martial arts, which allowed him to use his magic to its fullest potential. If I remembered correctly, she called it the 'Chop Hanging Fist'. She had said it was a martial art that used special stances to make particularly effective use of the palm strikes Bacchus used.

Her statement there was supported effectively when Bacchus went down into a stance where he bent one leg and the other was stretched out, while he had his arms pointing out behind him.

I remembered what else she had said about this guy's magic. Apparently he had made that technique even scarier by adding his own touch to it. He created a 'Drunken-Chop Hanging Fist'. In other words, he added alcohol to the mix and then his moves became impossible to predict. On top of that, it was supposed to enhance the destructive power.

But as it was right now, he was wiping the floor with Elfman, and he hadn't even had a drop of alcohol yet. Which meant there was still a long way to go before he would be giving it his all and even further away from Elfman's victory. The guy wasn't even trying as it was now.

Just then, when I finished my mental lesson on Bacchus Groh, he spun his arms around and somehow managed to his Elfman on the shoulder, with a flat palm, as it somehow was within his range. He rapidly followed that up with another palm under the chin, sending the big guy flying. He jumped high into the air as well, following Elfman, and then he hit the guy's back, pushing him down at the ground.

It almost looked like he was dancing around rather than fighting, it was kind of elegant in a way, but at the same time really dangerous and powerful, both shown here and in the game Chariot, just before.

Bacchus landed on the ground easily a little away from where Elfman had crashed. "You're a 'man', aren't you?" He asked the take Over mage. "Keep your promises." He taunted him.

Elfman lay on the ground as curled up as his big size allowed him to. He didn't react to the S-Class' taunting word, but remained completely still.

"Is Elfman unable to get up?" Chapati asked, breaking the silence. "Incidentally, since the Grand Magic Games' official mascot and referee Mato-kun is on his day off, I will be serving as referee as well." He explained. That would have been nice to have been told of some earlier.

Anyway, just as it seemed as though I would have to show my skill off, Elfman slowly got to his feet. "It hasn't been decided yet, hunting dog." He told Bacchus, who directed his attention to Elfman. "The wager… In the event that I win." He elaborated.

Bacchus raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm? It's absolutely hopeless already…" He trailed off and sighed. "Fine, say whatever you want." He finally relented.

Elfman got up and stood straight, grinning widely at Bacchus. "If I win.. The name of your guild…" He held a dramatic pause. "Will be Quatro Puppy for the rest of the games." He said. Oh god… If that actually happened. That guild of what seemed to be pure males would lose every and any pride they had.

Bacchus leaned down and opened some kind of gourd. "Ok, ok! It's decided then!" He picked it up and held it to his mouth. "Well then.. Let's put an end to things then." He said and began drinking the content of the gourd.

I widened my eyes. "That's alcohol…" I muttered to myself. This was bad, there was even less chance for Elfman to win now. Bacchus would be unpredictable and more powerful now. Elfman..

Bacchus went down into the same stance he had done before, but this time he was drunk, so he wasn't actually keeping it steady, he was rocking back and forth a little and seemed unfocused. Meanwhile, Elfman was charging up his magic. "Beast Soul…" He growled.

If he said anything else, it was drowned out by Bacchus laughing and screaming. "IT'S USELESS!" He yelled and charged at Elfman, hitting the Take Over mage's chest with his flat palm. Actually, he didn't just hit him once, it sounded as if he had hit him seven times in that instant. Bacchus laughed confidently, sure he'd won. Then he got sight of his hands. "What the hell is this?!" He yelled confusedly. "My hands!" He added. His hands were roughed up and bleeding.

"Lizardman." Elfman ended his enchantment. He had changed into something that didn't even remotely resemble a human.

He had grown a lot in size, I betted that if he stood straight, he would be about twice as tall as he was in his original form. Not only his size, his hands and feet had both gotten bigger as well as becoming more animalistic. The only thing that reminded us he was actually still a human was the fact that he, even in this Take Over form, had the decency to wear pants. They were black and barely fitted his now enormous legs.

Other than that, it also seemed like his arms were too long to his body. It almost looked like he could reach the ground if he reached out. They, as well as the rest of his body, was covered in green scales, which jutted out. On top of that, his whole arm and the long and thick tail all had black spikes going down, looking dangerously pointy. In addition to that, he had what at a distance looked like white hair going down his back, but I was sure if you came up close and touched it, it would be spikes as well. Finally, the scales on his stomach, the inner part of his arms, hands and feet as well as underneath the tail were kind of sand-colored instead of green.

I didn't know he had a transformation like that. When did he get it? Was it something he had acquired in the past three months of training? It could only be that…

Elfman looked at Bacchus with a grin, which showcased yet another set of sharp teeth. "If I can't hit you, I'll just have you hit me…" He told Bacchus, while the whole crowd remained completely silent, making his voice ring through the stadium. "BRING IT! COME ON!" He yelled at his enemy and waved at him to attack. "Your hand and my body.." He said with the deep voice he got with the big body. "Whichever breaks first determines the victor!" He told him.

It was quite clever of Elfman, choosing a Take Over that had spiked jutting out everywhere. Against a hand-to-hand combatant, it was the perfect strategy. But his opponent… Bacchus could break even these scales of 'Lizardman'. He would really have to be careful.

Elfman, getting impatient, an illness most of Fairy Tail suffers, charged forward at Bacchus. "WHAT'S WRONG?" He roared at the opponent. "Are you scared?" He mocked him.

Bacchus laughed. "You're an interesting guy!" He admitted to the Take Over mage. "My soul is shaking! Bring it!" He said as he charged forward towards Elfman.

They quickly closed in on each other and clashed into each other head on. Well, to be more specific, when Bacchus deemed that they were close enough, he shot his hand out and hit Elfman over his spiked arm with a flat palm. That had _got_ to hurt.

But Bacchus didn't stop there, while Elfman stood in a defensive stance, covering his face with his arms, Bacchus continued jabbing at Elfman, trying to find a weak spot in his defense.

Chapati once again made his presence known. "This… This is sublime!" He stammered stunned. "Rather than a simple battle, this is a clash of wills!" He said excitedly. "Will it first end for the attacker? Or the attacked?" He asked, spurring everyone and everything on. "This match… Who will be the victor?!"

Elfman… He could do it. We were known in Fairy Tail to be persistent and stubborn. We never gave up, no matter who we faced. Especially not if it was to protect our guild mates. Elfman was especially stubborn about protecting his sisters, because he as a 'man' should be able to protect his sisters against any danger. He had a strong will, he could win this!

Finally, after relentless attacks from Bacchus' part and Elfman's unwavering defense, the two opponents stood right in front of each other, both empty on magic. Elfman had released the Take Over and was standing in his original from less than a meter away from Bacchus, which's hands were hanging loosely at his sides, as if they were too heavy for him to hold up.

Both were still barely standing up on trembling legs and sweating and panting as if they'd just run a marathon. At the same time, they both fell to their knees, Bacchus looking up at the sky and Elfman at the ground.

Bacchus managed to utter some ragged words. "You were called…Elfman.. Huh?" He said breathing hard in between the words. Gradually, his breathing transformed into a loud laughter and just as it hit its maximum, he shot up to his feet with both hands raised. "WAHAHAHA!" He laughed loudly.

Chapati quickly took the chance to do his job. "The one that stands in the end… Is Bacchus!" He yelled into the microphone as the crowd burst into cheers again. I sighed. Elfman… He did great, but in the end apparently Bacchus' perverseness came out stronger. Well, it looked like I would have to get my hands dirty as well.

Bacchus, still trembling over Elfman, who was steadying himself on the ground with his hands, began speaking again. "You know you.." He trailed off. "ARE A MAN!" He yelled as he fell backwards, on his back, knocked out.

"DOWN!" Chapati yelled into the microphone. Elfman looked at the man, who had fallen right in front of him, with confusion written all over his face. "BACCHUS IS DOWN!" Chapati repeated. I smiled widely. Well, well. It seemed I wouldn't have to display my awesome power just yet.

**With Acnologia and the Heads~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

"So.. What? We're not going to do anything about it?!" I asked frustrated. "This is serious!" I half yelled. It will most likely pose a problem for our plan to rescue my father!

Dravola looked at me with her usual calm expression. "Káo (no), we are going to do something about it." She told me. I was just about to ask what we were doing standing around here, when she beat me to it. "But we do not have any information on how they got knowledge of our magic." She reminded me.

Glanasile nodded. "Yes. We can't make a move before we have some information on them." He told me. "Or at least an idea of what's going on." He added.

I looked alternately at the both of them. They had a point, it would be idiotic going headfirst into something we had no idea about. But why Raven Tail? What were they plotting? They were former enemies of Fairy Tail. Well, they probably still held some kind of animosity towards them. That was what Nullpudding's actions the other day said, only going after Gray.

But it was also obvious that they were after us Dragons. I noticed how that guy with the shifting eyes was looking at Lucy and I every time the snake-guy used his magic to copy ours. Also when Lucy was going down to Lisanna and all yesterday, he was smirking when she said she'd get her Spirit to heal her.

Thinking back now, it was as if he knew that Lucy had magic that could heal the girl, but was laughing over the fact that she was forced to use her Spirit to do smaller things like that.

They had their sights on us Dragons, there was simply no doubt about it. It didn't seem like they were trying to win these games. That wasn't why they were here. In reality, they were here because they wanted to do something with the Dragons here. And as soon as you wanted the power of a Dragon… It was because you had a grand plan of some sort.

I sighed and nodded in defeat. "Yeah, I know you're right." I agreed. I looked at Dravola. "But how do you plan on getting this information?" I asked her, more calmly this time though.

She looked at me with her calm, old eyes. "For now, we are going to have to wait and see how they'll act through this game." She told me. "I'm certain that they will attempt to do something at some point during these games." She said.

Skyadrum nodded. "Yeah, it's just too good of a chance to pass up on." She agreed. "Especially for people like that." She added. I almost smiled at how she said 'people like that', it was as if they were a race for themselves.

Simakan grunted, sitting on the ground under a tree with closed eyes. "Who cares? They can do whatever they like, if you ask me." He said. Typical Simakan, not caring about anything at all. "Let's just go back to the games and then you people can watch those guys." He said. He really didn't care about anything.

Metallicana scowled. "Yeah, and you guys just _had_ to decide to leave _just_ as some kind of exciting battle showed up." He complained. "I actually wanted to see which of those two killers would have won." He muttered exasperatedly.

I grinned and nodded. "Sure, old bastard, if you hunger so much after battles you can't fight yourself, we can go." I told him.

He glared at me. "I'm not hungry, Brat." He told me. Then, his glare turned into another one of his wide smirks. "Besides, I'm way too strong for those humans, wouldn't even be a match." He said confidently.

"Pfft." Igneel snickered. "As if, Iron Head, you'd have taken a beating from that idiot with the sock." He told the Iron Dragon with a grin. I guess it had been too long since I'd been around those guys, but it was crazy how much their personalities shone through to their kids.. Poor luck for those two Slayers.

Metallicana whipped around and butted heads with the Fire Dragon. "Like you have anything to say about that, you idiot!" He taunted the other Dragon.

Those two continued bickering, so in the end, we decided to leave them behind and go to the arena ourselves. We made it just in time for the next match. It was between Fairy Tail B and Blue Pegasus, Mira and Jenny Realight, since Eve apparently had been injured badly during the game the other day. They had some bet-theme going on today, so those two had been betting about posing nude in Sorcerer Weekly.

The first, long part of the 'battle' was the two models posing in many different suits. Mostly bikinis, but as girls from other guilds joined in on it, the theme had been changed to wedding instead. From our team only Juvia participated in this dressing up and had somehow become a bride to Lyon, who was then beaten down by Gray, for no apparent reason.

In the end, it was all ruined when Lamia's ancient Guild Master joined in on it in a bikini, most of the audience got turned off. Instead of a fashion show, the two decided to finally decide the winner with a battle. But the question was how much of a battle it actually was, since Mira beat Jenny down in a second's notice with her Satan Soul: Sitri. Her most powerful Take Over to date.

Next up was Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth. The participants here were Kagura and Yukino. They betted that the loser would serve as a 'servant' for the other the rest of the games, so they wouldn't be able to participate in any of the events anymore. As it turned out, even though Yukino had two Gold keys, she was no match to Kagura's Gravity Change magic and her insane sword skills. She didn't even have to unsheathe the sword she was carrying around to beat Yukino, who was pretty roughed up at the end of the match.

So now, we, Fairy Tail B, were actually on a second place, with only Raven Tail standing between us and victory.

**Yep, that would be about it. I decided only to write the two 'important' battles here for two reasons: first because I suck at writing battles, second because the second last had barely any battling in it anyway. **

**But anyways, it is now confirmed that Raven Tail know of Dragon magic and Kurohebi is even able to copy it. So… Wonder what's going to happen~**

**Oh yeah, as you can see I changed the bet between Kagura and Yukino, instead of betting their lives, they betted being a servant for the rest of the games. And as I have mentioned before, Sabertooth aren't evil here, so Yukino won't be punished for not winning and bringing shame to the guild and all that. **

**Instead of Sabertooth, we are more focused on Raven Tail here, which is why Team B and Raven Tail are battling for the top spot too. So… Yeah ^_^ I won't spoil any more.**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Nilnna, StrongGuy159, clumzybeans, AnimeOnCookie, Maiannaise, An Anonymoose, Nicole (Guest), Fairy tail rocks (Guest), Alaina Kuski, Mirror Night, Lala World (Guest), Konan15, Guest, OtakuLover43, Guest, Aira0906, fairyexorcist, DeathKitsune666, SillyKitty88, Shadsisters123, Fairy123xo, clairedamoon, stine009, Darkverger1, Kiddyclapptrap, NerDeath, Moonlight Starlove, ZinaThePanda, Sunny ver 2.0, mjb379, LovelyKpopMess23, God of Madness, Acnologia Prime, Linwellin Neinna Von Rosen, withdrawnmadness000, Iamtruth, Jnake1020, gem1244, psychologicalwarfarelikeaboss, Utau neko, isa. .m, BamBam5935, Raventus Dracoria, kagaminelen478, bloodmoon25, babysweets101, Sophiechu, .5, awbeatty11, wild childkk, Biblio388, fairychime-diamond47, luna cheney and everyone else for everything. Especially all your amazing reviews and the support I've gotten from them!**

**~ Line464d**


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

**Day 3! The chapter you've all waited for, huh? Well, we'll see if Lucy'll battle in this chapter or not… :3**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for your support with this story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Well, I've actually been preoccupied watching Once Upon a Time recently, so I haven't asked Slowpoke…. Basically what I'm trying to say is that he is still the sole owner of Fairy Tail. **

**Day 3~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

My eyes shot open, I looked up at a dark, wooden roof. I groaned and moved a hand to my eyes, rubbing them sleepily. I knew I'd had a nightmare, but I just couldn't remember what it was about. All I knew was that it had had quite the impact on me, I could still feel the fear lingering in me.

I heard a soft moan and felt someone putting their head on my chest, pushing themselves closer to me. I looked down at the silver top of hair and smiled. I moved the hand from my eyes and down to her head to caress it gently.

I heard and felt the slow breathing so close to me, and with every breath of air, the fear I'd felt disappeared as if it had never even been there in the first place. I reached down and kissed her hair. Oh, what would I do without this girl?

I began rubbing her arm, trying to wake her up. I betted it was about time for us to get to the Games, if we wanted to be there before they started without us. "Time to wake up, my angel." I whispered to her.

She moved around just a little more, but her breathing quickened a little, signaling her awakening. She sighed and moved her arm around my stomach. "Hmm…" She said sleepily. "I still don't understand why you chose that nickname…" She mumbled.

I smiled and stroke her hair again. "Because you bring peace to my chaos, you cast light on my shadows, you sweep down and tame my inner demons with your loving and forgiving heart." I told her.

She moved her head and looked up at me with those, big, beautiful, brown eyes of hers. And with furrowed eyebrows. "Your inner demons?" She asked me confusedly. "I there something you forgot to tell me?" She asked me. As she spoke, her expression gradually changed to a hurt one.

I shook my head at her. "No, just the good old urge to kill Summer and any other male who dares to touch you." I said with a grin. Well, actually I wanted to kill the Magic Council and the people keeping my dad locked up too, but you know… It would kinda ruin the mood we had going on.

She smiled widely up at me, then nuzzled into my arms. "Well, I'm glad I can." She said and reached up to give me a quick kiss. She sat up on the bed and started to get off the bed. "But it's about time we get u-" I cut her off by reaching out and grabbing her, pulling her down on the bed again and kissing her. More passionately this time.

I felt her smile into the kiss, before she relaxed half on top of me and kissed me back. But we were interrupted by a cough on the other side of the room. "You know. It's great that you like each other and all." Gajeel commented. Probably from his bed. "But I can smell you're getting hot and bothered all the way over here." He said with disgust lacing his voice.

Lucy pulled back from the kiss, rested her forehead on mine and giggled sweetly. I, on the other hand, couldn't keep a growl down. Why did every Iron Bastard keep coming after me like this? Both the kid _and_ the father.

She gave me a last quick kiss, _then_ got up on her feet and towards our bag, where we kept our clothes. She picked some and went to the bathroom. I sighed and drew on arm up to my forehead. "Asshole." I told him.

A single 'Gihi' could be heard from the Dragon Slayer and I heard him get off his bed as well. "Whatever, let's get these people up already." He said with a grin and went for the door to the outside.

I followed him with my eyes as he made his way to the exit. "What are you going to do, idiot?" I asked him suspiciously. He seemed awfully suspicious, walking towards the door with that kind of grin.

He just laughed again, but instead of reaching out to the handle of the door, he flipped the switch and turned the lights on. "WAKEY WAKEY!" He then proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs. His voice was so loud it rang in my head.

I heard a loud groan from the bed next to mine and after only a second, Lightning shot from that bed and hit Gajeel before anyone could do anything, electrocuting the Iron Dragon Slayer. Not only that, a beam of Water also hit him, the two attacks blended and powered up just before it hit him.

I snickered. He deserved that after blowing my ears up.

**A while later, at the Games~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"The Grand Magic Games have finally entered the middle of the competition, here on the third day." Chapati said, thereby starting the third day of the Games.

Of course, Yajima, who sat right next to him, also wanted to make his presence known. "What kind of fierce dramas will we be able to see today?" He asked. I smiled, knowing he was trying to do as Chapati, but somehow failing with the frail, kind-grandpa like voice, it just didn't work out well.

Chapati took over for Yajima again. "Today's guest us Lahar-san from the Magic Council." Chapati introduced the man in the white coat, sitting next to Yajima.

"It's been a while." Lahar simply said, as if that was some kind of greeting.

Chapati nodded. "Lahar-san, your position is captain of the custody enforcement, right?" He asked the Magic Council member.

"Indeed." Lahar confirmed. "Any impropriety done in the games will be punished." Lahar reassured the commentator. Somehow, I got the feeling that that man would be busy at some point in these games.

"Well." Chapati said, to regain the attention of the crowd. "The third day's competition is Pandemonium." Chapati said, his voice ringing through the stadium, silencing the crowd, and with a promise of action. "There will be one participant from each guild!" He told us. Yep, just like with any of the other events there'd been held so far.

Pandemonium. It sounded like something where you'd get to fight. Something like that… I wanted to show off what I had learned these past fourteen years, as it was for me. I wanted everyone to know I wasn't the pushover I had once been.

I smiled. "I'll go for Team B." I told my team and looked at them over my shoulder. Juvia and Acnologia might've figured it out, but I was quite sure the two Dragon Slayers hadn't yet. Actually… It was more like I was sure Gajeel hadn't figured it out. Which was good, 'cause he was crazy about fighting. Seriously, I often found myself doubting his sanity when he was fighting someone or something.

My mate smiled to me. "Go for it Lucy, show them what you've learnt." He cheered me on. I nodded at him. Yes, I would show them. I wasn't hiding behind my Spirits anymore.

Laxus smirked at me and nodded with crossed arms. "Beat 'em all up, Blondie." He told me.

I nodded. "I will, they won't be able to walk after I'm done." I reassured him. With a last wink, I jumped over the railing, just as any other of my team mates had done.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" I heard Gajeel yell behind me and giggled. So he finally figured the event out, did he? Well, it was probably thanks to Laxus' comment though.

I looked around to see Erza was also participating in the games. I waved at her and was about to say hi, when a girl with short, caramel hair raised a thumb at the Requip mage. "Don't lose now, Er-chan." She told Erza with a smile.

That girl, I recognized her. And that nickname as well, there was only one person I could remember, who called Erza that way. It was her childhood friend, Millianna, the one who adored cats.

I smiled and went to the two girls as Erza agreed. "Hi, you're Millianna, right?" I asked the cat-like girl. She looked at me with a confused expression, tilting her head a little, as if she really was a cat. I smiled at her and extended my hand for a shake. "I don't know if you can remember me, but I'm Lucy of Fairy Tail." I told her.

Her face brightened up and she nodded quickly. "Yes, I remember you! Lucy, the Spirit mage, right?" She asked me, smiling like a cat. She reached out and quickly shook my hand.

I nodded. "Exactly, that was me." I agreed. "I didn't know you entered a guild?" I said in a questioning manner, to have her explain. If she wanted to, that was.

She smiled widely at me. "Yes! Wally and Sho wouldn't let me have a cat, they were so boring! So I found Mermaid Heel!" She told me. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and her smile faded. "Wait.. You're the one who was…" She trailed off.

I smiled solemnly at her, knowing what she was trying to say. "Yeah, but now's not the time to talk about that." I said. I felt a presence closing in on me from behind. I sighed and smiled. "Hibiki, I wouldn't do that if I was you." I said to the host I knew was standing right behind me, getting ready to do whatever he was planning to do.

I heard the sound of someone dropping their arms to their sides and sighing in defeat, walking away like a dejected puppy. I smiled at the two girls in front of me. Millianna looked at me with a surprised expression. But her eyes showed awe. "You gotta teach me that sometime, Lucy-chan!" She said excitedly.

Erza nodded. "Yes, that ability could come in handy some day." She agreed with a little smile.

"Shit…" Someone else said behind us. I turned around to see Orga looking at me with a scared expression. "Don't tell me…" He trailed off.

I smiled at him. "Don't worry Orga, I' pretty sure you aren't going against me. Or anyone else for that matter." I reassured him. I'd been told he had been a bit scared of me since the other day..

His scared expression didn't change though. "Y-you… D-don't hurt me." He told me, edging away in fear. I sweat dropped and scratched the back of my head. This could get a bit difficult…

I could see Jura approaching us, laughing a deep laugh. "I can see your actions a few days ago made a big impact, Lucy-dono." He laughed.

I nodded. "Yeah, it would seem so." I agreed. Well.. Rather that, than him thinking I am pathetic, that would be the worst. This I could deal with. Somehow…

I looked around to see who the last to participant were. It seemed it was the one with the high hat, Obra I believed, who came from Raven Tail. From Quatro Cer- no, Puppy, it was Nobarly, the one with the bandana around his head.

Suddenly, Mato appeared in the middle of the field. "Yesterday was my day off.. My apologies." He apologized to us. "Now I'll explain the rules of Pandemonium." He announced.

When he finished speaking, the ground began shaking violently. An enormous magical pressure appeared and filled the arena. It was so big, it was like when a Dragon changed forms. And let me tell you, that was a high magical pressure if anything was. It seemed like a building was rising from the magic. I couldn't help wondering where they got all that magic from.

Millianna looked up at the building with an open mouth and widened eyes, just like the rest of us were. "This is.." She trailed off.

"Amazing." Erza ended off for her. I glanced at the redhead, wondering what she was thinking about all of this. While her expression really was a mixture of surprise and awe, there was also a hint of something else. Like she was considering something, wondering.

I saw a golden computer appear next to me. "Commencing analysis…" Hibiki muttered as he pressed his buttons and analyzed… Something.

Only a moment later, the building was done. In front of me was a big castle of a building. It had several towers, gigantic statues, skull-decorations, fences, walls. All kinds of things. But it seemed dangerous. The aura I got from it, it felt dangerous. Chaotic, actually. But not the way Acnologia's magic felt, this felt different.

Mato gestured to the big building in front of us. "The temple where evil monsters nest…" He said and held a dramatic pause. "Pandemonium." He announced.

It was huge, the castle. I wondered what kind of things we were going to be doing in there. And where in the world they had been able to get enough magic to create this on a whim.

Jura looked towards Mato. "Where monsters nest… You say?" He asked the pumpkin. They had said that, hadn't they? It was probably something about fighting monsters. That should be easy enough, as I was a Dragon after all. They'd feel who was strongest.

Mato nodded. "Yup." He confirmed the Earth mage. "That's the setting. Kabo." He told him. He turned and looked at the magical castle of doom in front of him. "Within the temple there are 100 monsters." 100? That was a little few. "Well… They're called that, but they're magical tools that we've created." He admitted. "They won't attack any of you in the audience or anything like that, so you can relax." He explained.

I looked up at the castle. These monsters, one hundred of them, they were all magically created. I furrowed my eyebrows. This was something that started seven years ago. They had always had so… Extravagant events every year. It was first now I realized how much of it was created with magic. What kind of methods did they use?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Mato continued his explanation. "The monsters are divided into 5 levels of battle power: D, C, B, A and S." he told us. "The specifics are like this." He told us as a big Lacrima screen appeared in front of us.

It showed a pyramid of small creatures, probably what was supposed to be demons. At the bottom, there were five demons, with the letter 'D' on their foreheads. Next to them as a box that said 'DX50'. In top of those, there was a layer of four demons, this time with C's on their foreheads. In their box, it said there were 30 with them. On top of that, three demons, with B's, there would be 15 of those. In top of them, two A's, which there would be four of. And in the very top, there was a single demon with a crown. That one had an S on its forehead, and the box said there would only be one of those.

In short, there would be 50 D's, 30 C's, 15 B's, 4 A's and one S. And taking everything into consideration, the S demon would probably be the strongest, while the D's were the weakest.

Mato continued his explanation as people looked and analyzed the chart on the Lacrima screen. "Incidentally.. In regards to the kind of strength that D-class monsters have…" He said as the screen shifted to a picture of something that looked like the insides of that castle. I was confirmed of this, when I noticed the 'Live' on the top left of the screen.

It showed a hallway that was covered in dust which seemed to have just risen. A silhouette could be seen in the back of the dust clouds. Then, the dust clouds cleared up and the monster, which had been the silhouette stepped closer to the screen. The creature in front of us on the screen looked like it was living steel. The scales it had all over its bodies, lapping over each other, were the silver color of steel, which reflected the light. It was on four feet, it's 'paws' looked like bird's feet, with three claws. It had a long tail, which ended in four spikes, put up in a way that made it similar to its feet. The scales on the tail overlapped each other more than they did over the rest of its body. It didn't seem to have any eyes, but I guessed the two holes on either side of its head were its ears. Maybe it could detect enemies purely by sound?

It growled a little at the screen, standing still for a moment. Then it charged forward, like a missile, and into a statue of an angel in front of it, which stood in front of a wall. It slashed down at the angel when it came within its reach, and stones exploded into every direction.

Well… I could feel in the mood around me that everyone were terrified of this monster's strength. Meanwhile.. I was kinda just.. Disappointed. What that metal-cat just did, a Dragon could do with a single breath. Well, of course this monster hadn't showed its full potential and all, but.. Well, I remained unimpressed. Maybe the S-class was a challenge, I wouldn't know. But I also had to consider that all I had to work with was my Spirits and my Celestial magic. Of course, that was more than enough to beat these things, but it would put a damper on things.

Mato continued his explanation of the Pandemonium event. I was actually getting somewhat hyped to kick some monster ass. "Ones like that and stronger ones than that…" Mato trailed off. "The place where 100 of them are lurking around, that is Pandemonium. Kabo." He told us.

Everyone stayed silent in surprise and fear. The crowd as well as the participants. All I could think of was how they could have managed all this magic at one place in an instant like that.

Mato lifted a finger and continued his explanation. "As the class goes up, please note the battle power goes up exponentially." He quickly warned us. "The S-class monster has strength such that even one of the 10 Wizards Saints can't be guaranteed to defeat it." He told us.

I heard an 'hmm' from the Wizard Saint present beside me. Maybe… It had seemed Acnologia had faced some challenge defeating this guy. And he had been able to use Chaos magic, probably the most dangerous magic of the Dragon magic… Just maybe, I would face some troubles against the S-class, in the very least.

Once again, Mato continued his explanation of the rules. "In order, each of you will take turns selecting a number of monsters to fight with. This is called your 'challenge right'." He explained. "For example, if one chooses '3', then 3 monsters will appear within the temple." He said. "If one succeeds in defeating the 3, that competitor gets 3 points." He told us. "Then the next competitor may exercise their 'challenge right' amongst the remaining 97 monsters." He told us.

Right, so that would continue until there were no more monsters and the one with most points would win. So, you would be lucky if you got lower class monsters, while you would be unlucky if you got the higher class ones, since they all only gave one point each.

Of course, Mato explained to us, what I had just figured out. "This will continue until all 100 monster have been slain or everyone's magical power is completely emptied out, at which point the competition will end." Mate explained.

I looked up at the castle, where the faint sound of roars and growls could be heard. "It's like a counting game, huh?" I asked the pumpkin.

Mato nodded. "Exactly." He agreed. "Situational judgment becomes quite important." He told us. "However, like I said before, the monsters have ranks." He repeated again. "So be it 1 monster or five monsters that you choose with your 'challenge right', it's a system where the monsters appear randomly." He told me.

As I thought… And apparently also what someone else thought. "In other words.. Some sort of battle strategy to avoid drawing the S-rank monster is necessary, huh?" Hibiki said with two fingers to his forehead.

Orga shook his head. "If it's random, then that sort of strategy wouldn't work." He commented on Hibiki's words.

Hibiki smiled at the big God Slayer. "No." He told him off. "With probability, theory and my Archive, a strategy will work to some extent." He promised the Saber.

Mato began speaking once again. "Points are given for the number of defeated monsters, with no regard to the monsters' ranks. Once you've entered the temple, you will be unable to withdraw until you've won." He told us.

Erza looked down at the pumpkin man with crossed arms. "What happens if you are defeated inside the temple?" She asked him.

Mato looked at her with a smile. Although… He always smiled. "Then the number of points you've earned up until that turn will be as it is." He said. "The number of victories for that turn itself will be counted as zero and you'll exit like that." He explained.

It would be bad to be too greedy, but if you only chose the safe path, that was one monster per turn, the others would gain too many points on you. Not only that, you also had to take into account how quickly your magic recovered and if it would recover before the next round. It was actually unexpectedly difficult, this event.

Mato held out a box to us, which held eight sticks in it. "So with that, please draw your lots everyone." He told us cheerfully. He went around to us and we each drew a stick. In the end of the stick, it said 8 in a magic circle. I furrowed my eyebrows. Magic… Again.

"Number 1." I heard someone comment next to me. I looked up to see Erza holding her stick with the number one.

I smiled. "Well you're lucky, I would like to switch if you want." I said jokingly and laughed a little. What I really wanted was to see how this castle was inside and how it felt like inside.

Erza breathed out. "I was thinking this competition would all come down to luck of the draw…" She muttered. Luck of the draw? Well…It was not too far off, really. But there were still a lot of things you had to take into consideration.

Mato looked at Erza. "Luck of the draw?" He asked, repeating Erza's words. "No, no… How should I put this? It's a game where maintaining your place and situational judgment are more important than just the order of the battle." He explained to Erza.

Erza shook her head and smiled. "No.. With this, it's no longer a game." She told the pumpkin. She looked up and a gust of wind blew at her, from out of nowhere. "All 100 will be my opponents." She said firmly, so everyone could hear it. "My 'challenge right' will be 100." She repeated.

Everything went completely silent, not even the gust of wind that had been here just the second before made a sound. That and every single person in the stadium looked at Erza with wide eyes and most of them were gaping too. A single tumbleweed flew across the field behind her.

After only a moment, I could hear two laughing voices I hadn't heard for a long time. Gray and Natsu, both of them were laughing. It was contagious and I quickly caught on to it and began giggling with them. That was so typical Erza.

Said Requip mage began making her way towards the building in front of us, where 100 monsters, all at high levels, awaited her, in human perspective anyway, it was difficult, but if anyone could do it, it was definitely this woman.

Mato stretched his arm out, as if to reach out to the knight. "That.. That's _impossible_!" He exclaimed. "It's not set up so that one person could possibly defeat them all!" He told her.

Well, he obviously didn't know Erza very well, because she kept on going forward, her blue skirt fluttering around her. "I don't care." She told him.

She entered the castle of doom. After only a second's notice, several monsters charged at her at once, from every side around her. She quickly changed to that unnamed armor - if you could even call it that - where she had bandages around her breasts and long, red pants with flames at the bottom in yellow. Her weapon, a single katana. One of her strongest armors, despite not having any armor at all.

Without hesitation Erza cut down monster after monster, evading attacks, dealing attacks, slashing, exterminating. She killed them all. One after one in an awesome show of power and strength, she disposed of the monsters, which were supposed to be too many for one person.

I smiled. It seemed I had been lying to Rufus. We could be monsters in Fairy Tail, if we had a reason to. Erza, right now she was fighting for Fairy Tail's pride. She carried all the wishes and hopes of Fairy Tail, for her to win this. But that was what spurred her on. That was what made her keep going. Keep annihilating.

She was amazing. She was of Fairy Tail. She was the queen of fairies. She was Titania. And she hadn't changed at all these last seven years she had been asleep. She was still fearsome and strong.

Finally, she exterminated the last of the monsters. And there she stood, the only thing visible on the screen was her silhouette in the cloud of dust. She stood with her katana in the air, as the building collapsed behind her. She stood as a scarlet flower, blooming fully with pride.

Chapati gasped into the microphone. "Un-un-unbelievable!" He cried into the microphone. "Somehow.. By a single person… All 100 monsters have been defeated!" He yelled incredulously. "Is this the true strength of the guild said to be the strongest seven years ago?!" He asked even louder.

I smirked. Yes, that was out strength.. Well, I doubted many could do what she just did there, even though they were from Fairy Tail. That was crazy, and she was also roughed up, bleeding everywhere. But she was standing, and she had completed her mission.

Chapati once again began speaking. "Fairy Tail A's Erza Scarlet dominates!" He said. Hell yeah she did. "A _massive _victory that brooks no complaints!" He said in the mic.

The crowd roared in cheers. Loudly, very loudly. "A-AMAZING!" Someone yelled. "What is she…?" Someone else asked. "I remember." Someone answered. "She's Fairy Tail's strongest female mage, Erza Scarlet!" Someone told them. "TITANIA ERZA!" Someone yelled.

I smiled, even the crowd remembered her now. It was about time. And it kept going. I just hadn't any words for it, I couldn't explain it. Finally.. Finally they recognized us, respected us. Way to go Erza, way to go.

That was when she appeared in the exit of the castle and out on the field. I quickly ran to her and steadied her by the shoulder, seeing that she was a little unsteady. I looked into her brown eyes and smiled. "Erza. That was amazing." I complimented her.

She smiled at me and put her hand over mine, telling me she could stand perfectly fine by herself. "Thank you Lucy." She told me.

I never found out if she wanted to say something else, because her team mates showed up right then. "FIGHT ME ERZA!" A certain pinkette yelled at her.

Gray smacked the back of his head. "Oi, oi, give her a break, Flame Brain." He told his fiery rival. He smirked at him. "You can't handle her anyway." He reassured him. And with that, their usual fight began.

I slowly edged away as her team spoke with her. I felt out of place there. Lisanna held a hand to her heart. "I was so touched…" She commented.

Wendy had tears building up in her eyes already. "I.. My chest is about to burst." She said with a hoarse voice. Oh sweet, sweet Wendy…

Erza smiled at the two girls. "We haven't won yet you know." She told them. "This was only the first victory, we have to keep on fighting." She told her friends.

Wendy nodded. "At least let me take a look on your words, Erza-san." She asked the knight. Erza nodded, but told her to not use too much magic. And so Wendy began. Right there, in the middle of the arena.

I felt another girl standing beside me, laughing. "As expected, Er-chan's the strongest!" Millianna said happily and with a wide smile.

Hibiki nodded "That's Ichiya-san's girlfriend for you.." He just managed to finish his sentence, as he was hit in the face with the back of a sword.

"I'M NOT ICHIYA'S GIRLFRIEND!" Erza screamed at him, with her inner demon showing. Meanwhile, I was doing my best not to puke at the thought.

Nobarly still had his mouth gaping wide open and his eyes were so wide it was creepy. "Reckless takes on a whole new meaning after seeing that.." He said slowly.

Jura nodded with a smile on his face. "Magnificent." He simply said. That one word, it clearly said that he held a lot of respect for the Knight. Not that I thought he hadn't before, but it had grown to a whole new level here, I think.

I realized that the majority of the crowd's cheering came from one stand and one stand only. It was the place where Fairy Tail stood, of course. They were cheering much louder than any of the others were.

Finally, Chapati took the word. "Pandemonium has been completely suppressed! FAIRY TAIL A EARNS 10 POINTS!" Chapati yelled loudly.

**A while later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

So, the last half hour or so, we had been waiting for the next part, which would decide who would get what kind of points. I guessed they had some kind of backup-plan of some kind, they just needed to get it ready and such. Or something..

Finally, Chapati spoke, letting us know what they now planned to have us do. "Eh.." He said, drawing attention to himself. "Discussion had concluded that the remaining 7 participants must finish establishing a rank order." He told us. "It's a little banal, but we've prepared a simple game." The backup, eh?

Mato gestured to some kind of.. Well, whatever it is. I looked like a magical statue of some sort, with a floating ball above it. "Magic Power Finder, MPF." He introduced us to it. "When this device is struck with magical power, that power is represented numerically." He said. "Those numerical values will be used to establish a ranking.

Hibiki, who stood right next to me, nodded. "A simple comparison of power, huh..? That probably leaves me at a bit of a disadvantage." He commented. Then he turned to me with his radiating host-smile "By the way Lucy-san, are you-" I cut him off.

I raised a finger, effectively silencing him. "Hibiki. Don't." I simply told him. It was funny how he could continue being so persistent, when he knew how Acnologia was and had literally faced his wrath head on. Maybe he'd forgotten. Well.. I was sure Acnologia would love reminding him if that was the case.

Mato turned to us again. "We'll continue with the order that was determined previously. Kabo." He told us. What? So I would be the last one? Actually… That would probably be awesome enough.

Millianna stepped forward. "Then it starts with me!" She said with a cat-like smile. "Here I go~!" She said. She gathered up her magic in both hands, one she had stretched out behind her back, the other was facing towards the MPF. The magic was a soft, pink glow and looked like a tube as it spiraled around her hands. "KITTEN BLAST!" She yelled as she sent the two tubes off towards the MPF in a spiraling motion.

The attack hit straight on and exploded into a bright, pink light, which blinded the eyes momentarily. The device beeped twice, and then a number appeared above the ball. It said 365.

"We don't know if that number is high or not, without any comparison huh." Chapati commented, when the crowd talked with each other confusedly. Well, we really had no basis to go on, so it was quite the question whether that was good or not.

That was when Lahar spoke. "That device is used in out Rune Knight training as well." He told us. "That's a high number. It's a level sufficient to become a squad captain." He explained.

"Next up is Quatro Cerberus Nobarly." Chapati announced. Nobarly attacked the ball, but unfortunately, his strongest point probably wasn't this kind of thing. "The value is 124.. Kinda low, huh?" Chapati commented as a Nobarly, who looked quite defeated, left the MPF. That was… Kind of mean, Chapati.

Hibiki stepped forward, correcting his tie. "It's my turn." He said, as a few women screamed from the crowd. He was really facing a problem here, just like with Nobarly, this wasn't where he was strongest. And right as it was, he only scored 95 points on the device. "Ahh… What a world.." He sighed. I have no idea how, but out of the blue, he had teleported himself to me and was hugging me around my waist on his knees. "I want you to baby me, Lucy-san~!" He told me.

I rolled my eyes, but hurried up as I heard a growl from the crowd behind me. I grabbed Hibiki's collar and pulled him away from me, holding him in the air in front of my face, so I could look into his eyes. "Hibiki, honestly. Don't you remember three months ago?" I asked him, looking into his black eyes, which were brimming with fake tears.

He looked into my eyes for a second, then seemed to realize who I was referring to. My mate, the Chaos Dragon, who, as he told me this morning, would kill anyone who 'dared to touch me'. Hibiki blanched and nodded, putting his feet down on the ground.

I smiled at him. "That's a good boy." I babied him and stroke his hair as if he was really a little boy. "Now you better remember that, okay?" I told him. He quickly nodded and moved on to Millianna.

"Next up is Raven Tail's Obra." Chapati announced, making me refocus on the event in front of me. That guy. I noticed that the magic around him felt just like the magic I pulled out of Lisanna the other day. So this was the guy who did that? I wondered what kind of magic he used.

He remained silent as he spread his arms out wide and a little creature charged forward at the ball. It hit the ball with its shoulder, gaining a measly 4 points. This… They weren't trying at all. If he had hit the ball with his fist instead, that would have given him more, since he was obviously radiating some kind of dark magic. Their goal wasn't to win these Games, it was something completely different.

Mato sweat dropped at the result. "This is somewhat unfortunate, but…" He trailed off. "There are no re-dos, kabo." He told Obra. Obra nodded, turned around and went away.

For now, Millianna was on top with 365 points. But it would seem she would lose her first place now, since the one coming up now was Orga, the Lightning Dragon Slayer.

"Orga's stepping in!" Chapati announced. There was serious favoritism here.. Orga lifted a clenched fist in the air and the crowd roared in applause. "The applause is amazing!" Chapati commented. And it really was.

Orga held his hands in front of him, one above the other with palms facing the ball. Between his hands, black Lightning began to form. "120 MM BLACK LIGHTNING CANNON!" He yelled and a bullet of black Lightning shot at the ball, which exploded in a black light. I wouldn't be able to explain how that was possible, but apparently it was.

Above the MPF four, fat numbers showed up. Three thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five. That was more than ten times Millianna's score. That was a high score..

Of course, everything, crowd, participants, guilds, commentators, _everything_ went crazy and yelled loudly. Some in cheers, some just yelling because it was an outrageously high score.

So… Orga began singing as a sign of his victory. "STRONGEST STRONGEST NUMBER ONE!" He 'sang' into a mic that somehow had showed up out of nowhere.

Mato stood behind Orga, sweat dropping. "Umm…" He said, to try to get the God Slayer's attention away from that horrible singing. "That's enough singing. Kabo." He told him.

Apparently that worked and the big guy stopped singing, the mic disappearing once again. Chapati continued to announce who was to try the MPF this time. "Well.." He trailed off. "We look forward to seeing whether Jura, one of the 10 Wizard Saints, can surpass this number." He said. Of course he could. Orga was strong, no doubt about that, but there was also no doubt about the fact that Jura was stronger than that.

Jura went to stand next to Mato. He looked down at the pumpkin. "Is it alright if I do it seriously?" He asked the mascot. Well.. There he went, of course he wanted to make it fair for everyone and let others have a chance. Noble of him, but the only way it was fair, was for him to go all out.

Mato nodded and gave the Saint a thumbs up. "Of course, kabo." He told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jura closed his eyes and clapped his hands together as if he was praying to a god. The air around him intensified, as well as his magic pressure. A golden glow surrounded the big Earth mage and small pebbles rose from the ground and up around him. "RUMBLING MOUNT FUJI!" He yelled loudly with an authoritative voice. He opened his eyes and looked at the device. Just like everything else, a big pillar of light blue magic rose from the ground around the MPF and high into the sky, so high it was impossible to see the end of it.

As the magic slowly dissipated again, the device beeped twice as it counted the magic level. Just as the last of it faded, the numbers appeared. "8544." I muttered to myself. That was quite an amazing score… But even if it sounded arrogant, I knew some of my Spirits, Daemon for one, could release a higher magical pressure than Jura just did.

I could too, since I was a Celestial mage, I had much more magic than anyone else. If I could manipulate it right, as Moustache-Man had taught me, I had a very, _very_ heavy magical pressure. It wasn't as dangerous as most magic, which was why I had so much of it. But in this Game, it was about being able to manipulate your magic right, so that you could concentrate it all in one hit. It wasn't about how much it would hurt someone.

But nonetheless, the whole crowd exploded into gasps, cheers and what else they did. Basically, they were shocked, but had expected this high score. In a way, I guess.

Chapati did his job and commentated on this event, as he was supposed to. "This… THIS IS A NEW RECORD FOR MPF!" He yelled. Had Lahar just told him that? "The title of Wizard Saint isn't just for show!" He exclaimed. Of course it wasn't, what did he expect? "Well, the last challenger is Fairy Tail B's Lucy Heartfi…" He trailed off, gaping at the list he was holding or whatever.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at Makarov. "HEY MASTER!" I yelled at him, drawing his attention. "I THOUGHT YOU KNEW, IT'S MAU'TE RONGO NOW!" I yelled at him. How annoying, using my old name.

Makarov sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head. He gave me such a kind smile, I couldn't do anything but forgive him. Although there wasn't much to forgive.

I smiled and shook my head, then I heard the crowd mumbling something about whether I'm the Lucy who was kicked out and all. I sighed and turned to Mato. "Can we just go on with it?" I asked him.

He looked at me with wide eyes and was also gaping. "Are you really _that_ Lucy?" He asked me hesitantly, not believing his own words.

I looked at him with a raised brow. "Really?" I asked him incredulously. "Fine." I surrendered and turned around to the crowd. "YES, I AM _THE_ LUCY FROM FAIRY TAIL!" I turned to the commentator. "NOW GET ON WITH IT!" I yelled at them, so they could get to work rather than moping around. It seemed I had become a little impatient during my training as a Dragon… Probably the impatience I was always surrounded with, AKA Metallicana.

Chapati nodded. "R-right." He said. "Fairy Tail B's Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." He introduced me. I smiled at him and nodded in thanks. "It must be tough, to follow up Jura… Let's have her try her best." He said.

I smirked. I couldn't even do that if I wanted to. That would require I went in my Dragon Strength form, with Peace magic, and then hit it. Well, if it was supposed to be the most hurting kind, however that worked.

Well, in quantity, I had by far more Celestial magic than I had anything else. So in this situation, I guess it was lucky enough that I could use that then.

I set my Celestial magic into motion, letting it course around in me. I closed my eyes, focusing on getting it all whirling around, that was the only way I could control all of it at once. It didn't take long to get it all running. I felt the magic radiating out of me, having warmed up and was ready to be used. My hair was swishing behind me and so were my clothes.

Well I didn't actually have all of it coursing around. Just as I had told Rufus, I was keeping down 75 percent of it, but I was about to use the remaining 25 percent, which were now running wild inside me. I opened my eyes and redirected the magic to my right hand.

I glared at the ball in front of me. I would get more than 8000, I would get more than Jura and I would show everyone just _how_ much I had evolved since then. I began charging at the device. Ran as fast as I could at the ball. I quickly covered the distance between myself and that device. I quickly shot my fist down at the device.

I felt the air flare up next to me, and quicker than I could react, a hand shot out and stopped mine from hitting the device. It was warm and radiated heat. I looked to my right, at Fenix, my Phoenix Spirit. "Fenix.. What are you doing?" I asked him.

He grinned at me. "Stopping you, Princess." He said and released my fist. He shook his hand in the air in front of him. "Damn, you packed some power in that punch." He said to me, shaking his hand.

I raised an eyebrow and glared at him. "I can see that, but why? I had just got it ready and all too." I said, feeling the magic I had warmed up calming down a little again. I sighed and took a moment to get it running again.

Fenix smiled at me. "I can't let a Princess such as yourself do all the dirty work." He told me. "What need do you have of me if I can't even do that for you?" He asked me.

I softened up and smiled at him. "I know that's what you think. Although I'd say I'm more the Dragon than the Princess, don't you think?" I asked and winked at him. "But that being said, this 'Princess' wants to show off how strong she is." I told him with a smile.

His flaming red eyes looked into mine, analyzing me. He sighed. "Alright, I have an idea then." He turned away from me and looked down at Mato. "Oi pumpkin?" He called out to him. Mato looked up at the Fire Bird. "Is it possible to have both of us trying it out and taking the highest score?" He asked the pumpkin.

I glared at him. "Fenix, come on. There's no re-dos, of course this wouldn't be allowed either." I told him.

Mato looked alternately at both of us. "Well… Technically it's not a re-do…" He muttered. I looked down at him and shook my head. No… People would think it was favoritism…

Fenix laughed. "Great!" He exclaimed happily. "I'll go first, Princess!" He said excitedly. What happened to ladies first? He grinned at me and pushed me back with an arm over my chest. "Step back Princess, or you'll get burnt." He warned me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Right, whatever you say, bird." I mocked him. I turned to Mato again and looked worriedly at him. "Are you really sure it's okay? I'll send this idiot back if you ask me to." I told him.

"Hey!" Fenix exclaimed loudly at me. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm no idiot!" He told me. I smiled at him and mouthed a 'yeah, you are'.

I turned back to Mato, waiting for his reply. Mato sighed and nodded. "I fear I don't have a choice in the matter, kabo." He admitted and glanced at my Spirit.

I nodded with a little smile. I knew that Spirit gave off the feeling that you couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted. Kind of like with Acnologia and Gajeel, once they had set their minds on something, it was almost impossible to stop them. Only few times and usually with brute force, such as when I was attacked and two Dragons were necessary to hold him back. Most of us wouldn't be bothered to do something like that.

I turned back to Fenix and sighed. "Right, go on bird." I told him exasperatedly. In the light of recent days, I didn't want this to cast a shadow over the respect we had gotten with something as simple as this.

Fenix grinned at me. "Princess, your knight in flaming feathers has come to your rescue." He reassured me. "Just watch as your fiery protector wins this competition for you." He said confidently. While I rolled my eyes, he looked back at the device in front of him. He stretched his arms out, palms facing the device flatly. He grinned at the device. "Phoenix fire!" He said loudly.

A whirl of Fire appeared around the device. First it was just simple embers, but that quickly developed into full-fledged flames. They continued twisting around the device, growing bigger, and at last, it spun around the device and high in the sky, looking like a tornado of fire.

He powered up his spell, pouring more magic into it, probably wanting to impress me or something, going by his personality.

Only a moment later, he stopped supporting the whirl with his magic and let it fade. A faint pair of beeps could be heard from inside the slowly fading twister of flames. As the spell slowly spun and vanished, it revealed the points Fenix had scored.

When it finally disappeared, he looked at me with a confident grin. "Good luck topping that, Princess." He taunted me. I looked up at the four numbers above the device. 9990. Well, I guess no matter what happened now, I would win this one.

But, I would win it myself. Completely and entirely. I smiled at him. "You know Fenix.." I said to him. "I know you could have done better." I told him. He had been holding back, no matter how I looked at it.

He smirked at me, while the crowd and commentators exploded. "So you noticed did you, Princess?" He asked. "Well, of course I did, or else I would take up too much of your magic." He told me. "You wouldn't stand a chance." He added.

I raised both eyebrows and looked at him like the idiot he was. "You go on and believe that while I whoop your ass." I told him and looked at the device in front of me, readying my magic.

Fenix laughed next to me. "Oh, I would love _that_, Princess." He told me and leaned in closer to my ear. "I'll come by tonight, then." He muttered huskily.

I felt a tick-mark appear on my forehead and directed my magic to my elbow. "Stop yourself, Phoenix." I said and jutted my elbow into the Spirit's stomach. "Don't you hear the sound of your impending death?" I asked him, hinting at my mate, who was growling like a madman up on the balcony.

I gathered my magic again, waking it up and getting it spinning around, just as I had earlier. This time it was much easier, since I had only just had it up and running a second ago.

It all quickly gathered around my and lit my skin up in a golden glow. I 'grabbed' it all and sent it down to my hand. I remembered the training I had gone through and sent it up into a glowing ball of golden magic floating above my hand calmly.

I made sure to send all of it in the ball, feeling the wind it gave off, despite not being Wind magic at all. I looked up at the device. That thing was about to go down.

I glared at it for just a second longer. Finally ending this tedious event, I threw the Celestial ball at the device. I didn't throw it hard, so it flew neither fast nor slow. But in the end, the concentrated ball of Celestial magic, which wasn't bigger than I would've been able to hold it in one hand if it had had a firm form.

It hit the ball on the device, the two almost being the same size. My ball got absorbed into the ball on the device and slowly disappeared. For what felt like a long moment, nothing happened.

Fenix stepped up next to me. "Princess…?" He asked me confusedly. Just like everyone around me were. Well, nothing was happening for now, so I guess it was understandable.

I lifted a finger. "It'll show up in just a second." I reassured him. And right as I finished speaking, the device beeped. Then the counter began counting. Upwards and quickly. The numbers quickly passed one hundred. Five hundred. One thousand. Two thousand. Five thousand. It kept going, kept rising faster than the eye could follow.

But as soon as it reached 10000, five letters showed up instead. 'Error'. It blinked twice, and the device suddenly exploded without any warning, leaving only it burning and black smoke rising from it.

I turned around to Fenix and smiled at him. "It seems I topped you, huh?" I teased him. "Now, I think it's time you return, Fenix." I told him.

He looked alternately at me and the device. He smirked at me. "And that's why I'm your Spirit, Princess." He said and summoned a golden light around him. "You gotta teach me that someday." He told me and then disappeared in a flame

I turned to Mato again with a smile. "Well, I guess this marks my victory, don't you think?" I asked him with a smile of my own.

Mato wasn't looking at me though, he was staring at the now broken device. "I-it broke…?" He asked incredulously. Was that supposed to be impossible? Eh… Well… Shit happens, as they say.

Chapati once again marked his presence and job as a commentator. "Wha… What is this?" He voiced the thoughts everyone seemed to have. "The MPF broke…" He muttered. "She maxed it out!" He said loudly and incredulously. "Wha.. What is this guild?" He stammered confusedly. "It's a 1-2 finish for the competition portion! Nobody can stop Fairy Tail now!" He told everyone.

I smiled widely. Oh, that man really spoke true words once in a while.

**At the Raven Tail balcony~**

**The normal one's P.O.V**

"DD-sama." Nullpudding called out next to me. I looked down at him from the edge of my peripheral. The purple imp held up a piece of paper for me. "Here are the matchups for the battle portion." He said with a wide grin.

I took the paper from him and looked it over myself. "These pairings.." I muttered a wide smirk spreading across my face. "They're perfect! Master'll love it!" I said amusedly. This would most certainly be entertaining. "Shall we begin the second phase of our plan?" I asked the rest of my team.

It all worked out perfectly for us.. Maybe I'd get a raise?

**Ohh… Exciting, exciting. DD's showed up again. So what does that mean I wonder? What is their plan and how does that include the Dragons?**

**Well, I'm sorry we didn't get to the battle part today. Honestly, I'm sorry. But the Pandemonium thing turned out much longer than I had expected. If I had to add the battling too, it'd be even more crappy than what it would have been otherwise. Now you guys also have something to look forward to~**

**Yes, I know. I'm a bastard, there's no need to tell me. **

**And my dog is gay. Just thought you should know. **

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Nicole (Guest), whitelion20202, FerriDeel, Aira0906, Konan15, Alaina Kuski, aebeatty11, Nilnna, StrongGuy159, PuddyKatz, mjb379, ZinaThePanda, aristofthemind, An Anonymoose, AnimeOnCookie, Darkverger1, Acnologia Prime, GoldAge, Mirror Night, MoonStar1312, wild childkk, dutchangel1979, Aqua7Night, pepergirl001, fairychime-diamond47, InsanitySorrow 2.0, kikasamay, AsunaYuki88, Black Eclipsed Soul, OtakuLover43, , LuGia (Guest), GoldenPiggy, laxiiismeh, deanepops101, Under Celestial Stars, Kayboy221, xXSilverWindsXx, xXxXxXAliceXxXxXx, TheRYU and all you other people out there for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing! I LOVE YOU! Don't forget that!**

**~Line464d**


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

**I'm surprised at how few scolded me for postponing Lucy's match once again. It was only a pair of people, really. Anyway, get your butts ready, 'cause today Lucy'll fight! :3**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Actually, just yesterday I was on the edge of convincing Slowpoke to let me have a share of the story - I planned to conquer it later on, I had to get under his skin first - but then, of all people, Zeref, the almighty, popped up and sent me away. DAMN YOU ZEREF!**

**Back at the balcony~**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

Well, the first match went by in a snap. Some cat-chick, Millianna, of Mermaid Heel was against some ugly dude, Semmes or something, from Quatro Puppy. She had some weird-ass magic, cat-tubes, which she quickly tied the big guy up with. She got it all done in less than two minutes.

Besides that, with Bunny-Girl's complete annihilation of that magic thing, we were tied out with the Ravens. What kind of messed up performance was it even they delivered back there. That Obra-dude was seriously weak if he could only score 4 damn points.

Well, at any rate, the battle between Sabertooth's Rufus and the little guy from Blue Pegasus was about to start. Based on earlier results, I was pretty sure that this one was a clear win for the tigers.

Actually, the battle just started, as the gong sounded. Eve didn't waste a second as he swiped his hand forward. "White Fang!" He said as pure, white snow spun around itself and towards the Saber mage in big snowflakes. It all looked more like a comfortable swirl of cotton.

Rufus didn't move out of the spot, even as the magic was right in front of him. "I'm memorizing that magic." Rufus declared and then jumped high up into the sky, just before the pony's magic clashed with itself, where the Saber was supposed to be, and created a big explosion of snow, which should've encased the Saber. Well, that was what I guessed it was meant to do anyway.

Then the commentator-dude began speaking. "Two people who met in Day 1's Hidden event collide once more in Day 3's battle!" He said semi-loudly. You're way too slow, commentator-guy.

Then, the old guy said something that surprised me, actually. "Eve-kun was originally with Council, right?" He asked the guest commentator, Lahar. So that little runt had actually been with the Council once? Well, he certainly chose the right path!

"That's correct." The council-guy confirmed. "He was a Rune Knight and a member of the Custody Enforcement unit, the same as me." Lahar told us. "He was always an outstanding talent, but after entering a guild, his magical power has been polished further." He said. What is it they say? You learn something new every day.

The cosplay-guy held two fingers to both of his temples and smirked at Eve. "Memory Make.." He said, getting ready to make a new spell. I had never heard of Memory Make magic before, but to be all honest, it sounded powerful. Making something from your memory. In other words infinite possibilities. "Karma of the Burning Land!" Rufus half yelled. He put his hand on the ground and flames instantly shot out from the bare ground.

The farther away it came from the Cosplay-guy - my new nickname for him - the bigger the flames grew and they kept to the ground. The flames swiftly crawled their way to the Snow mage and burned him roughly, making him scream in agony. It had been a long time since I heard that kind of screams…

But the spell only lasted a moment, right after that, it disappeared and Eve landed on the ground a little away with a thump. And exactly as I had expected, the match was over in that instant. With only one hit too. "The match is over!" Chapati declared in the microphone, sending the crowd into a round of cheers. "Eve put up a valiant effort against Rufus, but to no avail!" He said. Way to rub it in his face, old man. "The victor, Sabertooth's Rufus! Strong as expected!" He yelled, making the crowd's cheering into roars instead.

It was to be expected that these guys were strong. Otherwise there'd be no way they'd be on top for so long. But they were going to lose that title, that was for sure.

The two who had just battles came of the arena, the pony with a bit of help, and the pumpkin appeared instead, waving at all of us. "Next up, let's start the third match! Kabo." He said. Ohh? Somehow I knew this was something special. Maybe I'd get to kick some ass. "Fairy Tail B's-" Hah! So it was really me! "Lucy Mau'Te Rongo!" WHAAAAT?! Bunny-Girl?! "Vs Raven Tail's DD!" The pumpkin announced.

That was when my jaw hit the ground. No way! I wanted to fight those bastards! There was something wrong with those guys, they were too cocky. I wanted to kick their asses so much they wouldn't be able to walk! And then here comes Bunny-Girl and takes my spot. What the hell?!

I looked at Bunny-Girl, who looked shocked herself. But there was also a lot of determination in those eyes of hers. She was clenching the railing, looking at the Raven Tail balcony on the other side of the stadium. She was obviously struggling with something.

The Chaos Dragon put his hand on hers, drawing her attention. "You can do it Lucy." He reassured her. Those words seemed to be all she needed to hear. She nodded, determined, and jumped over the railing. The feeling she had around her. She was dead serious.

What the heck had I missed? I knew Raven Tail and Fairy Tail weren't exactly on good terms, but this was obviously more than that. It just seemed.. Much more important somehow.

She calmly walked to the middle of the field, as the Raven also did it.

**Down on the ground~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I was glaring right at the man in front of me. DD. He was the one of the Ravens who seemed considerably normal. His eyes switched between green and blue - the only two colors he had shown so far. And he was grinning at me.

He had that wide, amused smile etched on his face, as if it was all just a game for him. Well, maybe it was. Maybe he wasn't even aware of who he was fighting against. Or maybe he did. And the fact that I couldn't even _use_ my Dragon magic. Maybe he was just laughing at me.

The Ravens. They knew something, it was confirmed yesterday. Acnologia had spoken to the other Heads, but they decided not to do anything, since it would be too risky without knowing anything at all. I had to agree with them.

I stopped when I stood just a few paces in front of the guy. He was taller than me, almost as tall as Acnologia, but not quite. His posture told me he was confident. Probably that he'd win or something. I glared right into his changing eyes. I would _not_ lose this battle. I would show him, and all the other Ravens, that there was no stopping a Dragon. Or a Fairy for that matter.

Chapati was the one to break our stare-contest. "LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" He yelled as the gong once again marked the start of the battle.

I quickly crouched, so I was ready for whatever he might throw at me. I waited, wanting to see what he did to counter it and figure out how this guy moved.

But he didn't move either, actually, he seemed awfully casual about the whole thing, standing there, grinning and with his hands in his pockets.

Fine then, I'd make the first move. I moved my hands down to my hips, one grasping Fleuve d'étoiles and the other making its way down in my pouch after a key. I repeated the order of my keys in my head and quickly found the key I wanted.

I pulled the key up swiftly and pointed the golden metal at my opponent, while having also pulled the whip out, so it was ready to be used. "Open Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" I called as my pink-haired Maiden Spirit appeared before me in her shackles.

She bowed lightly at me. "Hello, Hime-sama. Is it time for my punishment?" She asked me, as per usual. I realized that it had been too long since I had called her, as well as the rest of my Zodiacs, out. And the Silver keys too.

I nodded. "Yes, Virgo. We're going to punish this guy." I told her, not looking away from my opponent. I feared that if I looked away from him for even a second, he would attack me.

Virgo gave me a nod, realizing this battle was serious. She jumped up in the air, as if she was a dolphin in water, and bore down in the ground, disappearing from sight.

DD watched as Virgo disappeared into the ground, then grinned up at me, his eyes shining blue. "What? Do you really think a lowly Spirit like her can hit _me_?" He asked me. His smirk widened. "Think again, sweetheart." He said.

I felt an intense magic rising from him and suddenly the whole ground changed into sand. I glared up at him. Virgo couldn't dig in this and he knew it. It was too soft for her. I touched her key again, calling her back.

I looked at him, as he stood there, smirking. "Who are you?" I asked him bitterly, spitting every word out as if it was poison.

He grinned at me. "I'm glad you ask!" He told me rather excitedly. "I am DD, creator of absolute Desolation, the cause of inescapable Death. From there comes my name, Desolation Death." He explained. "Well, you can also erase the space if you want, but it's up to you." He told me with a wide smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him. That wasn't even a name. He was not going to tell me his real name, that much was clear.

I looked down at the sand-like ground I was standing on. I had a Spirit that fit this place perfectly. I touched Scorpio's key at the side of my belt. "Open Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" I told my Scorpion Spirit.

Just like with Virgo, Scorpio appeared right next to me. "We are!" He exclaimed. He didn't need to be guided to the enemy, Virgo had probably told them all that I was fighting. "This whole arena is our sand!" He told us all and crouched a little down, his tail pointing up in the air. "Sand Spear!" He chanted.

Out of his stinger-like tail came a spear of sand. I quickly reacted as he said the spell and lashed out at DD with my whip. It wrapped around him keeping him in place, just before the Sand Spear hit him.

But just as the sand was supposed to hit his face and fly out in every direction, it began floating calmly in the air in front of him. He tipped his head to the side, and the sand flew off in that direction. Suddenly, I felt the grip my whip had on him loosened. That too began floating in the air around him, not at all restraining him like it was supposed to.

I pulled my whip back and clicked it back on my belt. It was obviously useless against this man, to use it that way anyway. And that was how I used my whip 90 percent of the time. "Gravity magic?" I asked him. That was the only magic I could think of, which would do what he just did with the whip and the sand. And he seemed to be very adept with it. It didn't explain what he did with the terrain though..

He smiled widely at me. "Correct!" He said as if I'd just answered a question right in a quiz. "But, there's more than just that." He promised me. Yes, I'd figured that much out.

Since I couldn't use my whip, I would just have to use my Celestial magic instead. Gravity magic didn't have any effect on that after all. But I also had to figure out what that other magic he possessed was.

I would have to get closer to him though… I summoned a golden glow to my fists and looked at Scorpio, who was awaiting my command. "Scorpio." I simply said, knowing he'd know what I wanted.

He nodded. "We will help you, Lucy!" He reassured me and once again stood on all fours, tipping his tail forward. "Sand Vortex!" He called. Sand appeared around DD, swirling around him like a whirlpool. It was a new move Scorpio and I had worked out, training under the Spirit King.

I nodded in thanks and quickly shot forward at the Raven, getting ready for some close combat. The now softened ground made it a bit difficult to move, but nothing I couldn't handle. I quickly neared him, but just as I came close, the Sand Vortex Scorpio had created exploded from within and in every direction. That was his other magic, I knew I'd felt it before, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Ha!" I heard him laugh. "Like some measly whirl of sand could keep _me_ trapped." He mocked me. I knew I was close enough to him and aimed a roundhouse-kick right at his face while he was still unsuspecting. Well that was what I thought, but just as I was about to hit him, my shin hit his forearm roughly. He smirked back at me. "Sweet cheeks, you'll have to do better than that." He told me and pushed his arm back, making me fall down on the ground on my butt. Very elegantly, indeed.

I quickly got on my feet again and jumped back from him, trying to figure something else out. I had reinforced that kick with Celestial magic, it shouldn't have been as simple as it seemed for him to stop it.

I knew who I should call out… Someone I trusted a lot and knew would cover the close combat department well. I touched Loke's key. "Loke." I simply said, completely forgetting that there was actually and incantation for opening Gates and that most Celestial mages used them.

The Lion Spirit appeared beside me, also aware of the situation and not making any weird appearance, declaring his love for me or anything. "It's been way too long, Princess." He simply told me, then charged in at the opponent.

The two of them quickly engaged in close combat, Loke momentarily driving his attention away from me and my other Spirit. Loke got DD turned around, so that he had his back to us, creating the perfect opening for us.

I exchanged gazes with Scorpio and we both nodded, readying our own attacks. "Sand Buster!" He said and a big tornado of sand shot out of his tail and at DD's back.

I quickly sent a beam of my own magic into his and spun it around with Scorpio's Sand Buster. "Celestial Sand!" I said somewhat loudly. "Loke, go back!" I quickly called. He nodded at me and disappeared back into the Spirit World.

The swirl of golden sand quickly closed the distance between DD and itself. The target turned around so he stood with his side to us and looked at the beam calmly with green eyes and a little smile playing at his lips. He simply held his hand forward at the rapidly approaching tornado. And just like that, it exploded again and disappeared. Well, the sand did, but my Celestial magic didn't.

The golden magic continued on towards its target and spun right around DD's hand and arm, hitting him around the shoulder. The magic didn't seem to hurt him much.

As I had expected, whatever magic it was he used, it didn't affect the Celestial magic I could produce. It was too 'pure' to be affected by it. Unfortunately, Celestial magic wasn't supposed to hurt someone like this. It was supposed to protect, strengthen and summoning Spirits.

I furrowed my eyebrows. What was I supposed to do here…? Any time this guy whished; he could push us down with his Gravity magic or make us fly around weightlessly. And I didn't even know what he could do with that other magic.

He smirked at me, completely unaffected by my Celestial magic. "At this rate, you won't stand a chance to win, now will you, _Mau'Te Rongo_?"He asked me mockingly, putting extra emphasis on my last name. "You'll have to use your Drag- no, _Elemental _keys if you want to win." He mocked me, once again letting me know he knew all about me. It was painfully obvious that even though Scorpio was at the most advantageous field, he still wasn't strong enough to do anything against this guy. So, with a single glance, I sent him home to Aquarius.

I crouched down again. It was obvious this guy was stronger than he led us to believe. I could feel a well of untapped magic in him. Perhaps I should go first and tap on some of the magic I kept hidden.

I closed my eyes for a second and released a fourth of the magic I had been holding down. For a start, this was enough. I opened my eyes and released it all in one burst.

The sudden break in defense made a semi-strong wind blow out, with me in centrum, and DD momentarily lost balance, both from the sudden rise in magical pressure and the wind.

I quickly shot forward, taking advantage of his momentary drop in guard, readying my magic in one foot once again. I reached him swiftly and when I was almost right in front of him, I moved the foot with the magic forward with as much force as I could. "LUCY KICK!" I yelled. My foot shot up like a bullet and hit him right where I wanted it to, in the chin.

He flew far up in the air, it being my strongest kick after all and one I often used as a finishing move. At some point, the force of my kick didn't reach farther and DD slowed almost completely down. Then he slowly, as if gliding off something, began falling down headfirst.

But then, he moved his head and looked directly at me with amused, blue eyes. He winked at me once, then began spinning himself around, using the momentum of the fall. I have no idea how many somersaults he had made before he finally landed on the ground on his feet, with his back to us.

He slowly turned around to me and me, but unfortunately for him, I was already right behind him, delivering a Celestial-enforced punch to his face.

He didn't have time to dodge or block it, so instead he used it to whirl himself around, lifting a foot to give me a kick to the face in return.

Just like he had earlier, I put up an arm for blockade. Our two limbs crashed together loudly and painfully, sending an uncomfortable tingling feeling through my arm. I realized that I didn't have enough strength to hold his foot at bay with only one arm.

I growled under my breath at my own weakness and was about to push his leg away, when I figured I could do something much smarter.

I could feel a little smirk slowly forming on my lips when I looked into the other guy's green eyes. It kinda freaked me out how they constantly changed like that. I disregarded that line of thought and quickly encased my hand in a golden glow.

I saw that he glanced down at my hand, probably feeling the Celestial magic oozing off it. Now, the little smirk grew to a full-blown smirk instead, while I jabbed my glowing hand forward, connecting directly with his stomach.

But my smirk quickly faded. That didn't have the effect I thought it would. His stomach was as hard as steel, almost literally. As it seemed, it hurt me more than him. That damn bastard had seen it coming and had readied himself for it.

He grinned at me. "Nice try, _Princess_." He said, apparently having finally found a fitting name for me. He finally took his foot down. And in a flowing motion, following his foots course to the ground, he leaned in closer to me. "You know, I don't see much Peace in you, Princess. You seem more like a wild _beast_." He told me with a wide grin.

I found myself speechless. I knew he knew I was a Dragon, but I guess it hadn't really seeped in after all. Now, it was hard not to know he did, he had basically called me a Dragon. A Peace Dragon. And he had used the term I had once used, although only in my thoughts. Who was this guy?

His grin changed to a smirk when he heard the loud growl coming from the balcony behind me. "What? Rendered speechless with my good looks?" He asked me confidently.

This snapped me out of whatever trance I had been caught in. I did just as I had seen Natsu and Gray do countless times, sticking my own head all the way up to his, so our noses almost touched. "No way, _Raven_." I snarled at him.

This only made him smile wider. "You're open, Princess." He warned me, before he too shot his hand forward, incased in the magic I recognized, but couldn't put my finger on. It quickly connected with my stomach, giving me no time to do what he had done.

While I bent forward, trying to regain at least some kind of air back into my lungs, I finally realized what kind of magic it was. It was the one which made everything crumble around you, if you didn't keep it down. The magic Fairy Tail's ace owned. Crash.

I knew his magic wasn't as strong as Gildarts', I'd be long gone by now if that had been the case, but that didn't mean it wasn't strong. It was one of those magic where it just didn't matter who had it, that guy would be strong.

I heard my opponent laugh above me, as I had fallen on the ground, clutching my stomach. "You're nothing like what Master put you up to be, creature of Peace. I don't get why he would want you for anything." He laughed at me. I cast my eyes at the ground again. Just as I thought he couldn't insult me further, I heard a word. That one word. "You're weak, Mau'Te Rongo." He told me.

Was he telling _me_ that _I_ was _weak_?! You could call me a lot of things, but if you called _me_ weak, my darker side would make its way to the front.

My inner Demon Lucy aura began seeping out of me in waves, sending dread and the promise of doom into anyone unfortunate enough to be close by.

I began laughing by myself, still keeping a tight hold on my stomach as I looked at the ground. "Ohh…" I said in a dark voice. "So I am weak, am I?" I asked him, while he was still laughing.

It seemed he finally realized I had changed. His laughing halted and I was guessing he was looking down at me. To confirm it, I slowly turned my head up in a way I guessed was creepy. My eyes met his, and I saw how he gradually blanched, looking down at me and feeling the aura which now was solely focused on him.

At first, I scowled at him, but slowly that scowl changed to a little smile, which, judging by my opponent's face, wasn't a pleasant kind. He involuntarily took a few steps back, making some distance between us.

I slowly got up on my feet again, tipping my head a little back. Kind of like how the redhead from his own guild had. "Shall we see who's weak now, _creator of Death_?" I mocked him, using his own words. It was ironic as it was right now. He was almost trembling where he stood, while I had the aura of 'Death' around me.

I touched two keys at my belt and called them out. "Fortis, Consectetuer." I said in my dark voice, as the two fighters appeared at either side.

As usual, Flash threw his arm around my shoulders, being one of those people who didn't give a damn what Acnologia said. Surprisingly, Acnologia didn't react as strongly when this guy touched me than when anyone else did. Maybe he'd just given up with this one?

Flash grinned down at me, his scythe hanging casually over his shoulder as if running around with a scythe was the most normal thing in the world. "I like that aura, Princess." He told me approvingly and laughed.

Fortis stared directly at the man, whose eyes were now almost completely black. A color we hadn't seen before, eh? "Is this out opponent, Lucy-dono?" He asked me, his attention not wavering the slightest.

I nodded as Flash also looked at the guy in front of us. "Yes. Tear him apart." I told them, knowing it would spur them both on.

My Lightning Spirit began laughing maniacally. "_Finally _you called me out to a fight, Princess!" He said ecstatically. "I WILL ANNIHILATE YOU!" He told the opponent, who took another step backwards.

On the other hand, Fortis only nodded. "I will make sure Lucy-dono doesn't look _weak_ in this rude man's eyes." He told me as if what he said didn't even exist and 'this guy' wasn't sane.

Yep, these two guys were definitely some of the best choices I had as it was right now. Both extremely good hand-to-hand combatants. Or just close in general.

They both charged forward, Flash with a battle-cry. He was obviously enjoying himself. Fortis on the other hand, thought something else. "How _dare_ you insult Lucy-dono with your presence, you commoner!" He yelled at him.

Even though I was Demon Lucy, I sweat dropped at this comment. It was like he thought I really was a princess of some kind.

Lightning began to crackle all the way around Flash's scythe as he quickly closed in on DD, who had finally regained his composure. I figured this out, because his eyes had once again changed to a color he hadn't used before. They were glowing bright red as if he was some kind of beast, keeping his focus on the two Spirits.

They both closed in on him equally fast, while he stood still awaiting their attacks. I could feel they both summoned magic to their respective weapons, preparing to slice down.

When they were inside reach, they both began slicing each of their weapons down. It seemed DD had expected this. He closed his eyes for only a second and when he opened them again, a strong wave of his Crash magic flew from him.

I stumbled a little backwards when I was hit, but I made sure to supply both my Spirits with enough magic, so they wouldn't be affected with the wave. And it worked.

Both slashed down at him simultaneously and with their magic intact around their weapons. It seemed that Fortis' magic was quickest, as it spread around him, covering more than just the wound on his chest. Meanwhile, Flash's magic came into contact with Fortis' and electrocuted the Raven.

They both jumped back quickly, landing on either side of me. They hadn't even needed to talk about it, they both knew what they were supposed to do.

DD didn't seem to get much of an electrocution, but it wasn't what shocked him anyway, judging by his facial expression and suddenly orange eyes. He looked alternately at the three of us, at some point only at my two Spirits. "How did you..? My magic was supposed to neutralize any magic." He told us confusedly.

I smiled darkly at him, taking a step forward to regain his attention. "Your Crash magic can't affect magic as pure as the ones these _Elemental_ keys use." I told him. He still looked confused. I guess that he didn't know everything after all. I sighed and signaled for my two Spirits, well mostly Flash, that they were allowed to attack him again.

Of course, he also did this immediately. He shot a little beam of Lightning at DD, while he still had Iron magic in his system. DD tried to block it with his magic, but it didn't work on it, it just continued on and hit him, sending him into another round of electricity. Meanwhile, Flash also closed in on DD, swinging his scythe around as if it was a plaything.

Maybe he would slice that guy to ribbons? Heh, he'd deserve it after calling me weak. He should just be grateful I wasn't able to use my own Dragon magic right at the moment. I'd swallow him. Alive.

I took another step forward as my Spirit and the guy were now quite preoccupied with a one on one. "Just like with my Celestial magic, you can't hit the Elemental key's magic." I knew what he was going to ask, as well as anyone else in this situation. "The Elemental keys aren't like the Zodiac keys or the Silver, they work purely on their individual Elemental magic. Zodiac's, like Scorpio's, all have a hint of Celestial magic in them, which is why you could separate them with Crash. But you can't do that when it's completely pure." I explained.

That was how to beat this guy. Crash-magic wise anyway. Then there was his Gravity… That was troublesome.

Flash swung his scythe down one more time in an almost animalistic way. Had animals been able to hold scythes… I noticed that his whole way of fighting was very animalistic. Relying on senses and instinct rather than wits. I knew a few other people who did that as well.

I saw DD's face lit up with realization. So he had realized too, huh? Gravity magic. That was what he should use if he wanted to win. I quickly reached for my whip and while he gathered his magic around him, I lashed out with it, grabbing his arm just above his wrist. He only just realized it was around him before I pulled it back forcefully. So forcefully I 'accidentally' made him crash into the wall behind me.

He closed his eyes in pain and grunted as he slid down on the ground. I looked at Fortis, who nodded. I nodded in return and focused on getting my magic to my Spirit. I felt him take quite a bite of it, then got submerged in a golden glow. Before the glow had subsided again, he was already running forward in his armored Rhino form.

The ground shook lightly under the weight of the big rhino as he made his way towards our opponent. He kept running forward, although not too fast.

I heard the maniacal laugh belonging to my other Spirit behind me, as he began running forward as quickly as he could. He caught up with the rhino in no time and jumped up on his back. "YEEHA!" He said excitedly with his scythe in the air.

"Don't get used to it, Consectetuer." He warned the bat, before speeding up just a bit. DD looked up from where he lay on the ground, slowly pushing himself up with one hand.

He had one closed eye, as blood oozed out from a wound, that the wall had apparently inflicted on him. above it. He held one hand out to the two Spirits. "Gravity: Down." He said.

Suddenly, both Spirits were flying in the air over the ground. Flash looked back at me. "Princess!" He called. I nodded and sent him my magic as well, feeling him take a bite of it as well. He quickly transformed to a bat.

He had much better chance of doing anything in this lower Gravity zone he had been put in. Of course, he had also figured that out. He began flapping his wings and quickly gained speed. He planned to slice the guy up with his wings, as I had later learned was where his scythe had ended up, and probably adding some Lightning to the mix.

That would have been a good idea, if DD hadn't already foreseen this. He had already made his way to his feet, although not standing as steadily as he had before. Had he hit head first into the wall? He held his hand out towards Flash and Fortis. "Gravity: Up." He said. I felt him put extra much magic in this one and widened my eyes, this would probably send both of them back to the Spirit World.

As I had expected, both suddenly crashed to the ground as if what they had been standing on had been pulled away under them. They both managed to make quite the crater in the ground, Fortis' the biggest one of course.

They also both reverted back to their Human selves. Fortis made eye contact with me. "I'm sorry… Lucy-dono. I am a disgrace to you.." He muttered and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Flash only focused on DD. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He yelled at him and then also disappeared. Why did I always get the eccentric ones?

DD, having regained mobility and everything else, grinned at me. "So what're you gonna do now, Princess?" He asked me mockingly. I just glared at him. How dared he hurt my Spirits and friends. I'd get them back for this. "I'll make this quick, it's beginning to bore me." He said with bright blue eyes. He held his hand out towards me. "Gravity: Up." He said.

I felt my legs tremble under me and I fell to my knees, unable to keep myself standing under the heavy pressure of my own weight. Shit.. What was I supposed to do? Should I call another Spirit? But I didn't want to put any of them up against this guy just so they could lose either.

DD casually made his way towards me. "You look really pathetic down there, Princess." He told me, laughing in the meantime.

I glared up at him, at the very least able to move my head. "What does your Master want with me, _Raven_?" I demanded to know. Might as well get some answers out of him now I had the chance. I kind of got the feeling it could be important.

He smirked down at me. At first, he didn't say anything. Then he crouched down in front of me, full-well knowing I couldn't move. "He wants a Peace creature." He simply told me in a low whisper, so the screens didn't catch it.

I widened my eyes. What? He wanted a Peace Dragon? I get that it could be a powerful asset to the guild, but if it wasn't willingly… What made him think that I would join? I could just eat them all one by one if I wanted to. And wouldn't a Chaos Dragon be better for the task?

Apparently he saw my confusion. "We already have a Chaos creature locked in a jail here in Crocus, as I know you know." He told me. "We need balance, you see." He said and stretched his legs, standing above me. "Something to outweigh the Chaos. Peace." He told me.

That Chaos creature he talked about… Could it be Kurama? No… It could _only_ be Kurama. He said it was something I already knew. The only Chaos Dragon I knew of, which was locked up, was Kurama. So these were the guys who kept Kurama and tortured him.

I felt my anger rise again. How wretched of them! Torturing an innocent Dragon for whatever gain they had of it. We'd stop them. There was no way they would get what they wanted, not if I had anything to say in it.

I'm guessing he could feel my anger rising and kicked my side, making me fall down, without being able to get up or do anything besides glare up at him. Why weren't the judges stopping the match? It was obvious even to me I had lost here. I hated to admit it, but I would get him and the rest of Raven Tail back for this. But not today.

He looked down at me with amused, blue eyes. "Actually, Princess." He called to me. He spoke so softly only I would hear it. I faintly noticed the crowd and judges raging over this fact. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret." He told me. If he didn't have it before, he most certainly had all of my attention now. "You see, I think Master is thinking of getting rid of our current Chaos creature." He said. "It's getting old and weak, we need something strong and fresh." He explained and glanced up at the balcony where my team was. "Like your mate for example."

That was when something snapped inside me. He would _NOT_ even _consider_ touching my mate. I felt my inner Dragon clawing inside me to get to the front. I fought it, but it easily overpowered me. I was raging. Raging with anger towards this man. How was it even possible for anyone to be so _disgusting_?! I WOULD NOT LET HIM ANYWHERE _NEAR_ ACNOLOGIA!

In an instant, I let down the barrier for my Celestial magic completely, closing my eyes. It sent a wave much stronger than his own out of me, and it wasn't just one, it was several, all with the same intensity. It was fuelled exponentially by my anger.

I felt the effects of the Gravity magic fade completely and got to my feet with my Celestial magic raging around me. I felt it radiating from my body, being too much for me to hold inside me.

When I finally opened my eyes and glared at the man in front of me, who now had completely coal-black eyes again, I saw my own reflection in an instant, before he was literally blown away with an especially strong wave of Celestial magic, which was also the last.

My eyes, just like with this creep, they weren't warm and brown. They were a dark, night-blue color and stars lit them up in a golden glow, my Celestial magic shining out through them. I guessed it was because it was all coursing around in me, enhanced with anger. Anger could do marvelous things.

I slowly and threateningly took steps forward, towards my enemy. "I won't allow you to lay a single finger on Acnologia, _Raven_." I told him. "You better just spread you wings and fly AWAY!" I yelled at him and stretched my hand out towards him in the same fashion he had. Golden and glittering Celestial magic shot out, much faster than before, towards the guy.

He had no way of stopping it. None of his magic had any effect on it and he hadn't been quick enough to react. The beam of Celestial magic hit him right in the chest. I quickly followed up with a harsh kick to the side, just as he had to me when I was pulled down by his Gravity magic.

Except I deliberately put much more force into mine. Instead of just falling to his side, DD flew off into the wall on the other side. He had his back to the wall, creating a big dent into it.

I had completely let go of my merciful self as I, while I stalked towards him like the Dragon I was, kept an ongoing beam of Celestial magic constantly drumming into him, keeping him where he was, without giving him any hint of a breather.

I glared right at him as I closed in on him, enjoying the way his face twisted in pain. Somewhere deep in myself, I wished that that was due to the Dragon's bloodlust rather than myself. "How _DARE_ you assume that I will just _help_ you?!" I yelled at him.

He was going to suffer. Right here. They said something about how they didn't take responsibility if anyone died here, right? Well, well, well… That was promising.

I continued going forward, getting angrier and angrier for every second that passed. DD, didn't say anything, he only endured, or tried to, my Celestial beam, which suddenly had the property of being able to hurt people directly. As I said, anger was power.

I finally reached him and grabbed his chin, making him look directly at me, as I stopped the Celestial magic from hitting him and instead let it radiate out of me intimidatingly. "Don't think for even a second that I will let you hurt him or anyone else I care about." I told him threateningly. "I'll say it one last time. I will _not_ join your _lousy_ guild for some _damn_ plan your Master has!" I snarled at him.

His eyes, now green again, met mine calmly. "Princess, as much as I like this wild side of yours.." He trailed off, a smile beginning to form on his lips. "You're predictable." He told me and suddenly I felt a strong pain from my chest.

Oh, so this pervert knew where to hit so it hurt? Or was he just that? A pervert? Either way, I would not forgive him for this. Or for anything else he did.

I had released my hold on his chin, so he was on his feet standing like a looming shadow over me. "My Master always gets what he wants." He reassured me and kicked me. I was fast enough to stop his foot with my arm, now enhanced with loads of Celestial magic, having learned from an earlier mistake.

I glared up at him, having otherwise faced the ground. My vision was getting red and blurry from the thought of him 'getting what he wanted'. I wouldn't let him touch my mate! I wouldn't let him touch a single _hair_ on Acnologia's head! I WOULDN'T LET THEM COMPLETE THEIR PLANS!

I felt the last bit of humanity slip out of my fingers as my Dragon-self took completely over. I couldn't control myself anymore. I began growling lowly, so only he would hear it. My bloodlust at the moment was so big and forceful I felt myself preparing to change to my Dragon form.

"Oh no you don't…" The Raven muttered. He quickly gave me a roundhouse-kick to the face. I hadn't had time to block or dodge, but I _did_ have time to react afterwards. I flew with my back parallel to the ground.

Nothing in my mind worked right. I was completely going on instinct right now. It was a scary feeling, but I felt powerful. Unbeatable. Indestructible. Immortal. Nothing this Raven said or did could do anything to me now.

I reached one hand down to the ground. With the help of the sudden decreasing speed, I flipped around. I landed on my two feet and with one hand on the ground. I didn't care about my now bleeding hand. All I cared about was the prey. Right there in front of me. I looked up at my prey as the predator I was.

I faintly registered in my mind that the guy was saying something to me, but it didn't break through the coat of anger I had thrown around me. Nothing did.

I quickly pushed off the ground, running towards the Raven once again. I erased the distance in only a moment. I quickly delivered a powerful right hook. He just barely evaded and gave me a punch in return. I didn't feel it. I was unbeatable.

I grinned, letting my now more fang-like teeth show. I knew my nails had grown too. Sharper. Longer. My knee connected with his stomach. He bent forward, trying to get air into his lungs. I didn't give a damn as I elbowed him in the back. He collapsed on the ground right in front of me.

I growled at him, not saying any words, just telling him I was superior. The predator. He was my prey. Dragons ate Ravens as an afternoon snack. Then picked their teeth with their bones afterwards.

I wasn't done there, I hadn't won yet. I hadn't beaten him. I hadn't killed him. I gave him a Celestial-enforced kick, making him fly away into the wall once again. He was like a bullet from a gun.

He cried out in pain, much to my pleasure. The Dragon inside me howled in glee. I faintly heard him say something. 'You asked for it'. That's what he said. I felt his magical pressure rise. It kept growing.

I looked at him. He had white magic oozing off of him. Crash magic. Nothing to a Peace Dragon. Nothing to me. I responded by getting my own Dragon magic ready for use.

But then he shot forward. Faster than I thought he could. He pushed off the wall. He hit me in the stomach with a knee. Just like I had to him. But his sent me flying. Now I crashed into a wall. I couldn't breathe. There wasn't any air in my lungs.

I looked down. I tried to find him. I got off the wall. But then he was suddenly right in front of me. He tripped me. I fell to the ground. I felt something hit me. The sore spot I had on my stomach. Then my magic faded. All around me, it disappeared. As if someone pulled it out. Absorbed it. It wasn't natural. It shouldn't leave me like this. Someone was taking it.

I felt my sight go blank, then a moment later I opened my eyes again. The intensity of my Dragon had completely vanished, I was back to my own rational self. I stared forward at the open field in front of me with wide, scared eyes. My Dragon, my instincts, they had taken over completely, I was at the mercy of them. It was scary, I was so scared…

I was pulled out of my fear as someone finally said something very loudly. "That marks the end of the most exciting battle for day three!" He yelled. It hurt my ears so much. The waves went right past my ear drums and straight to my brain, where the vibrations shook it painfully. Everything was so loud. So noisy. "What an awesome battle! It left us right at the edges of our seats all the way through! A battle of raw magical power!" The guy continued painfully.

I closed my eyes and held my ears. Maybe I could hide? Couldn't I just be alone? This was way too loud. I was caught, trapped. Everyone was staring at me. Or didn't they see me at all?

I heard footsteps approaching me. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of black sneakers hidden underneath a pair of jeans. "Princess. The match is over." Someone said. I looked up. It was DD. He was looking at me with green eyes. Green, calm and calculating eyes. He held a hand down to me. "Come on, get up or your mate will kill me."

I looked alternately at him and his hand. Debating what I should do. In the end I took his hand, it would seem wrong if I didn't. I nervously looked at him as he helped me up. When I looked into his eyes, the noise of the crowd behind me disappeared completely.

When I finally got to my feet, the haze that was fear cleared a little. I averted my gaze from his. "I-I'm sorry…" I muttered, referring to my anger-attack.

I glanced up at him to see him smirk. "Oh, don't worry about that." He told me. Suddenly, he leaned in next to my ear, invading my personal space. "We can't have you revealing all of your secrets yet, now can we?" He asked me, pulled back and walked back to his balcony with a last wink.

I spaced off for a second, then slowly and unsteadily made my way towards the gate under our balcony. When I crossed over to the shadows under the balcony, I once again felt the fear taking a firm hold of my heart and mind. I quickly crossed a corner, where I then slid down the wall.

I pulled my knees all the way up to my face, like I had done _that _day fourteen years ago. I put my forehead on my knees and my hands over my ears, locking out the sounds of the people outside.

The Dragon… I had almost killed that Raven. If he hadn't somehow stopped me, I would have killed him. And maybe I wouldn't have stopped there. I would have continued on to the rest of Raven tail. Found their Master, Ivan, was it? Somehow I got the feeling that that was just a cover. There was someone working behind the scenes.

It had taken over my mind completely. I couldn't make a single coherent thought, they were all just a mush. Actually, there was one thing. Kill. That one word kept replaying in the back of my head.

I wasn't the one who moved my body out there. It was the Dragon, the evil Dragon inside me, not Big Lucy, she was funny and kind, no this was the dark Dragon inside me. It wanted blood. Lots of it.

"LUCY!" I heard a feminine voice call to me. I just curled myself even more into the ball. Hopefully this person would know I didn't want company. But my wishes were crushed as the person continued their approach to me. "Lucy…" She muttered.

I felt two arms wrap around me and the distinctive scent of Grandine and Igneel mixed together filled my nostrils. Grandine… This was Grandine. I could trust her. And finally I released the tension I had built up, let go and let the tears fall. They were surprisingly few.

I reached out and threw my arms around her as well, pulling her closer for much needed comfort. I never wanted to experience it again, not being able to control anything, but only able to watch it from the spectator seat. It was scary, more than anything I had ever tried before.

Grandine sat there, holding me tightly as I cried. Let it all out, so I could calm down and talk again. It took a little while, but I finally calmed down enough so I could speak again.

Grandine pushed me back gently and cupped my cheeks, brushing tears away gently and in a kind of motherly way. Her beautiful and kind blue eyes looked into my teary ones. She smiled at me. "Can I heal you now Lucy?" She asked me.

I giggled and nodded, first now noting that my hand was throbbing and my back was hurting. And that wasn't anything compared to my stomach. If Grandine hadn't been around, it would've left a blue mark. A big one too. I would be too embarrassed to show Acnologia my stomach for a long time.

Grandine held her hands over my hand first, healing the bloody hand. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Lucy, I feel someone used their magic on you. It's dark. You should have Amelane purify it." She told me.

I looked up at her. "Really?" I asked her. She nodded. So the feeling I got that my magic was being sucked out wasn't just something I imagined. I guessed it was someone from Raven tail, the same who also did it to Lisanna. Thing is, I was really happy that the person did it. I would have gone on a rampage if he hadn't. I nodded. "I'll ask her after the Games has ended." I reassured her. It wasn't weighing me down as it was right now, so I would be fine to wait.

We sat in silence for a moment, before she spoke up again. "Your Dragons, it almost took over down there, right?" She asked me, momentarily glancing up at me to read my reaction.

I hesitantly nodded, keeping my gaze on my hand. "Yeah… I felt so powerful. It felt like no one could beat me, I was unstoppable, you know?" I asked, really hoping she knew what I was talking about.

She nodded, finishing the treatment of my hand and moving on to my stomach. "We all go through it sooner or later, Lucy. I knew this day would come, just didn't expect it to be in the middle of these Games." She told me.

I looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What? You knew this would happen?" I asked her confused. Why hadn't they warned me?

She looked up at me with a kind smile. "Ae (Yes), as I said we all go through this at some point in our lives." She explained. I looked confusedly at her. "It's a kind of test." She told me, having understood my expression. "Every Dragon goes through this. Afterwards, it's important that we find out whether the persons liked what they experienced or if they didn't." She explained.

I looked at her again, tilting my head lightly. "Why? Why are you letting people go through this kind of thing?" I asked her. It was a horrible feeling, not while doing it, but afterwards.

She smiled at me. "Not everyone is as pure of heart as you are, Lucy dear." She told me. "Some people enjoy doing that, letting their instincts take over and kill. It's a second nature to Dragons, that's what we did long ago." She told me, then her face lit up in a bright smile. "But you have nothing to worry about, you obviously didn't like his experience very much." She reassured me.

I hesitated before asking. "Then what about those who do?" I asked, genuinely curious. Would they just watch over them more closely? Or keep them locked up perhaps.

All those thoughts were quickly extinguished, like a bucket of water on a lit match-stick, with the next few words Grandine spoke. "They're killed." She said. "They're too dangerous, for Dragons, but most certainly also for humans. Usually humans are what we have the desire to kill." She looked thoughtful for a while. "That dates way back to when the great war between human-loving Dragons and those who hated them." She told me. "We're protective of our territory after all." She said.

Somehow I got a feeling she was talking about what I yelled out there. Which I just remembered I had. I felt my face quickly heating up and hid it in my hands. "Tell me I didn't yell that out loud!" I squeaked. How embarrassing!

She laughed at me, but didn't get a chance to say anything when my favorite person in the world called out to me. Which I had also just declared to the world. "LUCY!" I heard Acnologia yell from the other side of the hall. I looked to my right to see him finally turning a corner. Then he also noticed me and Grandine and began running full-speed towards me.

Grandine pulled back, being done healing me, I realized. The pain had completely disappeared. That Dragon really was something.

Acnologia quickly reached us and when he was only a pair of meters from us, he fell to his knees and slid the rest of the way. When he was right next to me, he slowed down completely and trapped me in his familiar embrace, burying his nose in the crook of my neck. "Lucy…" He whispered gently into my skin.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him as well. "Acnologia." I answered back, pushing myself closer to him and letting his delicious smell flow into my nose and fill it.

Acnologia's hold on me tightened a little, I was glad Grandine had healed me, otherwise that had been painful. "I'm glad you're okay." He told me in a whisper. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "What did that Raven bastard tell you?" He asked me, skipping the part where I was a psychotic Dragon looking for blood.

"I'll let you two be alone for now." She told us with a smile and began walking back the way she came from.

I looked at her and shook my head. "No, you need to hear this too. After that go get the Heads, we're getting Kurama out of there today." I told her. She nodded and both of them listened as I explained what DD had told me.

**At the back of the crowd~**

**Mysterious Master's P.O.V**

That match had been good. The one between the man I trusted most and Lucy Mau'Te Rongo. DD had made a good job of showing me just how much the girl had learned on Celestial magic alone. Although that wasn't what I was looking for, it gave me a clear view on how much she had progressed. I looked forward to seeing her when she used her Dragon magic instead.

The way her Dragon almost took over back there showed me she had become strong. Now she had experienced it. But knowing her, she'd take the way all those Heads preferred. The 'light' path, which cared for these pesky humans all around. But she was clearly powerful, I could feel her Dragon all the way up here. I hated to admit it, but that girl had been considerably intimidating.

I felt someone approach me and stopping up right next to me. "So, Master, is she strong enough now?" DD asked me, not looking up at me, but at the battle going on between two pipsqueaks down in the arena.

I nodded, not looking at him either. "Ae (yes), she has enough power for what we need her for." I told him. Now it was time to progress the plan further. There wasn't long. Not long until my plan could be completed. And I knew Lucy would agree to do it.

**Ohhh Jeeeeezz… If that wasn't a plot development, I don't know what is. It is beyond clear Raven tail and this mysterious person are working close together. He even has his right-hand man as one of the competitors. What kind of plan are they plotting though? It all be revealed soon…**

**In case you people were wondering how Lucy could get as mad as she got, her Dragon instincts. The Dragon instincts are ten-doubled to that of Dragon Slayers. So if something pisses Natsu off, it pisses Lucy off ten times as much! That **_**and**_** Dragons of both genders are very territorial. Or possessive. However you wanna say it ^_^ **

**AND WAS THAT A LONG-ASS BATTLE OR WHAT?! It could be a training chapter all by itself. Amazing, isn't it?**

**Okie-dokie, so how many have figured anything out regarding DD's eyes? Why do they change color and is there a rhythm in it? Looking forward to (maybe) seeing some guesses ^_^ **

**I know I haven't done this as of yet, but one time has to be the first. Guys… Did you read the new chapter of Fairy Tail? If you haven't I won't spoil it. I'll just say: be prepared for the plot-twist of your lives. And girls; don't drool too much XD **

**Thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, Guest, Nicole (Guest), StrongGuy159, wheafel, mjb379, clumzybeans, ZinaThePanda, Tenshineko27, Acnologia Prime, amerdism, Konan15, OtakuLover43, KnowledgeSeer, Mirror Night, Aira0906, Dakrverger1, Moonlight Starlove, Alaina Kuski, BustNjust9, aristofthemind, FairyTailNaluFan, Bookworm1898, Strawberry Cake is Life, Guest, jossan13, Me (Guest), Guest, Guest, OrLu (Guest), Mike345210778, SillyKitty88, magicatheart, yaoi-freak2580, Pikujha, Avita Life, Guest, Raventus Dracoria, cerrybnana Lunascorpio20, death24817, Ghostblossom, Turtle D. Dragneel, veilu (Guest), Black Kitty Night Club, NamelessOne0, XXLucyHeartLoverXX, hanasuki, Hikari no tenshi 143, xxColourSharkxx, OSM (Guest) and all you other amazing people out there who take your time to read some amateur's work! XD ARIGATOU!**

**AND 600 FOLLOWERS! GUYS YOU ARE AMAAAAAZIIIING!**

**~Line464d**


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

**Ready for the retrieval of Kurama?! Well whether you are or not, you'll just have to be! Lame, I know XD  
Also, it seems a lot of you were confused as to whether or not Lucy won the battle against DD. She lost. **

**Thank you for helping out DesolationDeath!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**At the Team B balcony~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Lucy and I only just made it to see the ending of the battle between Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail A. It was Chelia Blendy, apparently a Sky God Slayer from there, and Wendy from our guild. The two quickly became good friends, even though they'd been fighting each other. Well it was probably based on the fact they were both Sky Slayers and about the same age, if you don't count those lost seven years. The two were very evened out in pretty much every aspect, so the battle ended out in a draw.

Right about now, Chapati was ending the day. "And that marks the end of day three!" He said loudly, sending the crowd into applause. "Come back tomorrow for even more action!" He continued. Now the crowd screamed in cheers, making my ears ring. Why'd they have to be so loud?

I squeezed Lucy's hand, secretly telling her we had to go now, while we still had time. It would be easy hiding in the crowd, if it even came to that.

She squeezed back and smiled up at me. We began turning around and walked out of the exit casually and without any 'obstacles' as we had been standing in the back right in front of the door leading to the balcony.

But unfortunately we didn't get far before someone called out to us. "Bunny-Girl!" The Iron Bastard's son called after us.

Lucy turned around, releasing my hand as she faced Gajeel, while I looked at him over my shoulder dissatisfied. Why'd he have to make Lucy release my hand?

Lucy smiled at him, although I knew she was also somewhat frustrated. We were kind of in a hurry. "Yes, what is it Gajeel?" She asked him as nice as always.

He stopped up in front of her, put his hands on her shoulders - much to my annoyance - and stared right into her eyes. He stayed silent, looking into them as if he'd find some kind of answer there. Finally, he opened his mouth and spoke. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

While I was debating whether or not to cut his arms off, both from now and when he _and _the Lightning Rod had left their odors all over her, I was pulled out of the bloody thoughts in surprise. These weren't the words I had expected him to say. Not that I had actually considered what he could say.

Likewise, Lucy hadn't been prepared for his concern either and just looked at him with lightly widened and stunned eyes. "W-what brought this on all of a sudden?" She stammered quizzically.

Gajeel sighed and, with a glance at me, released her shoulders and relented with just looking into her eyes firmly. "Because since you dumped that Fire Idiot as your best friend, I gotta take the role, ya know?" He said with a light smirk. Oh right, I remembered Lucy telling me something about making this idiot her best friend. I would never understand why. "Now tell me, are you okay?" He asked, clearly saying he demanded an answer.

Lucy smiled at him, this time with a soft and touched expression. She nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him. "Thank you Gajeel. You don't need to worry about me, I already have one worry-wart around, I don't need two." She told him, sending me an innocent eyes. I couldn't be mad at that face and she knew just how to utilize that weakness. She looked back at him. "Was it really that obvious?" She then asked him.

He looked at her for a second, probably wondering if he should tell her the truth or not, but in the end decided to do it.

But he wasn't fast enough as another male cut him off. "Yeah, it was Blondie." Laxus said as he approached us, his long coat waving gently as he walked. "You lay on the ground, curled into a ball, trying to hide from everyone and everything. Then you ran off under the balcony while everyone knows you can jump over the railing if you wanted to." He told her.

I nodded gently and began rubbing circles on her back to comfort her. She really had been obvious, I'd heard the crowd's mumbling. But to me it didn't look like she was weak, I knew it was a sign of strength and a sensible mind. While it sounded evil, I knew it was a good thing, the fear she'd been feeling back there. But I knew that wasn't what it seemed like from the outside.

I clearly remembered when my Dragon acted up like that. It was back at Tenrou, I recently learned. I actually enjoyed it back then, to some extent anyway. That rush of power, it was like nothing I'd ever felt. Or would ever feel again. What pulled me to the right path was Lucy, of course. The face she'd made back there, when she thought I had killed them, that was a face I knew I never wanted to see again. It had struck the Dragon inside me too, and both of us knew we had to prevent this from happening ever again.

I returned back to the real world when the Lightning Rod began speaking again. "What happened down there, Blondie?" He asked Lucy with crossed arms, clearly demanding an answer.

Lucy looked alternately at both of them, her gaze constantly going from one to another as she considered whether she should tell them or not. And how much to tell them.

I sighed and drew the attention to me. "This isn't the time or place, we'll explain later, back in the room." I told them. I could feel the impatience to see my father moving in me. I hadn't seen him in almost 22 years. How many wrinkles would he have by now? I grabbed Lucy's hand again and gently tugged at it, reminding her we had something to do. "We'll see you guys later, we're on a bit of a tight schedule." I told them.

Lucy nodded and waved to them with a smile. She quickly turned around as I began walking towards the exit, a little faster than we had before. Judging by what Lucy had told us that the Raven had told her, getting the old man out could only take too long.

When we had put enough distance between the two Dragon Slayers and ourselves, Lucy decided to speak. "Well there went out cover." She said in a lightly teasing tone.

I smiled as I kept on walking. "Yeah, I know." I admitted. "But you know, they might also just think we ordered a table at some restaurant and that we're just in a hurry to get there. You never know." I told her.

She giggled. "Yeah, I doubt they'd think that." She told me. "One's an S-Class the other had once been in a dark guild. They know that we're 'up to something'." She said.

Oh right, they were used to this kind of thing, I forgot. Ah well, that would be a problem for another time. If they suspected us of anything that was. It was entirely possible that they didn't think much of it too.

It didn't take long to reach the exit at the pace we were going. Of course the Heads weren't waiting right outside the door, nothing could be more obvious than that. No, I knew they had gathered at that place, where I met with them the day before, when we learned of Kurohebi's Mimic magic and the fact he knew of Dragon magic. It was at a small park, which no one seemed to use.

Lucy, not knowing that spot, just followed me blindly, keeping my pace as we walked quickly to the park. Luckily, the park wasn't that far away, so we quickly reached it. I could already smell all of their scents in the air and quickly followed it.

Lucy began running a little, having also caught their scents. I smiled and ran lightly next to her into the park and under the many trees. Soon all the Dragons, including the Heads, Deamunas, Alodiculis, Basuril and 464, all standing in the middle of the place, waiting for us.

The closest one, and the most ugly of them all, grinned at Lucy. "Awesome battle down there, Squirt." The Iron Bastard complimented her, adding his usual laugh at the end. As usual.

Lucy looked at him, let the words seep in, the averted her gaze to the ground. "Really..? You think so?" She asked him, kind of nervously. Where did that come from?

Metallicana smirked even wider and nodded. "'Course! You let me see that bloodthirsty side of you!" He said and began laughing.

Suddenly, without warning, two flashes shot at Lucy quicker than anyone could react. One was blue, the other black. When they had both reached her, two women were standing with their arms around her, squeezing the air out of her lungs and forcing our hands to separate.

"LUCY!" Amelane yelled at her, tears already falling out of her eyes and pulled my mate's face into her bosom. "You're okay!" She stated.

Skyadrum proceeded to hold both women in her arms and pushing them together under her most likely tight hold. "Ae (Yes)! I'm so glad you didn't go to the dark side!" She told the silver haired, dying girl. I sweat dropped at the Shadow Dragon. 'The dark side'? Seriously? In the first place, Lucy would've been the last to go there anyway.

Grandine was behind Metallicana in an instant, just as he finished speaking. She grabbed his long hair roughly and pulled down, forcing him to face the sky and panting in pain. "What this idiot _meant_ to say is that he is _proud_ you didn't let the Dragon take over." Grandine told Lucy and looked at the Iron Bastard with a murderous, yet smiling expression. "Right, Metallicana Haeana?" She asked him, using his full name.

The Iron Dragon whimpered out a 'yeah' pathetically, not daring to do anything else in front of the fearsome Sky Dragon. That was a very amusing scene, indeed.

Alodiculis approached the two ladies who were suffocating Lucy and tapped their shoulders. "I don't think she can breathe." He told them. They both looked at him with glares that could make any man cower in fear. This one included as he stepped back, already trembling in fear. I thank you for your effort, Alodiculis.

Then someone else decided he had to intervene the dangerous embrace going on right next to me. A block of Ice appeared behind Lucy, somehow made its way to her and as it continued to grow, it pushed her out of the hug. Literally. Glanasile did all this without saying a word.

Lucy looked at Glanasile, trying to catch her breath, but managed to smile at him in thanks. The Ice Dragon just nodded as reply, keeping a blank face all way through. Well, until he too got the death glared from the Shadow and the Water Dragons.

The older Fire Idiot jumped forward with his hands in the air, pumped for battle, it seemed. "You have to battle me some day Lucy!" He yelled loudly at her excitedly. Now, where did I recognize this scene from?

Someone groaned loudly a little away. I looked at the Lightning Dragon, who was sitting on the ground with his back against the trunk of a tree and his hand behind his head and closed eyes. "You're too loud, Igneel." He told the Fire Dragon exasperatedly. I was surprised he even showed up.

Igneel blew up of course, asking the Lightning Dragon if he was asking for a battle, getting louder and louder with every word. Simakan cracked an eye open and looked at Igneel. He simply pointed a finger at the Fire Dragon, sent a ray of Lightning at him. The Lightning flew forward quickly, electrocuted the Fire Dragon, momentarily knocking him out. Then he closed his eye again and resumed his position of relaxation.

I face palmed internally. This group of Dragons was just as noisy and lively as Fairy Tail was. And judging by the Games so far and the people we'd seen from the other guilds, it wasn't just Fairy Tail and these Dragons. Everyone were crazy! Maybe it's some kind of unwritten law or something…

"So you noticed too, eh?" I heard someone ask me. I looked to my right, where Deamunas stood. I raised an eyebrow in question. He looked at the rambunctious group in front of him and grinned. "We aren't the only crazy ones." He said and laughed.

I smiled and nodded with a snicker. Great to know I wasn't the only one who thought that, then I had at least one person to confide in. Or was I a part of this rambunctious group in front of us? Probably.

"AC-NII-CHAN!" I heard my little cousin yell and saw him run towards me. He ran just as fast as he always did in my direction. Then past me and right into the person who stood right behind me.

I looked back at the person, to see a now freed Lucy standing with Basuril hugging her around the waist, giggling but confused. I looked at the teen confused. How did that make any sense to him? "Eh… Basuril-kun?" I asked him questioningly, wondering why he'd yelled at me, but was hugging Lucy.

He looked back at me with big innocent eyes as Lucy began playing with his hair, pulling out any knots he had. "Lucy-nee's much softer to hug than you are, Ac-nii-chan." He told me, his eyes begging for forgiveness.

Before I could get to respond to that, Dravola had effectively put a stop to the noise all around, simply by stepping forward. It was as if her presence filled this whole park and demanded our attention. Which it also got.

Dravola looked around at all of us calmly, making sure she really had all of our attention, before speaking. "Based on recent information, provided by Lucy from DD of Raven Tail, we have reason to believe Kurama Tehepo might be in danger." She stated clear and loud. She looked at Lucy for confirmation, who nodded with a serious expression. Dravola also nodded in return. "We know that Raven Tail is plotting something and they need a Chaos and a Peace Dragon to complete this plan. Which means they are probably aiming for Acnologia and Lucy." She told us.

I glanced at Grandine and wondered if she had only told Dravola of what happened down there against DD. If she had, this made sense. But if she hadn't, this would basically only inform Basuril and 464 of what was happening, which kind of made it pointless to do it like this.

I looked around at all the Dragons present. They were all focused on Dravola, listening to what she was saying. Some of them had faint signs of what could be surprise or confusion, but what really confirmed my suspicion was the fact that Simakan actually had both eyes open and was looking at Dravola attentively. Probably for the first time in his life.

So Grandine really only had told Dravola about what had happened in that battle. The real purpose for it so to say. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms. Raven Tail had wanted us to know, they wanted us to be aware that something was going on.

And they wanted us to get Kurama out.

They had this all planned out, knew exactly what we would think and do. They knew what their actions would do. Letting us know they knew of us, with Kurohebi's Mimic magic and then again in DD's and Lucy's battle. They made it obvious on purpose.

But even if they did, what else could we do? We couldn't be sure that it was empty threats. They might just 'get rid of him' if we don't rescue him. We'd be playing right into their hands, but there was nothing else we _could_ do. And they knew that too.

I sighed and looked up at Dravola again. It seemed like she had explained the situation to anyone who weren't aware before, while I was caught in my thoughts. She looked around at everyone, watching their reactions as they took in the information. I'm guessing anyway.

"I will send five of you off to get him." She said, breaking the heavy silence around us once again. She turned to Skyadrum, who was standing right next to Lucy. "Skyadrum your Shadow magic is necessary to sneak past the guards." She said and turned to 464. Maybe she had really just memorized where everyone stood. "So is yours, 464." She told the Shadow Dragon, who nodded silently. Dravola then looked at Lucy again. "Lucy, you said something about there being a Rune barrier, right?" She asked my mate.

Lucy nodded, dropping her hand to the top of Basuril's head. "Yes, there's two actually. One keeping sounds and magical levels within a certain radius, so the people of Crocus, the prisoners down with him or anyone else won't feel it. Then there's also one keeping Kurama locked up." She explained. I looked at her. It was amazing she'd felt them down there, when neither Skyadrum nor 464 had. But I guess she'd been around that fan-boy, Freed, long enough to recognize Runes when she passed them.

Dravola looked at her for a second longer. "Then you'll go too." She said. The Earth Dragon then turned to Metallicana, who was already grinning in anticipation. "It has been brought to my attention that the bars are of Iron magic. You'll break those and nothing more." She ordered him, effectively making his wide grin fade to a scowl. He'd expected battle, that old man. At last, the old woman looked at me. "Acnologia, you'll go with them in case they run into guards and will be taking Kurama with you in your Shadow form." She told me. The Iron Dragon seemed to want to make a protest, but reined it in.

I nodded. Right. Lucy and the Iron Bastard couldn't go into Shadow form or anything of the like, so they needed Skyadrum and 464 to take them. And father probably wouldn't be able to go into his Shadow form either, so that was why I had to go with them. You could take more than one person with you in Shadow form, but the more people you brought, the more presence you had and the easier it was to pin point you for others. Dravola wanted that to be down on a minimum, so there was more chance for us to escape successfully.

Dravola, knowing we were all aware of the situation, knew the 'plan' and what we should do, turned around, with her back to all of us. "If that is understood, then you should get going." She told us, looking at us at the corner of her eyes, over her shoulder.

We all exchanged gazes, then began running. 464 and Skyadrum were in front, as they had been there before and knew the way. Lucy was right behind them and the Iron Bastard and I were behind her, following those three.

We ran as fast as our human legs could carry us, not giving a care in the world to who saw us. Since it was very few who would recognize us anyway, especially at the pace we were going.

The Iron Dragon turned to me as we ran. "If any guards show up, leave 'em to me, Brat." He ordered me firmly, his desire for battle clearly shining through his voice.

I smirked at him. "Let's see who's fastest, you old bastard." I told him, trying to rile him up, but also getting myself riled up in the process.

He stuck his face closer to mine and with what was supposed to be a menacing glare. "You can't handle my speed, boy." He reassured me.

I glared at him as well and let my face closer to him as well. "You're on, Metal Face." I told him. We both began growling lowly at each other in challenge.

But that was abruptly stopped when I felt something hit my thigh and knew it had with the Iron Bastard too, as I heard him grunt. Then the cracking sound of a whip also gave it away. Lucy glared back at us. "Stop it you two. If you have enough energy to argue, you should focus on running faster or keep that energy till when we encounter some kind of obstacle." She reprimanded us.

We both nodded like two boys who'd just been scolded by their mother and stayed silent and apart from each other as we followed Lucy and the Shadow Dragons.

But, of course we would soon be stopped. Karma strikes again. "OI! LUCY-SAN!" Some way too familiar idiot yelled behind us. Why? Why of all times did he have to come running now?

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"OI! LUCY-SAN!" I heard a familiar voice call behind us. I stopped up, just as everyone else did too, facing the two people, who had apparently been following us. I was guessing it was by scent, if it was anything.

"Sting, Rogue. What are you doing here?" I asked them confused and a little bit impatient. We were kind of in a rush, which should have been obvious by the way we were running.

The two finally caught up to us, panting as if they'd been sprinting a marathon. "Damn you can run fast Lucy-san." Sting said in between breaths.

Skyadrum tapped my shoulder. "Lucy, we don't have time for this." She told me. I looked at her and nodded. I knew we didn't, but what the heck could I do?

I turned back to the two Dragon Slayers, who just about now had calmed their breathing. "I'm a bit busy, so can't it wait?" I asked them, trying desperately to find a way to go on.

Sting looked at the weird group behind me, then back at me with a wide grin. "Just wanted to say you're awesome!" He told me.

I sweat dropped and had a confused expression. "What are you talking about Sting?" I asked him, glancing at Rogue for answers. But he was looking directly at Skyadrum, who was doing her best not to look at him.

Sting straightened his back and smiled even wider. "The MPF and the battle today of course! You were awesome!" He complimented me.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him as if he was an idiot. Which he was. "I didn't win either of those two times, you know. That wasn't very 'awesome'." I told him.

He shook his head. "Of course it was! Especially in the battle. I strained to stand when you released all that magic, and I was on my way to the bathroom!" He said excitedly.

I looked at him with an incredulous expression. I knew I'd released all my Celestial magic, but did it really reach that far? At that length, it still managed to make someone as strong as Sting stagger? Good thing I was keeping it down then.

He was still smiling at me, widely too. "You were just unlucky, that's all. You could've easily beaten that Raven Tail-guy if he hadn't distracted you with whatever he said back there. And if you had been the first to go into the Pandemonium-thing, you would have beaten those monsters easily!" He reassured me. He really looked like the little boy he had once been right now. It was adorable.

I smiled at him. "Thank you Sting, It makes me happy that you think I'm strong enough to do that." I told him. I halfway turned around, getting ready to run again. "But I really have got to go now, I'll see you two later." I said, nodded to the four other Dragons and then began running with them again.

"LATER, LUCY-SAN!" Sting yelled after us, as the last thing I heard from him. That took too long. It was time spent uselessly at talking, while we could have probably been at that castle by now.

I heard Skyadrum breathe out deeply. "That was way too close.." She muttered breathlessly, staring straight forward.

I smiled and ran up next to her, looked at her from the side. "So how was it seeing your boy up close like that after so many years?" I asked her, referring to Rogue.

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, then looked forward again. She stayed silent for a second, then a grin spread on her face. "He's become quite the handsome devil." She said with a laugh.

I nodded and laughed with her. "He's definitely grown up since I met him on the train, he wasn't taller than this." I said and held a hand up around stomach-height.

She looked at my hand and laughed. "That was big compared to when I left him, he was still only a little kid back then." She said with a nostalgic and melancholic smile.

I smiled at her and dropped the subject. It was obvious that it was quite the sore subject for her. It was for any of the Dragons who had once had human children that they took care of and raised.

We all stayed silent until we finally reached the castle. It was just as big as it had been before and it was similarly simple to sneak into it with Shadow form.

We all stopped up and without a word, Skyadrum grabbed Metallicana and Acnologia took my hand. The three went to their Shadow forms in an instant and went under the door. I guessed Acnologia went in the back, following the two Dragons, letting them guide the way down there.

I recognized the road we took, it was the same as before. Without much difficulty, we found the staircase going down to the prisons once again. And just like last time, two guards stood in front of the entrance to it. We carefully went past them, but - again just like last time - they didn't notice a thing. You would've thought they had learned from the first time.

We quickly skipped past them and down the stairs once again. Once down there, the three let their Shadow forms go so Metallicana and I could stand on our own two feet. Acnologia didn't release my hand though.

He looked down at me. "So where is he?" He asked me. I could clearly hear the impatience in his voice, but it was understandable. He hadn't seen his father in who-knows-how-long and only just fund out where he was, only for him to be in danger. Not exactly the most relaxed reunion you could imagine.

I pointed to the end of the long hallway down to the ending wall, where Kurama was held. "He's down there." I told him. "But don't be too surprised with how he looks, okay?" I asked him. If Acnologia remembered him as the man I remembered from when I was a kid, he would be really shocked to see him now. He looked nothing like the man he once had.

Acnologia nodded with an expressionless expression and walked forward, gently pulling me after him. I had momentarily forgotten I had an… Acquaintance in this place, besides Kurama. "Lucy…?" I heard someone ask incredulously.

I stopped up and looked over my shoulder at the jail in which I knew Cobra was sitting, while the other three continued on. Since I stopped, Acnologia also stopped. He was looking at me confused. Hadn't he heard Cobra? He was probably too focused on rescuing his dad to notice anything else.

I smiled up at my mate. "Go on, I know you can't wait." I told him, allowing myself to be just a little amused by my mate's impatience. Acnologia looked at the jail I had been looking at, Cobra's, with a quizzical expression on his face. I stood on my toes and gave his cheek a kiss. "Don't worry, it's just Cobra. I'll try to get some information out of him." I reassured him. I was pretty sure Cobra would know just about anything about these Runes, probably having done his best to attempt to break out.

Acnologia alternately looked at the jail-bars and me, pondering on whether it was safe to let me go see Cobra or not. Of course, that guy was completely harmless in his current state. He finally nodded, released my hand after giving me a gentle squeeze, then followed the other three to his father.

I looked at Cobra's cell, from where I could now hear the jingling sound of him getting to his feet. I began walking towards it, just like how he also made his way to the front of the cell.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and what I would call a smile. "So what are you doing down here with all these people?" He asked me. Then he leaned down to my height and looked right into my eyes. "If they are people at all." He added.

I smiled at him. "Well, they aren't what _you_ would consider people. And they _will_ tear your hands off if you try anything." I warned him. Especially a certain one of them.

Cobra's face lit up with realization. "Riiight… So that last guy was your mate?" He asked me curiously. I nodded, finding words unnecessary. He smiled and rested his forehead against the bars. "So he'd be pissed if you wandered around with my scent, right?" He asked me, his smile changing to a smirk.

"Isn't that beside the point?" I asked him. Of course Acnologia would be pissed. He'd make this whole cell explode. "I need your help, Cobra." I admitted to him.

He looked at me with genuine curiosity in his eyes and a wide, amused grin on his face. "_You_ need _my_ help?" He mocked me. "What makes you think I will provide that so easily?" He asked me.

This time I was the one to raise an eyebrow. "Because I promised you'd meet Sacheba, right?" I asked him. Blackmailing, I know. But it was probably the only thing that worked on this guy. "Besides, aren't I the first person besides those guards you've talked with since you got down here?" I asked him.

He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully for a second before answering. "Nah, some people from the Council has been here too." He told me. He looked back at me again. "So what do you need my help with?" He asked me, suddenly willing to help. I knew Sacheba would work.

I tilted my head and looked into his one eye. "I was wondering whether it was the Rune barrier or those shackles, which keeps your magic in check." I told him, looking down at the shackles around his wrists and back up at him again.

He sighed and pulled the shackles up in the air, looking down at them. "These aren't for anything but their pathetic feeling of security, I could break them any day." He said and looked back up at me as he let his hands drop again. "No, it's the Rune barrier." He told me. "I can use magic in here, but it won't come out on the other side." He told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Alright, that sounded simple enough. Freed's were a hell to figure out, even if Levy and I both put our heads together. These were awfully simple.

I looked up at Cobra. "Mind if I try something out?" I asked him. What he said was rather one-sided. He wouldn't be able to know if it worked the other way around. It wouldn't make sense either, for the guards not to be able to let their magic go through. Well I guess it was more about ethics, really. I'm guessing some of the guards harbored ill feelings towards some of these prisoners and would probably try to do something. If their magic could come through, it could hurt, maybe kill, the prisoner, depending on the guard.

But I got the feeling that this wasn't the kind of prison that ensured the prisoner's safety.

Cobra nodded. "Knock yourself out." He said. I nodded and quickly gathered some Celestial magic in my hand. I pointed at Cobra and let it shoot out of my finger and hit him in the chest. So, just as I expected, it could easily penetrate from outside to inside, but not the other way around. Simple, oh so simple. Cobra looked at me with an irritated expression. "What the heck did you do that for, woman?!" He asked me.

I sighed at him and turned around, having gotten the information I needed from this little experiment. "Oh, don't worry, Cobra." I reassured him. "Celestial magic is only supposed to summon Spirits, protect-" I looked at him over my shoulder and grinned. "And _strengthen_." I told him, turning around again.

I heard Cobra laugh loudly behind me. "You're a brilliant woman, Lucy!" He laughed. I looked at him over my shoulder once again. My Celestial magic had done as I had ordered it. It was lying as a protective coat around Cobra and would strengthen him, if he decided to use any kind of magic.

I smiled. "You should wait till after the Games have ended. It's in two days. Or you can use it. It's all up to you." I told him, watching him go back to where he had been sitting again, shaking his head with a wide smile as he looked at the golden glow around him. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have some_thing_ to rescue." I said and followed after my friends.

The last I heard was Cobra laughing once again, before I passed the Rune barrier which stopped sound. Now I thought about it, there was actually no reason to remove that. If anything, it could probably help us keep the guards in a delusion for just that much longer.

I looked at Kurama's cell, wanting to figure out what the four of them had figured out this far. But of course they hadn't done a damn thing as of yet. Why'd I always have to take the initiative?

I slowed down my speed to a casual walk. "What are you guys doing, sitting around doing nothing?" I asked them, a little irritated they hadn't done anything to get Kurama out. I quickly realized I sounded more like Gajeel and Metallicana than I had wanted to.

They all turned and looked at me, Metallicana with the grin I had expected. "Oh so you finally decided to show up, huh Squirt?" He teased me lightly. "Old friend of yours?" He asked me. "You're among the wrong people, you know." He mocked me.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then I winked at him. "If I stayed with the 'right' people, you'd be bored." I retorted, which made him scowl until he couldn't hold the mask any longer and he laughed his trademark laugh. "But no, I wouldn't call that guy a friend." I told him.

"Lucy." I heard my mate call. I looked at him questioningly, urging him to continue. "What did you find out?" He asked me.

I smiled at him and made my way next to him. "I learned that the Runes lets the prisoners inside use magic, but only within the barrier, it can't come out." I explained. "But magic from the outside _can _come inside." I added and looked down at the Chaos Dragon who was sitting on the ground in front of Acnologia in his Human form, holding his son's hand.

I furrowed my eyebrows lightly when I looked at him. He seemed even worse than he had those two days ago. His wrinkles, which already back then were deep, were even deeper now. His eyes seemed much bigger, as the skin around them seemed to have been sucked just a little into his skull and was a dark bluish color.

It looked like something was sucking the life force out of him. But how did they do that? Who would even think of something like that? And most importantly, why?

I crouched down, reached inside the cell and took the Dragon's free hand into both mine. It was thin and frail. Even more bony than before. I looked into his blue eyes. "We're getting you out today Kurama, just as I promised." I told him and squeezed his hand as gently as I could, afraid I'd break it if I put too much into it.

He nodded and smiled at me. "If you're anything like your mother, there's no stopping you." He commented. I had to speak with this man about Mama if it wasn't a too sore subject. He knew my mother in ways the others probably didn't, and before she was forced to remain human at Jude's side.

I winked at him and smiled in return. "You know it." I confirmed. I gently releases his hand and turned to Metallicana. "Try to see what you can do about these bars, I'll do what I can about the Earth magic put around the cell." I told him. He nodded and put a hand on the bar, feeling the magic in it.

"What about the two of us?" Skyadrum asked, gesturing to herself and 464, who had just been standing idly by, watching me talking to people.

I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously. "You two can..." I trailed off, trying to figure something out. But of course, nothing really popped up. Wait! I looked at both of them. "How far can you feel Shadows?" I asked them.

Skyadrum and 464 exchanged gazes, then looked at me. "Every shadow in this whole building, at least." 464 told me with an expressionless expression.

I smiled widely and nodded. "Great! That's more than enough!" I reassured them. "How about you two keep us updated about whether or not guards are close by?" I suggested. They both have me a nod, crouched with their hands to the ground and with closed eye as, as they focused on the Shadows.

I nodded to myself and crouched down just as they did. I put a hand on the ground, the other resting over my knee as I felt the Earth magic in the cell. I could easily feel it. It was quite strong, obviously designed to keep something away. In the ancient times, it had probably been used to keep intruders from coming in, but now it kept people from getting out.

I knew what to do, if I just mixed my own magic with the magic in the ground, I could make it mine and control it however I wanted. I was sure Metallicana had also figured that out. I cracked an eye open and glanced at him, only to find him trying to eat the bars instead. I smiled as I closed my eye again. Well, he would figure it out at some point. I hoped...

I furrowed my eyebrows again, focusing on the ground. I called on my own Earth magic so it could mix with the one that was already here. But nothing happened when I tried. My magic wouldn't respond to me. It was like someone had put a barrier-

"Shit.." I muttered and opened my eyes, staring at the ground. I really had no luck today. None whatsoever. It had completely run out. I should've done as she said.

I saw Acnologia look in my direction from the edge of my peripheral. "What is it, Lucy?" He asked with worry lacing his voice. I looked at him. I really didn't want to let him or Kurama down now. Not after all this. There had to be something...

I sighed and decided to tell the truth. Even though it hurt. "When Grandine healed me after the battle earlier, she told me there was some kind of unfamiliar magic in me." I explained. "It's the same as the one Lisanna got the first day, which kept her magic at bay. It prevented me from transforming to a Dragon right there in the middle of everything, but it seems it also blocked my Dragon magic." I told him and looked at the ground in shame. "All of it." I added. Now I tried, I couldn't feel a shred of my Dragon magic. And it scared me.

I was just about to give up, when Metallicana yelled beside me. "OW! Goddamnit!" He said with an annoyed voice. Somehow, it just brought back a sense of déjà-vu. "Squirt! You need to control these crazy keys of yours!" He told me.

I began giggling when I remembered why I'd gotten that déjà-vu. Back when I got Aelu-chi's key, she had also flown directly into the back of Metallicana's head in the middle of sparring. She'd been pissed at him because he was beating me.

He got the key out of his long mane of a hair and gave it to me. I leaned forward, so I could reach it. "You know, Metallicana, you don't need to eat all this. Just mix your magic with he bars' magic and make it your own." I told the old Dragon. Maybe he was getting so old, he was starting to become senile.

He looked at me with a grin and nodded in thanks, before continuing to do what I had told him. I looked down at the key and smiled. It seemed everything would work out fine after all.

This was the key of the Golem, Terra. User of Earth magic. Exactly what I needed right now. It seemed like it was the head and shoulders of a golem in the top and a mountain at the end. Simple and nice.

I held the key in front of me, as if it was the symbol of hope. Well, it was right now anyway. "Open Gate of the Golem! Terra!" I called and sent my magic to the key in my hand. It began glowing in a golden color, just as all the others.

A golden light appeared in front of me with the sound of sand falling to the ground. In front of me stood a big guy. And when I say big, I mean _big. _as in more-than-two-meters-tall big. A giant. And not only that, he also had loads of muscles. Kind of like Elfman, actually, if not a bit more.

He had dark, tanned skin. And somewhat long, brown hair, with strands hanging over his eyes. He wore a kind of munk-like skirt. A little like the one Jura had worn when we fought Oraciōn Seis, but in all white with a brown belt around. He wore nothing else, just stood there bare-chest and bare-foot.

I smiled up at the big Spitit. "Hi! I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo! I hope we can be friends." I told the guy. He slowly turned his head and looked down at me.

I kept smiling as I waited for an answer, but he did nothing but look down at me. I presumed anyway. His bangs still covered his eyes from view.

I sweat dropped at the lack of response and looked up at him, wondering why he didn't say anything. He was just looking at me, waiting for me to say something. "The silent type, huh?" I asked him to which he nodded. So the way to go was through yes/no questions? All right, then. "Terra, right?" I asked him. He nodded silently again. "Would you mind helping us out here, we need you help with the magic in the ground?" I asked him again.

This time he didn't nod or shake his head, he simply crouched down, just as I had before, and touched the ground with the tips of his fingers. I had no way of knowing what he was doing, since he didn't say anything.

But he definitely did something, which was confirmed, when the wall behind Kurama suddenly exploded - making all of us jump in surprise - showing us that the magic keeping it together had been conquered and neutralized.

I looked up at my tall Spirit and smiled. "Thank you Terra, you really helped us out, I'm afraid the completion of the contract has to wait for later." I told him apologetically. Finally, he smiled at me, waved and then disappeared without a word. That smile, he had been genuinely happy there. He was a funny guy.

I turned to Metallicana to remind him it would be awesome if he could hurry up just a bit, when he suddenly blasted a big hole in the bars. "Haeana Tarakona's Haruru!" (Iron Dragon's Roar) He said and let the Iron magic pour out of his mouth and towards those magic-less bars. Seemingly with the magic that he had just gotten out of them. "Gihi!" He added proudly as he stared at the man-sized hole he'd made into the cell.

Acnologia quickly made it through that hole as the first and I quickly followed along. I helped him get Kurama on his back, giving the man a piggy-back. Kurama had completely been drained of any form of energy. He wasn't able to walk by himself, probably also due to being locked up in a cage where he could barely even fit as a Dragon. It had got to have done something to his body.

But either way, Acnologia quickly slipped into the Shadows with his father on his back. I hurried to 464 as Skyadrum grabbed Metallicana's hair, pulling him with her as she followed Acnologia in her Shadow form. 464 also took a hold of my wrist when I had stepped out of the cell and she sped out of the castle, much faster than any of the other two had when I went with them.

Unfortunately there was still too much sun outside for the Dragons to keep their Shadow forms, so we had to reemerge from the Shadows as soon as we got outside. The five of us decided it would be best to go through the slums, as the people there had seen many weird things anyway.

You probably wouldn't believe it, but the slums were surprisingly close to the castle. Why they were so close to each other, I would never be able to explain.

On our way there, we were lucky enough to not meet any people on the streets, who would think of this as suspicious. On the other hand, the slums were filled to the brim with drunkards and people from that lane. They looked at us, but none of them seemed to care much about what was going on.

We slowed down to a walk, instead of the running we'd been doing so far. Now, all we needed to do was to get Kurama out of the city border, where all the Dragons stayed, wanting to freely be able to transform to their Dragon forms. Lucky bastards.

As we walked, I put my arms around myself in discomfort. I guess I would never forget what had once been about to happen here. I got shivers every time I entered this place. Not that I did that often.

"L-Lucy.." I heard a low mutter from the man on Acnologia's back. I quickly walked up next to my mate, both of us looking at Kurama, wondering what he was going to say. "You have to get out of here.." He told me. "Sa-" He was cut off as he abruptly fell into unconsciousness.

I looked at the man confused and worried. What had made him pass out so abruptly? "I'm guessing he's just tired, since he suddenly got pulled out of that cell and now gets all kinds of scent and sounds thrown right at him." Acnologia said, once again facing forward as he walked on.

"That's not exactly right." Someone unfamiliar called out to us. I whipped around and stared at the man who had spoken. He was hiding a little in between two buildings, covering him halfway in shadows. But from what I could see he seemed to be a middle-aged man with silvery-gray hair and warm, brown eyes. He actually looked like a really nice man. But somehow, I got the feeling that he wasn't. "He won't wake up until after these… Games." The man told us.

I glared at him, while Skyadrum took a threatening step forward. "Who are you?" She asked him menacingly. Right now, with the aura she was giving off, it was obvious to me why she was a Head Dragon. She just had that feeling. "And what did you do to Kurama?" She asked him, as if she knew he knew of the unconscious Chaos Dragon.

The man chuckled. It sounded really evil. "Oh don't worry. He'll wake up at some point when the Grand Magic Games have ended." He looked straight into my eyes, for some reason. "Just couldn't have him revealing all my secrets just yet, now could I?" He asked.

My eyes widened. Those were almost the exact words DD had told me when he helped me off the ground earlier. "Y-you are…" I trailed off.

He nodded. "That's correct. I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes." He told us with yet another chuckle and a wide smile. Slowly, he began walking back into the shadows, disappearing from sight. "I'll see you soon Lucy, Acnologia." He told the two of us as he disappeared completely, letting the shadows swallow him.

I began running forward, after him. "WAIT!" I yelled after him. I needed to stop him. I needed to know what he was planning and what he had done to Kurama. But as I reached the spot he had just been standing at, his scent suddenly disappeared right there. It was as if the shadows really had swallowed him.

I felt a soft hand land on my shoulder. "Lucy, we need to get Kurama to safety first." I heard Skyadrum say. I nodded, still with my back to her. Then I turned around and followed the others as we continued on to the edge of the city.

**Outside Crocus~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

We had just gotten Kurama to Grandine, under the cover of a forest. She quickly healed him and he was already looking better than he was before. But she also said that there was only so much she could heal. Apparently the old guy had lost a lot of magic, which was why he seemed so frail and old. He should really only be looking like a 25 year old, since he wasn't even 250 yet.

Then Amelane took a look at him, but she couldn't find whatever was keeping him unconscious, which was pretty amazing. There was nothing Amelane couldn't purify with her magic, this was the first time I experienced something like this. Or herself for that matter. Instead, she took out the magic barring my Dragon magic.

But for Amelane not to be able to purify that magic… That just went to show how much that guy knew about us. But how did he? How did he know how to keep something from a Water Dragon? Who really excelled in the purifying department too. And even more so, how did the other members of Raven Tail know so much about us too? Sure, he could have told them a thing or two, but for Kurohebi to actually copy our magic, with the Dragon language and everything too. That guy was just… Really suspicious.

I was so deeply engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't hear the guy who was standing right next to me. "Lucy…?" The guy asked slowly, trying to get my attention.

I wasn't exactly in the mood to talk with people right now, and that was the umpteenth time someone had called out to me today and interrupted something. So to say I was annoyed was quite the understatement. Which was the reason I exploded at the innocent guy. "WHAT?!" I yelled at him. Why the heck did these idiot all have to interrupt everything?

The guy jumped back in surprise and fright at my sudden explosion, probably wondering if he had done something wrong. Which he hadn't. "I-I'm sorry!" He quickly said with his hands in the air as a sign of giving up.

I shook my head and sighed. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." I looked up at the guy again, this time to figure out who I was talking to. He was in a long, blue cloak, which basically covered everything of him, except some other clothes he wore inside. But he was easy enough to recognize, even if he had the hood over his head. The blue hair and the red tattoo over his brown eyes gave him away. I looked at him with raised eyebrow. "…Jellal?" I asked confusedly. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. Wasn't he supposed to be in jail?

He stared down at me, trying to figure out if it was safe to relax again. Of course, he soon dropped his hands to his sides and nodded. "Yeah, the Council let me go. They said something about not having enough space in the prison." He explained. "Erza sent me to tell you what I told her." He told me.

I nodded and patted the ground. "Sit down, I'm getting the feeling that this could be a long conversation." I told him, feeling the seriousness hanging in the air around him. He nodded and planted himself on the ground, even dared to push back the hood.

He looked right into my eyes. "You see, I've been feeling some strange magic from the Grand Magic Games ever since it began those seven years ago…" He told me.

Line464d comes walking in again, waving at you guys. The scene with Jellal and Lucy freezing and going becoming black/white instead. "Hi you guys, it's me again. There's something I feel that needs to be clarified, so please read at least the first part of the A/N here, it'll hold an explanation to the battle between DD and Lucy last week. Thank you, that's all." She said and disappeared in a cloud of magic.

**Some of you have been talking about how it didn't make sense Lucy lost after all this training. She's badass, you saw that against Gajeel and at the MPF, she's badass alright. But she's not godlike. If you want to see that kind of Lucy, you'll have to go somewhere else. Also keep in mind she could only use Celestial magic, which is a 'kind' magic in the way it isn't really meant for fighting like the Dragon Slayer magic is, for example. Which I have also stated a few times. But then why didn't she just use hand-to-hand combat? Well, she did, didn't she? Once again, remember she's still a girl. Dragon or not. By nature, girls are physically weaker than guys, so it's really realistic she lost here. And you saw what he did with the Spirits, she was running out of options. And she lost 'cause her magic was sucked out, if I didn't make that obvious enough. She'd have won had it not been for that, believe me. Since her Dragon would have taken over and all. **

**And to those of you wondering, no, my Beta didn't force me to put him in the story, he asked and I agreed. Simple as that. **

**So there we go. Surprisingly long chapter actually. I hadn't expected it to get so long, to be all honest. Only expected to be about half as long, but I'm not complaining. **

**I won't be putting Jellal and Lucy's conversation into the story, basically he's just telling her the same things he did in the manga/anime, that there's a weird magic around the GMG and that he intended to investigate it. Just thought I should throw him in there. **

**Oh yeah, of course it isn't the Eclipse Gate or future Rogue who gives off the strange magic :3**

**Did you guys see the newest episode of Fairy Tail? Jeez, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh, so it became a mix XD**

**Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Nilnna, wheafel, StrongGuy159, Nicole (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, Maiannaise, Raventus Dracoria, SillyKitty88, Person (Guest), OtakuLover43, mjb379, Mayawong, Acnologia Prime, Strawberry Cake is Life, babysweets101, Yuniverse, EmmaWatson123, Darkverger1, PuddyKatz, xiiangxin, Aira0906, GoldAge, wild childkk, FT LOVER (Guest), Guest, Tyufvfv, Moonlight Starlove, Alaina Kuski, OnyxTheSaiyan, aristofthemind, .Xx, Guest, Dragongirl4fairytail, CryogenicPlatinum, soul reaper miko, Yuuki Zwin, P. 88, Guest, ThePersonOfNothing and all you other people out there! **

**~Line464d**


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

**So… Day 4 everyone. What'll happen after all this drama we've been having lately?**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Since I forgot this thing last chapter, I double disown Slowpoke's work today. With tears flowing down my cheeks. **

**With Fairy Tail A~ **

**Gray's P.O.V**

It'd been weird with Lucy yesterday. She'd easily beaten everyone and everything on that MPF-thing, but when she battled that Raven, she lost. Granted, she did do well against the guy, the outcome might as well have been the other way around.

But that was what was weird about it all. I could clearly feel her magical pressure from where I stood on the balcony. Thing was, it wasn't _just_ the Celestial magic I'd always known, something else had also been playing in the background. Something different. It felt like it was so much stronger than the Celestial magic. More dangerous. And most of all… More bloodthirsty. It had been almost animalistic.

Also the way she acted at the end of that battle. I guessed the Raven said something to her, which pissed her off, but the reaction she gave was far beyond Demon Lucy. And let me tell you, when she did that, you really had to watch yourself. But whatever she did back there was much worse. At that very moment, she was far stronger and wilder than she could ever be with Demon Lucy. It was a side of her we hadn't met back seven years ago… When we were still a team.

To be all honest, I was still beating myself up over the way we'd pushed Lucy out of the team. No… That was a too kind way to put it. The way we'd done it, it was way too mean. I can only imagine how much it had hurt her, if she ever felt the same way about all of us, as I had with her and the rest of Team Natsu. Excluding the Fire Idiot himself. Why had we even named the team after that idiot? It made no sense!

Anyway, even though she said that she'd already forgiven me, I sure hadn't forgiven myself yet. I doubted I ever would, the way it was right now. I of all people should know what it felt like to be left behind by the people you love.

I was separated by Ur through her sacrificing herself for my sake - which is bad enough in itself - I can't even begin to imagine how it must have been for her. We were literally telling her we didn't give a damn about what she felt. Well, that was probably what it had looked like from her point of view, when it all happened.

We could have delivered that message in a much nicer way. One that wouldn't have hurt her as much. One that wouldn't have made her run away the way she did…

Right! That cave she had gone to back in that little town. It was right inside the eerie forest, the Fire Idiot had been able to follow her scent and back to some clearing. That was where her scent disappeared, apparently. At that point, as far as I remember, I couldn't take all of their idiocy, but why was that again…? Damn it was such a long time ago.

Ah, right… I remember it now. Natsu hadn't been able to recognize her scent, neither had Erza. Seriously, I'd heard about how often he broke into her home and slept in her bed _with_ her, while she was sleeping. One would think he could recognize her scent everywhere, but that day, he took idiocy to a whole new level.

So I wandered off, away from those people, and then I fell over that cave. Of course, back then I hadn't been sure Lucy had been in that cave. But what made me consider it was the fact that the nest-like thing that lay in it had been completely pushed down, as if someone - or in this case, some_thing_ \- had been using it lately.

What was most surprising about that was that it looked like a Dragon to me. And apparently also to Natsu, when he had decided to follow me along and found the cave. He stated he could see it was a Dragon that had been sleeping there. And then he said he caught both Lucy and Loke's scents back there too.

What was with that anyway? How could Loke let Lucy stay with a Dragon? And how… It didn't make any sense to me. Just what had happened to Lucy during those seven years? What do I even know already?

Nothing but the fact that she somehow met Acnologia and Basuril, who both are Dragon Slayers, during that time and apparently trained really hard. Wait, had they slain that Dragon or something? It would make sense to me, that Acnologia guy was really strong to be able to beat Jura. But that's about everything that made sense.

But then, the way Lucy had acted in that damn battle. It was way too inhuman. It had been like her instincts had taken over, as if she was an animal. Or… A Dragon…

If I had to make any sense of that, I could only think of one thing. Had Lucy somehow gotten something of Acnologia's Dragon Slayer… Something? Had she gotten a speck of 'Dragon' inside her, which made her rage yesterday? But that just sounded wrong to me. As I had found out, Mira and Laxus were 'mates', as the Dragon Slayers called it, but I had never seen Mira react anything like that, as if she had an animal inside.

Could it be that Acnologia was a special kind of Dragon Slayer? I really doubted it. And even more so that it would reflect on the 'mate'. But what could have explained what happened then?

"Gray." I heard someone call behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned and stood face to face with Erza. She was looking at me with a firm expression. But if I wasn't all wrong, I think there was a hint of worry right there in her eyes. "What are you thinking about?" She asked me.

I waited for a second for a comment from the Fire Idiot, but as it seemed he had already found his way to the balcony, being impatient as always. He'd probably dragged Lisanna after him too. I'd been waiting in the hall for the four of them. Girls always took so long after all.

I looked right into the Requip-mage's eyes, then averted my gaze to the side. "Oh, you know… Stuff." I trailed off, not sure if I should voice my concerns to her or not.

I heard her take a heavy footstep towards me. "Gray." She said once again, firmly. I glanced up at her again. "Tell me what is on you mind." She demanded of me, her eyebrows lightly furrowed in determination.

I sighed. "It's just about the battle yesterday." I told her. "The one between Lucy and the Raven." I added, talking a little lower than before. I wasn't sure if she had noticed anything with it, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did. She was an S-Class after all.

Erza nodded, looking at me with a face that said she knew. "Yes, I figured that was what you had been thinking of." She stated. Again, not surprising. She looked off, down the hallway, the way the balcony was. "Something happened with Lucy yesterday, that is for sure." She agreed with me.

I nodded and pushed off the wall. "Well, whatever the case is, I'm sure she'll tell us sooner or later." I said. I don't know what made me say that. After all, I didn't have the right to know about Lucy's troubles anymore. Not with the way I had treated her. Why would she let me in on those secrets, when she obviously had so many other people around her, whom it was more appropriate to share these secrets with? It was simple, she wouldn't.

I began walking down the hallway with my hands in my pockets, scowling at the floor. I could feel Erza's gaze on my back, but she didn't say anything.

Then, the door to our room opened and Wendy came out, immediately feeling the rather tense atmosphere between us. I continued walking as Erza began conversing with Wendy. Probably telling her nothing was wrong.

But there was something wrong, weren't there? Lucy had secrets she didn't want just anyone to find out about, that was clear. Secrets which were about to slip out during that battle. But somehow, that Raven did something to her and prevented her from spilling the beans. What the heck had he done to her anyway? She had looked so scared right after the match had ended. JUST WHAT THE HECK DID HE DO?!

Was he really so bad, though? I know I shouldn't be thinking this, as he _was_ a Raven, but I couldn't help noticing that the guy actually helped Lucy up. It might have seemed like a tiny thing from the outside, courtesy even, but it really wasn't. Especially between a Raven and a Fairy. Even though it seemed like he had really taunted her during the whole battle, he also seemed to be a somewhat decent guy.

What was I even thinking? A Raven being a decent guy? That was probably what he wanted us to think, so he could somehow get under our skin and do whatever he was planning to do. Most likely something about Lucy too.

What was going on in Fairy Tail right now? I kind of felt like I was the outsider of it all. I betted several people knew of Lucy's secrets already, and of course she would talk to _someone_ about this thing with the Ravens, whatever it was. Once it would have been us, Team Natsu, but who did she turn to now? Acnologia…?

"Oi, Popsicle!" A certain Fire Idiot called right next to me. "You know your brain can't handle all that thinking at once." He told me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I turned my head and glared at him, for the moment forgetting I had miraculously found my way over here in my daze. "And who the hell are you to talk, ash for brains?!" I retorted right back at him.

The idiot bumped his forehead into mine and glared directly at me, grinding his teeth against each other. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, ICE PRINCESS?!" He yelled at me, already getting his temper heated up.

I kept my gaze on his, not bowing down to him no matter what. I wouldn't let him get the idea he was anywhere _near_ winning. "YOU HEARD ME, FIRE BREATH!" I yelled right back at him, hoping to make his eardrums explode.

Unfortunately, he didn't even cringe. Well, I guess he would be used to it by now with all the fights we'd had over the years. "WANT TO HAVE A GO AT IT, DROOPY-EYES?!" He asked me, putting his whole arm on fire.

I was just about to respond with an awesome comment, if I did have to say so myself, but I was cut short when waves of extreme pain began flooding through me from the top of my head. "What did I say about _fighting_?!" Erza asked half yelling, only making the pain from my head worse in the process. I'd completely forgotten she had probably been right behind me.

I heard lighter footsteps running towards us. "E-Erza! You went too far!" I heard Wendy exclaim as she ended up standing right beside me.

I heard the rustling sound of Erza's armor. "Don't worry Wendy. They can easily take that." She reassured the Sky Dragon Slayer as she began pumping her magic into me. It also came in waves, from my back though and not as painful, which spread through me, calming down every inch they touched and erasing the pain from existence.

It didn't take more than ten seconds though, as she moved on to the idiot instead, starting on him as well. Why she even bothered was beyond me. He was a waste of energy.

I got to my feet and stood next to Erza, staring at the crowd as it slowly filed in on their seats all around us. The Games were soon beginning, it would seem. I looked over at Lucy's team's balcony. Just like all the other days, it was empty. They all seemed to be the kind of people who slept to the middle of the day, had they had the chance. That or they were taking their sweet time getting through the baths.

The chatting in the stadium became louder and louder with each second that passed, as more and more people entered the place and found their seats, getting ready for the fourth day of these Games. I had actually thought we'd be doing better in these Games than we had so far. But our opponents really were tough customers.

Lucy and her team really had to hurry up if they wanted to be here when it all started. Chapati could basically show up anytime and announce the beginning of today. I glanced at Lucy's balcony once again and found myself quite surprised to see the whole team there already, laughing and smiling among each other. Although.. Laxus and Gajeel were smirking/grinning rather than smiling, really.

"Everyone!" Chapati finally said, drawing our attention and halfway silencing the arena. "Good morning to all of you! Are you ready for Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games?!" He asked them, barely even able to contain his excitement himself. There was a collective 'yeah' from the crowd, agreeing with the commentator. "Then let's get it all started, shall we?" He asked. I wondered what they had planned today. "Today the Game is Naval Battle! Please pick your participants everyone!" He told us.

Naval Battle? Something about Water then? Surely my Ice Make magic would work well in- "I'll go." A feminine voice said, cutting off my thoughts. I followed the sound of the voice and ended up looking at Lisanna. "I'll go." She repeated, more determined this time.

I was just about to protest that my magic would work best if it was about water, but was once again cut short. "Are you sure, Lisanna?" Erza asked her.

Lisanna directed her sky-blue eyes to the redhead and nodded firmly. "Yes, I will win this time for sure!" She said and clenched her fist at her side. This time, I decided to shut up. She probably wanted to make up for the loss against Flare the first day, that was why she was so determined now. I also wanted to make up for my loss against Rufus back then, but ladies first, as they say.

I could see Erza nodding at the edge of my peripheral. "Okay, we're counting on you." She told the girl with a light smile.

The Fire Idiot quickly nodded, a big, stupid grin on his face. He held a hand up and lit it on fire, as he always did. "Beat 'em up good, Lisanna!" He told her. Lisanna nodded again, and then made her way out. Unlike many of us, she didn't jump down, she took the civilized way around and under the balcony.

I couldn't help but look towards Lucy's balcony. But I was already sure about who they'd pick for this event. It wasn't a hard choice, really. And of course, Juvia also was the only one who wasn't present among the remaining four. Obviously, if this had anything to do with water, she was the only right choice.

Soon enough, everyone who was supposed to enter this Game had gathered down on the stadium. All of them in bathing clothes too. Someone had probably met them halfway through and asked them to change into those. The other participant were Jenny from Blue Pegasus, Chelia from Lamia Scale, Risley from Mermaid Heel, some black-haired chick from Sabertooth, according to the crowd, that was probably Minerva, Flare from Raven tail and then there was Rocker from Quatro Puppy. I didn't know whether to feel bad for him or envy him for the situation he was in. It was either paradise or hell, depending on the man.

All the girls wore bikinis of some sort. Juvia's was blue with white polka-dots and white ruffles along the edges. The color went really well with her hair… Wait, what was I just thinking?!

Suddenly I felt a lot of magic coming from the middle of the arena, and looked down at the 'battlefield'. A big, purple magic circle lay on the ground, slowly spinning around. The outer ring duplicated and the one which weren't connected with the rest rose up in about our height. Suddenly a big bubble of water appeared in the middle of the floating circle, above the one on the ground. It wasn't just any bubble though, it quickly grew in size and ended up being the size of our guild. The old one that was.

Mato popped up in front of the eight guild members. "This is the arena for the Naval Battle!" He announced. "The rules are simple! Kabo. All the participants will be in the Water sphere, where you'll battle against each other." He said and looked around at all of them. "If you get out of the sphere, you lose! The last remaining is the victor! Kabo!" He told. Yeah, they really were simple rules, the question was whether they were as easy to follow. "However, when only 2 people remain, a special rule comes into effect. The '5 minute rule'. If no one has been beaten in that amount of time, the first to fall out will end at last place! Kabo!" He ended it off. "Now participant, please enter the Water sphere!" He told them.

I watched as they all entered the bubble of water, while Chapati introduced the guest for today. It was the Scheherazade Troupe Chairman, Rabian, a guy Team Natsu once helped on a mission about his theater. That was back when Team Natsu was still somewhat new.

I guessed it was really for the best Lisanna went. Now she had a chance to show everyone she could beat Flare after all. My turn could wait for later.. I had a few people I wanted to beat up as well.

The girls and Rocker quickly made their way up in the bubble with the help of a staircase which just appeared out of nowhere, like so many other things in these Games. They all made a circle, where everyone could see everyone. While I hoped Lisanna would win, I knew she wouldn't. This was Juvia's element, her stage, after all. I doubted even the strongest here could beat her here.

One of the Lacrima screens showed the black-haired girl from Sabertooth. She was 'standing' proudly there, with on hand on her hip and the other stretched out to the side. "Sabertooth, Minerva, entering." She said dramatically, somehow gaining a big applause from the crowd. Judging by the applause, I figured she was like Erza or Laxus in Fairy Tail, one of the strongest. So was Sabertooth's top five members all gathered now? Honestly, they hadn't given me the impression of being the top dogs, really. Not that I had anything to say, really.

Chapati once again continued his job as a commentator. "This has become another splendid picture!" He exclaimed. "Women from each team have entered the stage in swimsuits!" He said loudly. The masculine part of the crowd either cheered or cat-called at this statement. Dusty, old perverts.

I almost laughed at Rocker's expression when Chapati stopped talking. "Uh… I'm here too… Widly…" He muttered, mostly to himself as I doubted very many heard him.

Chapati continued, completely overhearing Rocker. "The rules are simple! If you go out of the water, you lose!" He repeated what Mato had explained not long ago. Just like any other time, the usual gong marked the start of the Game. "The Naval Battle has begun!" He said excitedly and loudly into the mic.

Lisanna immediately did her Take Over Animal Soul: Mermaid, where she gained a pink/purple mermaid tail instead of her feet. I couldn't help but wonder how that was classified as an animal, but decided not to pursue the answer. It didn't matter.

Meanwhile, Chelia began charging up the black Sky magic, for now around her hands. "I'm sorry everyone!" She apologized before twirling her arms around. "Sky God's Boreas!" She chanted as a big whirlwind of black Sky magic began spinning around inside the Water sphere, making all the water spin with it in streaks of black and blue.

The water typhoon would probably have taken everyone with it out of that bubble, hadn't Juvia been there to prevent it. "Juvia won't let you!" She told the Sky God Slayer. She held her arms out to her side and began swirling around herself with the help of her Water magic, boosting the speed she was spinning at.

As she spun with her arms stretched out to the sides, the Water around her began spinning with her, neutralizing the typhoon Chelia had tried to make as she continued forward, towards the little girl, who couldn't do anything but watch as the Fairy closed in on her.

When Juvia was right in front of the Lamia member, she stopped up promptly. But even though she stopped, the water around her continued on. The pinkette was caught in the spinning water and was quickly closing in on the edge of the Water sphere. Still unable to do anything about her situation, she was pushed out of the bubble.

While Juvia spinning the water around took everyone's attention, Jenny had made her way behind Rocker. "THIS ONE FIRST!" She yelled as she kicked the man's face, somehow, and quickly sent him out of the bubble, while he yelled 'wild'. Rocker landed on the ground with his back, and opened his eyes just to see Chelia falling down on top of him. Jenny smiled down at Chelia and winked. "Girls shouldn't be wounded unnecessarily." She told the God Slayer, then returned to the battle.

"QUATRO PUPPY AND LAMIA SCALE IS OUT!" Chapati announced loudly, for everyone to hear. I glanced at my fellow Ice Make mage to see what his reaction was to this. And face palmed. He was blushing while looking at Juvia, who was still in the bubble. I could see his mouth moving and betted he was saying something along the lines of 'As long as it's Juvia, everything's alright'. What a moron.

The screen in front of me changed to Lisanna, who was facing Flare with a determined expression. She clearly wanted to win this one. Flare was staring right back at Lisanna with her head lightly tilted and a psychotic smile on her lips. Something was seriously wrong with that girl.

Probably not having the patience to wait for a move from the other mage - most likely a trait she had adopted from that Fire Idiot - she began shooting forward at the Raven, swimming fast enough for the other mage not to have time to react. "I'll win this time!" She reassured everyone as she grabbed Flare's shoulders and began swimming quickly towards the edge of the sphere.

Flare 'giggled' with her crazy smile as her hair was released from the braids and flowed out behind her. She quickly got control of it and sent it forward. She locked her hair around both Jenny and Risley's waists and pulled them towards her. They were above her and Lisanna, so in doing that, she also slipped out of Lisanna's grasp just as she was about to fall out of the bubble.

Flare quickly swam upwards, away from Lisanna, as the Take Over mage continued on at the same speed, quickly falling out of the bubble instead of her. "Better luck next time-" She smirked even wider and tilted her head in that creepy fashion. "_Girls_." She ended off as the other two followed Lisanna out of the bubble.

The whole arena was basically left speechless at the fact that the Raven had just taken out three rather strong mages in one swoop. "_A-amazing!_" Chapati said loudly. "She took out 3 people at once!" He continued. It was rather impressive actually. I hated to admit it, but it was.

So the only ones left were Juvia, Minerva and Flare… Come on, Juvia. You can win this, no one can beat you when it's underwater.

The three ladies waited each other out, testing who would be the first to move. Flare being the most impatient this time, jabbed her hair out towards Minerva, grabbing her bikini top between the breasts. The latter watching motionlessly as the Raven did so. Flare grinned widely as she began pulling at the bikini. The clothing wasn't especially strong and quickly broke, only barely covering the Saber's chest, the water not doing any good for that purpose.

Flare probably expected Minerva to scream and shriek at the thought of her bikini top breaking, but she didn't. She just stared at the Raven with a weird eyebrow raised. "Did you really expect me to act like a little, weak girl?" She asked the redhead, who looked confused and lightly scared, probably not knowing what to do now her plan failed. Minerva smirked at Flare. "Well, I'm not." She told her and held her hand out towards her.

Her hand got enveloped in a weird kind of magic. It was mainly a transparent black, but rainbow-colored streaks flowed around in it. What was that? Magic of the Dark Rainbow, or what? I quickly found out that wasn't just any magic as Flare got encased in a ball of that magic. Suddenly Flare along with the magic ball teleported to the outside of the Water sphere. The bubble of that transparent blackish magic burst and Flare roughly landed on the ground.

I didn't take note of what Chapati said as I focused on what would happen next between Minerva and Juvia. And to learn more about Minerva's magic. It seemed really powerful, since she could so easily teleport Flare.

Minerva was still admiring her work of teleporting the Raven out of the Water sphere and didn't' notice Juvia materialize behind her. The Water mage stretched her arms out in front of her in a familiar stance. "Water Cyclone!" She chanted as a cyclone of Water appeared right in front of her hands and charged at the Sabertooth mage. "Don't have your back to the enemy!" She told Minerva.

Minerva whipped around at hearing Juvia's voice and stood face to face with a cyclone. "Shit!" Was the last thing she said as she was hit by the cyclone head on. The whirl of Water completely hid Minerva from sight, but it became obvious when she was suddenly pushed out of the bubble. She did have enough time to make sure she landed on her feet rather than her butt, though.

Now alone in the bubble of Water, Juvia 'stood' still in the same stance and looking down at Minerva with her big, blue eyes. I had a feeling that what she had done right there, beating Minerva, was quite the feat. My thoughts were confirmed when the crowd went completely silent in shock, as well as the commentators. So Minerva was supposed to be the unbeatable one, eh?

Finally, Chapati made his presence known again. "MINERVA IS OUT! FAIRY TAIL B WINS!" He yelled just as surprised as the crowd. "Invincible strength in underwater combat! Juvia!" He exclaimed loudly. Now the crowd also broke out of their trance and began clapping wildly, chanting out guild's name or Juvia's. Okay, we hadn't won, but honestly the change in attitude towards us was all I needed.

Juvia dived out of the bubble and landed on her feet next to Minerva. The two exchanged some words and smiled. Despite what Minerva looked like, it seemed she was actually nice enough, judging by that smile and she didn't take a loss so heavily. Or was I mistaken?

As the different participant began to make their way back to the balconies, Chapati continued to explain the oncoming battles. "Today the battle-part will be different!" He announced. "It is not just one-on-one, it's Tag Team!" He said excitedly as the crowd began cheering loudly in satisfaction of the decision. "First up is Blue Pegasus Ichiya and Rabbit VS Quatro Puppy Bacchus and Rocker!" He told us. "When Rocker is back that is…" He added at the end. "Meanwhile, please enter the arena, participants!" He told them.

It seemed like people wanted to be civilized today, because they all took the long way around. I was broken away from my thoughts when I heard Wendy speak next to me. "Juvia did amazing!" She cheered for the Water mage. Wendy… You're a bit slow. I thought and sweat dropped.

Erza nodded. "Yes, Juvia indeed did well. Not only did she neutralize Chelia's typhoon and pushed her out, she also beat what seems to be Sabertooth's ace." She commented with a smile. I nodded. Yup, the Knight was right.

Natsu looked at all of us with furrowed eyebrows. "Lisanna did good too! She almost got Flare!" He told us, trying to defend Lisanna for no apparent reason.

I looked at him with an annoyed expression. "We know that you moron, there's not even a reason to say it." I told him and looked down at the field where the two teams now met up, getting ready to battle as the gong sounded. "Of course she's good, she gave it her all." I said. As long as you do your best, you never do badly.

I turned back to the Lacrima screens in front of me again and focused on this new battle. "Bacchus-san, let's do this wildly!" Rocker told his drunk team-mate. "If not, at this rate.." He trailed off. Yeah, they were lying in the bottom right now, weren't they?

Bacchus breathed out, looking kinda bored. "Whaat~? As long as our souls tremble, that'll be fine." He told Rocker carelessly. Well, I guess that was a good attitude to have to things in general, but you would probably not really win much.

Ichiya pointed forward at nothing at all, as usual. "Come, the time has finally come to release you." He said dramatically to his team mate, as if this whole event had been turning around that costume. It hadn't. But that being said, I was quite curious to see who was hiding underneath it. Of course, the whole audience turned silent as the rabbit began pulling the hat off. Apparently, it got stuck so Ichiya had to help out. I internally face palmed at the situation. How stupid… Ichiya looked up at the rabbit. "It's fine show everyone that handsome face of yours." He told it.

That was when the rabbit pulled the head off, to reveal… Another Ichiya. Or rather, it was one of the Exceeds we'd met in Extalia, Nichiya. The crowd gave a collective "EHH?!" When the face of the rabbit was revealed, then turned completely silent. Not everyone were aware of Edolas and the parallel world and all that, so I guess this was a big shock to them.

Natsu leaned forward, over the railing. "That guy.." He trailed off, his eyes as wide as everyone else's. "He was from Extalia!" He yelled loudly for everyone to hear. But of course not for everyone to understand. But this, Ichiya's revelation down there, it was unexpected. I wondered how he planned to use the Exceed in battle.

Both Ichiya and Nichiya stood with crossed arms and two fingers/paws pointing out and cross-legged, sparkles appearing all around them. "Double Ikemen Attack" Ichiya said.

Nichiya continued on, sparkles intensifying. "It's a dangerous perfume all right." The Exceed told everyone.

Everyone and everything just stayed silent in utter disgust. That… Was the most disgusting thing I had seen since… Well, last time I saw that guy. I saw Erza was on the verge of fainting beside me. "Ichiya became two people…" She said, disgust filling everything in her voice. Probably at the thought of two of them following her around everywhere.

I quickly caught her before she could hit the ground, simply by holding her shoulders. "Oi, pull yourself together, Erza." I told her. Even if I said that, I was close to doing the same thing myself. I did _not_ want to see this battle at all, to be all honest.

Both Ichiya and Nichiya closed their eyes and turned their heads down just a little. "To be able to meet myself, this really must be destiny." Ichiya said, as if reliving the day he met Nichiya. "Hmm… On that clear afternoon." He continued, taking a stroll down memory-lane.

While Rocker seemed to be losing his mind, probably for more reasons than just one, Bacchus just grinned. He shot forward at the Exceed and hit him right in the cheek. "DAHA!" He yelled as he hit the cat with the unfortunate face.

The Exceed began flying off like a rocket. "MEEEEEEN~!" It yelled, too much like it's owner. Or what you could call Ichiya and Nichiya. The other self?

Ichiya turned his head in tune with Nichiya's flying backwards. "What on earth are you doing?!" He yelled, with tears brimming in his eyes. Whether it was at Bacchus or the cat, I didn't know.

Ren was the first 'outsider' to react on this. "Ichiya-san! Can that guy really fight?!" He asked the ace of their guild. Supposedly, Nichiya was supposed to be their secret weapon, from what I gathered anyway. But everyone knew Exceeds couldn't fight-

Ichiya turned around and glared at Ren. "Of _course_ he can!" He yelled back. I actually face palmed for real this time. Oh Mavis… "He has the same face as me!" He yelled as if that was a reason. "In other words, we have the same battle power!" He elaborated as Nichiya hit the ground and slid to a stop. Did they seriously not know whether the cat could fight or not?

Ren noticed that the Exceed was not lying completely still on the ground. "Isn't he kicking the bucket right now?!" He asked the imp, getting frustrated, but trying not to show it.

Ichiya put his hands on his cheeks as his whole face stretched out in shock. "NO WAAAAYY!" He yelled incredulously as if the knockout of the cat was something incredible.

Bacchus looked at Ichiya with a raised brow. "Quite messin' around." He told the S-Class of Blue Pegasus. He was probably starving to 'get his soul shaken' just about now.

Rocker grinned, having overcome his earlier trance. "We don't have anything to hold back anymore, so we'll have you lose this fight!" He exclaimed as he began running forward. Suddenly he began spinning around quickly. "DRILL ROCK FOR YOU!" He yelled and spun towards Ichiya quickly.

Chapati broke the silence of the crowd by speaking again. "The rabbit's true identity has now already been downed!" He exclaimed, while Yajima commented that it was now two on one.

Meanwhile, the guest was fan-girling. "There's a chance of winning! Thank you very much!" He said loudly. It seemed he had a habit of ending every sentence with 'thank you very much', as far as I remembered.

Ichiya held his hand out towards Rocker, as if that would stop him. "W-wait a sec you guys!" He asked them. But of course he was ignored as Rocker used the momentum of the spinning to kick Ichiya in the face, while he still had his guard down. "DOPEH!" Ichiya blurted out when he was hit. Very charming.

Bacchus leapt into the air above Ichiya, doing one of his weird stances mid-air. He had one palm facing the sky, the other the ground. "Drunken Hanging Palm Moon Down!" He said with a lightly slurred voice. He had probably taken 'a' drink before entering the arena. He hit Ichiya's butt with a flat palm. Why would he even do that to himself?

Ichiya began flying off in the air like some bouncing ball. "MEEEEN!" He yelled his usual comment. The Exceed called his name and he looked down at his counterpart. "Ni… Chi… Ya…" He said between pants.

Both Bacchus and Rocker came running at Ichiya. "This is the end!" Bacchus told them.

"Eat his!" Rocker added as he reached Ichiya. He gave the imp a powerful right hook, using whatever magic he had to propel the hit, right into the pony's head, between the eyes. That could only have been painful.. Bacchus also landed another hit on Ichiya's cheek, like he had on Nichiya, also sending Ichiya flying. Again..

He landed on his stomach a little away and looked like he had been beat, but then he looked up. "Let me dedicate to you the perfume called _victory_!" He said, completely out of context. Well, he probably had a long inner monologue about how he was sorry he dragged the cat into all this and would avenge him. Or something like that.

He got to his feet and suddenly some kind of magical pressure surround him and his clothes tore at his back as his size suddenly increased. Bacchus and Rocker looked confusedly at the man they had thought they just beat. "Wha-_what_? Suddenly he's going wild!" Bacchus said, once again confirming my suspicions of having been drinking before the match.

Rocker clenched his teeth as he also stared at the imp across the field, powering up. "Is this the perfume power?!" He asked as if it was some kind of famous power.

Ichiya began growing in size and musculature, his clothes falling off until he only stood in his tiny underwear. The kind of underwear a man should never wear. Oh.. I had seen this before. Back when we were to smash those Lacrimas in Nirvana, he did that too with some perfume. It only lasted for a short while, but it made the guy super powerful.

He still stood with his back to the two Puppies. Elfman, you genius. "Behold! This is my beautiful dreamer…" He trailed off and turned around, looking at the two guys with the most disgusting face he had ever had. And that was transmitted directly through the Lacrimas, zoomed in and all. "Smile!" He smiled.

This time, Erza actually fainted, but I was too horrified to even move to catch her. Paralyzed with disgust. How was it even possible for a guy to be so _ugly_?! And he was from a guild of hosts no less! I would see that face in my nightmares from now on. And the crowd seemed to be agreeing with me as they were either barfing, keeping it in or fainting like Erza.

While the two Puppies were paralyzed - like me - Ichiya made his move. "SMASH!" He yelled as he quickly reached them and gave them an uppercut, this time sending _them_ flying. They both crashed into the outer wall, Bacchus bouncing off and landing on the ground in what could only be a painful way, while Rocker literally crashed into the wall, making a crater in it. Then he also slid down and landed on his side. Both knocked out.

Chapati, somehow able to do things, spoke. "DOWN! QUATRO PUPPY IS DOWN!" He yelled as if he couldn't believe it. The rest of us felt the same way. "Winner! Blue Pegasus!" He yelled, calming down just a little. Meanwhile, Ichiya began posing in different ways, thinking the crowd was awed by his performance. Boy was he mistaken.

At my balcony, we were still too disgusted to even say a word, all of us. Well, except one that is. "He's so awesome!" Natsu exclaimed next to me, looking down at Ichiya with excited eyes. I slowly and robotically turned my head towards him, staring at him with my mouth dropping open. Was he _kidding _me?! We _seriously_ needed to get his head checked when we came back to the guild. It was way beyond due time too.

Ichiya quickly hurried to Nichiya's side and picked him up, cradling him like a baby. "Nichiya, are you all right?" He asked the Exceed, sparkles appearing all around the two of them.

While I gagged at the scene, suddenly understanding how Natsu felt on transport, Nichiya answered Ichiya's question. "Not feeling very manly." He told his human counterpart.

Chapati broke the 'beautiful' moment. "Well, that was a great match, right?" He asked his fellow commentators. He sounded like he actually meant it.

Yajima hesitantly agreed, probably and hopefully out of curtesy. Rabian on the other hand voiced what everyone else were thinking. "It was extremely disgusting! Thank you very much!" He said loudly. I internally nodded in agreement with the guy. He couldn't be more right.

While Ichiya carried Nichiya off the field, still in his big form, or what to call it, Bacchus and Rocker were carried away on stretchers, so we could continue the Games.

Chapati continued, as if what had happened just before hadn't even meant anything. "Match two will be between Lamia Scale's Lyon and Yuka VS Mermaid Heel's Kagura and Millianna!" He announced excitedly.

I, as well as everyone else, broke out of our trances of disgust and went back to the match at hand. Erza also revived from the dead, getting up as if nothing had ever happened.

This match could actually really be interesting, the two teams were somewhat evened out in terms of strength.

**30 minutes later~**

**Gray's P.O.V**

Okay, so these guys weren't _just _'somewhat' evened out. Their strength was equal. That was why, after 30 tedious minutes, no one had won anything, all four of them still standing strong. Well, exhausted, but still standing.

While the two teams exited the arena, Chapati told us who would be fighting next. "It's a heated arena, but be sure to not miss any of this next fight!" He half yelled into the mic. Sometimes I really pitied those Dragon Slayers. "The guild known as the strongest seven years ago will battle against the one that currently claims that title!" He yelled. I narrowed my eyes. So it was Sabertooth, eh? Somehow I got the feeling that it was only Lucy and a few other people those guys liked, the rest of us… "Fairy Tail A's Natsu and Gray!" He announced. "VS Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue!" He told us.

Those two of all of Sabertooth really seemed to despise Natsu in particular. I had an idea why too. From what I heard, Lucy met them on a train back when she left and offered them a place to sit in her booth. They became quick friends too, Lucy's unique skill, I guessed. After they had joined Sabertooth, they read that magazine Sorcerer Weekly had made, where there was a big article about how Lucy was kicked out.

As 10-year old boys, Lucy must have been like some kind of big sister or something to them, I could only imagine what they felt towards us, Team Natsu, after that knowledge. These two were going to be tough customers, that was for sure.

I turned my head and made eye-contact with Natsu. Apparently he also knew this was going to be a challenge, judging by his serious expression. We both nodded simultaneously and jumped down next to each other, as the two Sabers did as well on the other side of the stadium.

Chapati continued speaking. "Furthermore! Three of them are Dragon Slayers! They all use the magic that was made to kill Dragons!" He commented.

I felt a vein beginning to bulge out at my forehead and whipped around, glaring up at the commentator's box with a clenched fist. "WHAT THE HECK?! DON'T I COUNT ANYWHERE?!" I asked, already getting pissed off. That guy was extremely rude sometimes.

"I've been looking forward to this." Someone said right behind me. I turned my head and looked at Sting over my shoulder. He was smirking.

**Hooohhh… You guys'll love me now~ CLIFFHANGER! XD Yep, I'm cutting it off here. There's no need for it to be longer :3 You just gotta wait for next week, sweeties~!**

**Anyway, you can see the ugly face I referred to from Ichiya in chapter 293 'The Perfume Dedicated To You', if you're curious. I was almost gagging myself when I saw it :S**

**Anyway, Ichiya said something about 'Ikemen'. I tried translating it from Japanese, but it says 'twink' and I doubt that's what it's supposed to mean. So, I have absolutely no idea what it was I wrote XD**

**Hoped you liked the long Gray's P.O.V chapter here, where we got his thoughts revealed. Maybe he's on the verge of knowing? Maybe, maybe not~ There's no telling! ^_^**

**Ah, and the changes to Naval Battle, I hope you liked those too. I know it wasn't quite as… Gruesome as the original, buuuut I decided Minerva shouldn't be the biatch she is in the cannon, but more a very serious character in battle, while a nice person outside of it. Out of character, I know, but that's just how it is. **

**I know this chapter wasn't as eventful as the latest chapters have been, but we all need some calm now and then. Also, at the day after of Day four here, I plan on sending all of them to Ryuuetzu land - is that how it's spelled? - since I realized there hasn't been much of the usual noisy Fairy Tail, only Lucy and Acnologia and the things with Raven Tail. Don't we need to have a break from all that? I think we do. If anything, It'll just build the suspense~ :3**

**Also, I realize I haven't really been up to date with telling you what the points are. I apologize. I'll edit them in at some point, but not right now **

**Thank you Aira0906, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), Darkverger1, SillyKitty88, Xx21KatieKat12xX, GoldenPiggy, Alaina Kuski, weafel, Winterglaze, PuddyKatz, fairychime-diamond47, StrongGuy159, Acnologia Prime, aristofthemind, ANG3LBL00M, OtakuLover43, Ishita.d, Konan15, catlover123456789, Suron1998, Erylina, reader713, desropter, UNRAV3L, ghosthuntergal, Skyline179, ZinaThePanda, mjb379, Mitsuki Suzumiya, and all you other wonderful readers out there! **

**~ Line464d**


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

**Ready for Sting &amp; Rogue VS Gray &amp; Natsu?! Well, you better be!**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: As per usual, Slowpoke and his kin (Slowbro and Slowking) own Fairy Tail, and are unlikely to let the rest of us have a taste of glory**

**At the arena~**

**Gray's P.O.V**

The four of us glared at each other, all ready for battle, and trying to figure each other out. In the background, I could hear the crowd getting as pumped up for the battle as Natsu and I were at the moment.

Sting didn't seem to have eyes for others than the Fire Idiot. He was glaring fiercely at him, and only him. Completely forgetting me, just like Chapati, that bastard. But Natsu sent it right back at him, although not with as much hate.

Rogue probably knew the Fire Idiot and Sting were going to be battling it out with no regard to either himself or me, so he let Natsu be and stared at me with those red eyes. With those eyes of his, it almost looked like he was glaring at me, no matter what he did. Of course I also knew Natsu wasn't going to let his prey, Sting in other words, be beaten by anyone but him, so I kept to Rogue anyway.

To say the atmosphere between the four of us was tense would be the understatement of the year. Intense hatred was flowing from those two in waves, you could almost see them in the air. But both Natsu and I wouldn't be intimidated by their glares. Much more was at stake here, for us anyway. The pride of our team, of Fairy Tail. We had to show everyone that it wasn't just Lucy's team who were absolute monsters, the rest of us were too. Some more than others.

It felt like eternity and a lunchbox had passed before Chapati finally broke the tense atmosphere. "Match… START!" He yelled just as the gong made the usual noise.

Natsu hit the flat of his palm with a clenched fist, lit on fire of course. "I'm all fired up." He commented, not as lively and stupidly as usual. "Let's go, Gray!" He said determinedly.

I nodded, keeping my eyes on Rogue. "Yeah." I agreed, pulling my shirt off with ease and throwing it away. We were both setting off the ground towards the two. In an instant, Rogue appeared before me, surprising me and halting my movements, lowering my guard. I hadn't expected them to move so fast.

Rogue swiftly jabbed his hand forward, connecting with my face before I even had a chance to get a hold of the situation, sending me flying backwards. I could see Natsu getting the same treatment from the corner of my eye. These guys were serious about this!

I regained my composure and put my feet on the ground, slowing down my speed. I looked up and around, trying to find Rogue, but he was already right in front of me. And with his fist raised once again. He hammered it down on the top of my skull, making me crash to the ground at his feet.

My head hurt like hell, he packed quite a punch, even though he didn't seem like the most powerful guy physically. I made my way to steady myself on my elbows and knees, on my way up, but suddenly felt a hard kick to my stomach, once again sending me flying.

"Shadow Dragon's Slash!" I heard Rogue say semi-loudly and felt magical pressure coming off him, and rapidly approaching too. At the same time I also heard Natsu release one of his infamous Roars.

While I couldn't really breathe, I twisted around so I was sure to land on my feet. Before I got any kind of steady footing, I pushed off the ground towards the Shadow Dragon Slayer, preparing to block his attack.

I put my two hands together and charged my magic. "Ice Make: Sword!" I said and a long, thin sword of ice appeared in my hand. I grabbed the hilt of it with two hands and just barely blocked Rogue's attack, which had his hand covered completely in Shadows. The two attacks met head on, which seemed to surprise Rogue. I grinned at him and pushed it forward, swinging him away, this time sending _him_ flying. "NATSU!" I yelled at my team mate. No one said I couldn't have the guy help me out a little.

Without even looking back, he grabbed the incoming Dragon Slayer's collar and charged at a stunned Sting with his friend in his hand. He came up close and personal with Sting, glared at him only an inch away from his face, then crouched down, slamming his one foot to the ground a little in front of him and the other behind him. Both of his hands instantly became engulfed in swirling fire. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" He yelled, flames sprouting out of his hands in two small tornadoes.

He was so close to the two Sabers that he with that single spell sent them both flying. I had no idea whether Natsu had actually thrown Rogue or not, but the guy crashed right into Sting and they were then both hit with a wave of flames.

Now it was my turn! I smashed my hands together again and readied my magic. "Ice Make: ICE HAMMER!" I yelled as a long, whip-like hammer appeared right in front of me, with spikes protruding out of it everywhere. The hammer crashed right down at the two Sabers, making them crash to the ground, Sting hitting it directly. Payback had been served.

"What…" I heard Chapati start off. "What is going on here?!" He asked confused and stunned. "Sting and Rogue!" He said as the two slowly got to their feet. "The Twin Dragons of Fiore's strongest guild are toe-to-toe with the previously strongest guild!" He said as if that was any surprise. Of course, we weren't pushovers.

Sting stood on his feet and brushed off a stray ripple of blood originating from his mouth with the back of his gloved hand. "As strong as I thought you'd be…" He trailed off.

Natsu glared at the blonde one. "Did you guys really beat Dragons with that level of power?" He asked Sting incredulously. What? I hadn't heard any of this. Had those three run into each other before?

Sting shook his head and let out a strained laugh. "We didn't _just_ beat them Natsu." He explained, lifting his hands into the air a little. "With these very hands, we killed them." He said. Even though the guy was probably trying not to show it, it was obvious that it was a sore topic, no matter how loudly he was announcing it now.

Natsu stood completely still for an instant, looking at the two with slight confusion. "Weren't they your parents?" He asked them incredulously. I betted everything in me that he couldn't even comprehend it. The thought of killing Igneel hadn't even been a thing in his mind at any time. It'd been something so very distant it hardly even existed. But these two…

A strong upwind seemed to appear under Sting as his hair began standing on end and his loose jacket flailed in the wind. Actually, that was just his magic, I realized as he became began shining like the sun itself. "That has nothing to do with _you_." He spat out. "Now we'll show you the power that kills Dragons." He promised the Fire Idiot. His glare intensified once again. "White Drive."

"Shadow Drive." Rogue said at the same time as Sting, likewise being attacked by an upwind. On the other hand, this guy was surrounded in Shadows, almost hiding him from view.

The two stood next to each other, glaring at both of us confident they'd win. One of them was as bright as the sun, the other as black as the night. It almost seemed like they were on fire of their respective elements.

Sting crouched lightly. "Let's go." He repeated what Natsu had said, mocking him. Suddenly, the Light Dragon Slayer charged forward at the Fire Idiot with a war cry. "HAAA!" He had his hand pulled back behind them and just as he came close to Natsu, he charged it with his Light magic, copying Lucy and her Celestial magic.

It was like a big orb around his hand. He was right in front of Natsu in an instant. Natsu barely made to block with his forearm before it was hit with Sting's attack, which made it explode in light.

But what he hadn't noticed was that Sting had the other hand ready and charged with Light magic as well, except much stronger. "Receive the judgment of the holy white!" Sting told Natsu, forcing his fist forward at an enormous speed. "TAKE THIS!" He yelled as his fist swiftly made it past Natsu's defense and hit his chin, encasing him in a beam of light.

I had watched it all the time, not fast enough to prevent any of it. "Natsu!" I simply yelled at him, as if that was of any help. Guess it was just a reaction of sorts.

But I was prevented from saying any more, when I felt a foot hitting my abdomen roughly, but not with enough force to move me from the spot. Intentionally perhaps. "Shadows cannot be captured." Rogue told me, his eyes completely covered in Shadows.

I glared at him, irritated that he had caught me with my guard down. "You…" I growled at him, presenting him with my favorite scowl. Before he had time to react, I decided I'd better land a punch, so I jabbed my fist out at him. But it went right through, as if he had a Shadow Body, just as Juvia had a Water Body.

I didn't realize what was going on as the Shadows separated and then merged together again right next to me. Before Rogue was completely materialized, he elbowed me forcefully right at my cheek. I wondered if I'd have lost any teeth after this was over.

I glanced at Natsu's situation shortly. Sting seemed to be preparing for some kind of spell. "I once looked up to you, Natsu." He told the Fire Dragon Slayer. Well, he sure got smarter. "But after what you did to Lucy-san…" He trailed off and glared at Natsu, who looked completely clueless as to what was going on. So I was right after all… He pointed one hand, surrounded in a big ball of his Light magic, at Natsu. "I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!" He yelled as he shot something at Natsu, which connected with the idiot's stomach, burning through his clothes. Suddenly, some kind of mark in a bright white color appeared on Natsu's chest, where he'd been hit. Sting decided he should explain what he just did. "The white Dragon's claw is a holy attack. A body marked by its stigmata has its freedom taken away." He said with a Dragon's glare. "And with this…" He trailed off as he once again had a little sun appear around his hand. "I WILL AVENGE HER!" He yelled.

This was where I returned to my own battle, realizing I'd been caught up in Sting and Natsu's for too long. But I only looked back to find my opponent had disappeared. "The Dragon that becomes Shadow hides itself-" I heard a low voice tell me from behind. I looked back to see Shadow Rogue emerging from my own shadow right behind me. But the only thing I saw was the disappearing wisps of his Shadows. "In its hunt for its prey." He said, behind me again.

I could feel a rapidly approaching high magical pressure, which felt like the guy's Shadows. I stretched my hand backward, keeping it open, sure I'd figured out what the guy was doing. And right as I were, his clenched fist landed right into my open hand, stopping his movement. I looked back at him from the corner of my one eye. "In its hunt for… What was that?" I asked him.

I heard the sound of a fiery fist connecting with a Dragon Slayer's head. And Sting asking what the heck was going on. Then, with the sound of sizzling skin in the background, he stated that the stigmata was burned away. "Pretty good, aren't you?" Natsu asked mockingly. I could see the grin on his ugly face even without looking. "But still not good enough." He ended off.

I scowled at Rogue, annoyed they'd underestimated us. "Don't get too full of yourselves, you punks." I grabbed the Shadow Dragon Slayer's wrist, turned completely around in a swift motion and angled my elbow right, so it connected with his face. "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON US!" I yelled at him as he fell back, gasping for air.

We stood face to face again, two and two. Sting was standing in front of Natsu, crouched down and with a confident expression, one palm opened up and pointing at Natsu, while the other was pulled back as if he was about to hit someone. "For what you did to Lucy-san, I'll have to use my best." He said as the Light magic began swirling around him, gathering at his palm. "The white Dragon's fist will turn even flames to ash." He promised Natsu. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: HOLY NOVA!" He yelled as he shot the clenched fist he had pulled back forward. As if out of nothing, an astonishingly huge amount of Light magic shot out both behind and in front of the fist, pushing him to run forward at Natsu.

When Sting's fist connected with Natsu, the two of them suddenly got engulfed in a rapidly expanding ball of Light, which looked like it would explode at any given time. Light magic was spinning around it even farther out, like the rings around Saturn, and it whipped up quite powerful waves of wind, which made the ground's sand fly up in the air in smaller or bigger clouds.

Both Rogue and I stood motionlessly and looked at the ball. Suddenly, it actually exploded, swallowing the whole arena in the white light. It was literally impossible to see anything, I had to cover my eyes with my arm to even keep them open, and even then it was difficult. The magical pressure coming off of that thing was enormous.

As the spell slowly dissipated, it became obvious that the explosion had whipped up a lot of sand. But soon that too disappeared and gave us permission to see the outcome.

I removed my arm from my head and looked at where Natsu and Sting were supposed to be. And grinned lightly. Natsu stood casually, as if what had just happened wasn't anything special, with Sting's fist in his outstretched hand, glaring at the Light Dragon Slayer.

Sting looked beyond surprised, with wide eyes and his mouth dropping open. It was obvious that was an unexpected outcome. Natsu kept his glare fixated on Sting for a second longer, before beginning to speak. "I have no idea what your deal is, Light Bulb, but I won't lose!" He reassured his opponent as he once again took the initiative to begin a close combat-round.

I saw Rogue slithering closer to me at the edge of my peripheral and looked up in time to defend myself from any attack he planned on dealing to me. He quickly came close to me and as he began rising from the Shadows, I dealt the hit he had probably meant for me, hitting his chin roughly, pushing him backwards in the air. This was rather pathetic, we only barely needed to use magic. Apparently, both Natsu and I had hid the twins on the same time, as they landed on the ground side by side.

Chapati took the word once again as the crowd began speaking either confused, stunned or in awe. "This.. These developments! Who could have expected this?!" He yelled into the mic. Easy, I could. "SABERTOOTH'S TWIN DRAGONS CAN'T EVEN LIFT A FINGER BEFORE FARY TAIL!" He yelled even louder. Obviously. "Will the match end like this?" He asked.

I stared at the two Sabers as they fought to get back to their feet. Both were panting heavily, as if they'd just run all around the world. "As if it'd end here.." I barely heard Rogue say.

Sting nodded, facing the ground. "Yeah, I figured this wall would be hard to climb." He admitted. He dug his fingers down in the ground, as people did when they remembered something. "I promised myself.. I know." He muttered, as some kind of promise probably flashed through his mind. He found the way to stand on his feet. "I won't lose." He said and glared up at us. "I can't lose, for Lucy's sake." He told us determinedly as Rogue also stood on his feet next to him.

My eyes widened when I felt the immense waves of magical pressure they sent off and their changed looks. They had both developed scales on their visible skin. At Sting it was around the edges of his face and neck and extending down probably past his shoulders and chest to his stomach and arms, where they covered most of the arms and the sides of his stomach. Likewise, Rogue had also gotten black scales at the outer edge of his face, but they were in kind of intricate swirls. In a way. And completely black. The rest remained unknown as he still wore those long clothes. Both of the Twins' hair stood on end, it didn't look unnatural for Sting, but Rogue honestly looked ridiculous.

I just stared surprised at them, while Natsu began talking, both of us feeling their heavy presences. "No way.." He muttered. "They can use Dragon Force when they want?!" He asked stunned. I looked at him with a raised brow. Well, hadn't Lucy's boyfriend, Acnologia, also done that?

I looked back at the two. Natsu had only entered that form a few times. One was back at the Tower of Heaven, when he fought the 'evil' Jellal, but back then it was because he actually ate the tower. Or that was what I had been told anyway. And then also back against Zero, but back then he'd gotten some of Jellal's magic to help him along. In other words, he needed to consume stuff if he wanted to go to Dragon Force, but these two obviously didn't.

Sting took a step forward and held a hand out, barring the way for Rogue. "Rogue, don't get involved." He told his fellow Dragon Slayer nonchalantly; as if this was something he did before breakfast. "I alone am enough." He reassured the Shadow Dragon Slayer confidently. The smug smile he wore only served to piss me off even more. Just because he could enter Dragon Force it didn't mean he'd win. He'd find out soon enough.

I barely registered Chapati talking about something like how Sting had turned the tables or something in the background. Honestly I didn't care. This battle proved to be more difficult than I had first expected. I breathed out. "Looking down on us again, eh?" I asked with a scowl and spit out some saliva that had been building up in my mouth.

Natsu nodded. "But this feeling.." He said with an uncharacteristic serious face. He looked kinda cute. "He's strong." He stated.

I rolled my eyes and cracked my neck. "Thank you for stating the obvious, moron." I told him. I knew that. There was no way I'd miss that with those insane amounts of magic they let off at the moment. But still, it was nothing compared to…

I trailed off when Sting suddenly pushed off the ground and sped forward like a missile. Well, he had the added bonus of using his Light magic as I had seen Natsu do so often. The Fire Idiot had no time to do anything against Sting as he suddenly was in front of him, giving him a powered up fist to the face, right above his nose.

Natsu began falling back, more of surprise than anything. I saw my chance to do something now Sting's attention was somewhere else. I put my two hands together, deciding it was time for some magic of my own. "ICE MAKE: LANCE!" I yelled as my magic created dozens of lances of pure Ice in front of me, which sped off at Sting, who was presently still looking at Natsu's falling form.

He shifted his gaze from Natsu to me with that blasted grin of his. He quickly charged some magic around his hand. Then he pointed it at me, through the rapidly approaching lances, and shot it off. It flew fast, much faster than my lances. It flew right past my magic, making the lances disappear as it passed them and hitting me right in the face.

Meanwhile Natsu had gotten himself collected again. He quickly shot off the ground and towards Sting with his fist on fire. But Sting easily caught it, much like Natsu had with his Secret Art earlier. The Light Dragon Slayer moved quickly, so quickly you couldn't actually see him. He effortlessly kneed Natsu in the gut, while Natsu stood like an idiot with his fist still in the air and his eyes popping out of his head.

Sting got a hold of Natsu and literally threw him right at me with a wide grin. When the Idiot crashed into me, Sting jumped into the air like some kind of kangaroo. He quickly breathed in in a beyond familiar way. "White Dragon's…" He muttered with his mouth filled with Light magic. "HOLY BREATH!" He yelled as he sent his Roar down at us from above.

And jeez. That breath was no joke. For one, it was gigantic and it hurt more than this Fire Idiot's ever would. But not only that, it completely destroyed the floor of this arena. He literally made a hole in the ground, making a roughed up Natsu and I begin falling down, hardly able to move after the insane Roar.

Chapati's voice rang through my head clearly, mocking me. "IS THIS THE STRENGTH OF THE THIRD GENERATION OF DRAGON SLAYERS?!" He asked in a unnecessarily loud yell, while we continued falling. "THE MATCH WILL CONTINUE! EVERYONE PLEASE ENJOY VIA LACRIMA'S!" He continued yelling, ecstatic with the battle, as it seemed.

I looked up at Sting, who began diving down after us. "We're just getting _started_!" He yelled after us. But somehow I got the feeling he preferred taking Natsu out first, which pissed me off, as he primarily aimed for Natsu.

When Natsu was hit, he used the momentum he had gained from the hit to swing himself around to land on his feet and hands on the ground, with the help of his Fire magic too it seemed. He stood on all fours and glared up at Sting. "Fire Dragon's…" He growled as he charged his magic under his feet. "SWORD HORN!" He yelled loudly as he suddenly pushed off the ground and shot into the air like a bullet, with a ridiculous amount of Fire trailing after him.

He hit Sting's back with his head and pushed him high into the air. Sting flew up into the air, and up at my height, while I was still falling. I looked into his eyes with a smirk, smashed my two hands together and as usual, charged my magic. "ICE MAKE: ICE CANNON!" I yelled as a huge bazooka-like cannon appeared in my hands. I quickly fired the powerful cannonball I knew was ready in it at Sting. It hit him straight on and sent him flying back to the ground, where he crashed into some kind of pole.

But much to my surprise, it barely seemed to bother Sting that he had been buried under the big amount of rubble and he'd just been hit by one of my most powerful spells. He easily got up again and put his two hands together, palm against palm, as he smirked up at me. "The light of the white Dragon purifies all things." He said as he formed a triangle with his hands, where his Light magic began rapidly gathering. "HOLY RAY!" He yelled as thousands of small rays began shooting up at me and Natsu at the same time.

I began falling down to the ground and landed on my stomach, pushing all the air out of me. While I fought my way up, I looked at the battle, which continued between Sting and Natsu, as the Fire Idiot still was on his feet. Sting quickly made his way towards Natsu as he had his fist ready and charged with Light magic.

Natsu made a blockade with his two arms in the nick of time, momentarily surprising Sting. But he quickly regained his composure and glared at Natsu, intensifying the magic behind his hit. "Fly away." I heard him say just before he gave Natsu the last push, which sent him flying off into the wall behind him.

I quickly jumped up and charged at Sting while he had his back to me, but just as I swung my fist at him, he turned around and kicked me in the face. Natsu appeared right beside him, readying his fist, but Sting twisted his body around and instead hit Natsu first.

Both Natsu and I continued hammering hits down at Sting, but he mostly dodged and then sometimes blocked either with putting a defense up or hitting us before we could hit him. In the end he kicked us both away in one swoop of his foot. We were both too tired to even attempt to get to our feet again.. And we had barely even landed a single hit on the guy.

I faintly heard Rogue talking about how the generation had changed and that the third generation was the true Dragons - once again feeling a little left out - and that over the span of the seven years, they'd grown stronger than we could ever hope to be. I also heard him land on the ground next to Sting, having hidden up among all the other people while we'd been fighting down here.

I growled internally. No way! We had to fight some more! Had to _win!_ I _hated_ being looked down upon by everyone here! For Mavis' sake! I had to win this fight! But I just… Didn't have any more strength.

While I had that inner monologue, I felt both Rogue's and Sting's Dragon Force slipping away. "I got my revenge. But.. You were really strong. Natsu, Gray." He told us. What the hell?! Was he _pitying_ us?! I would take NONE of that! I also heard Chapati yell something about us having lost.

I looked up at Natsu. Our eyes met, equally determined. An intense fire burned behind my rival's eye. We. Would. NOT. Absolutely. _NOT. _Lose. HERE!

He pushed himself off the ground and looked at Sting with an annoyed expression. "Hold on a minute, would ya?" He asked him, while Sting looked like something impossible was happening in front of him. Natsu and I both got to our feet. "Ouch…" He muttered. "Better than I thought." He admitted.

I snorted. "What? Too much for you to handle, Fire Breath?" I asked him. I knew Erza would beat me up for it later, but I knew it would fire Natsu up again, no matter what she said.

Natsu glared at me, as usual. "As if, Ice Cube." He looked back at Sting. "But…" He trailed off, drawing everyone's attention again. "I saw through all your habits." He said with a confident smirk.

Sting paled lightly. "WHAT?!" He yelled, once again acting as if it was impossible. Well, I also found myself quite surprised, but I knew first hand that Natsu had a knack for fighting.

Natsu just continued talking as if he hadn't just been beaten down in the ground like a ragdoll. "The timing of your attacks, your body position when you defend…" He trailed off and scratched his chin as he tried to think of what else he noticed. A MIRACLE! HIS BRAIN WORKED! "Hmm… The rhythm of your breathing too." He told him after a moment of 'thinking'.

"NO WAY!" Sting said stunned and confused. Probably wondering how we were even able to stand. I found he was quite arrogant, whether he liked it or not. "But I was using Dragon Force!" He reasoned. See? Thinks that Dragon Force is everything.

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Yeah! It was quite some power. My body hurts inside, damn it." He admitted, laughing a little at the end. "For example, when you attack, you pivot to 11 o'clock." He told Sting with a grin.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Such an idiot. "No.." I told him slowly, since I was basically talking to someone with the level of intelligence equivalent to that of a fish. "It's 10 o'clock." I argued.

"It's 11 o'clock." Natsu shot back, not changing his expression at all.

I glared at him, already irritated with him. "Even giving in a step it's 10:30! Not 11!" I told him. That goddamn moron didn't know the damn clock!

Natsu turned his head and glared back at me, just as irritated that I had cut him off. "It's 11 o'clock!" He told me defiantly, not giving in an inch. "23 would be fine too!" He added.

I face palmed internally. That confirmed it, he didn't know the clock. "ISN'T THAT MAKING A WHOLE REVOLUTION?!" I yelled back at him, frustrated he didn't even know the clock only had up to twelve, when it was the round kind of clock.

Suddenly, Natsu pushed me back, so I landed in some kind of wagon. "SHUT UP!" He yelled at me. He pulled some lever and the wagon began rolling forward.

I looked at him with a beyond annoyed expression. "HEY YOU MORON! STOP THIS THING!" I yelled at him, but before he could do anything, it suddenly began going downwards in almost 90 degrees. I realized that if I wanted to live, I had to hold on tight to this thing. The wagon's speed kept increasing and in the end it drove so quickly I felt all my skin being pulled back from my face against the wind. "AAAAH!" I couldn't resist screaming. No, it wasn't fun in the least.

I had no idea how long I had been rolling on this thing, when it stopped out of the blue, as if hitting an invisible barrier. The impact of the sudden stop threw me off the wagon and on the ground, where I slid a little forward on the ground.

As I lay there with my head in the ground, I felt like I was in some kind of extraordinary place. The kind of extraordinary place you weren't supposed to discover.

I slowly looked up and into the big room that was right in front of me. It was like it had been dug out quite long ago. But what momentarily got me was that the walls were so precise that it couldn't possibly be made by mere humans. Magic was the only solution I could find to the perfectly smooth, yet rounded walls. But you'd have to have an _enormous_ amount of magic to even do this kind of thing. Not even Jura could do this.

I quickly moved away from admiring the walls to the thing in the middle of the circular cave. I didn't even know how to describe the thing. It was some kind of big generator. Somehow, I imagined Etherion to look something like this, the one the Council had. But I knew they didn't keep that thing here. It'd be too risky in case something like this happened.

No… This was something else. And from the looks of it, to be fired, it needed two power sources from some gigantic creatures, alas the big room and the restrainers bolted to the floor with some kind of magic. There were some kind of tubes connected to the thing from each side. I guessed they were for sucking the magic.

But what the heck could this thing do? There were no hints anywhere as to what it did. All I could guess was that it could fire something, like Etherion. But at what? And for what reason?

And more importantly, was this even the Council's? It didn't look like a place they'd hide some powerful cannon at all.

"My, my. Look at that, we have guests." Someone commented from inside the room. I whipped my head around, trying to figure out where the voice came from. A silhouette stepped forward from the corner of the opening into the room. "Now, what will we do with you..?" He asked slowly as he stepped into the light.

He was a semi-old man. Macao's age, I'd say. He had silvery-white hair and kinda warm brown eyes. But that was only the color, the expression he had was cold and calculating, with a little grin. Everything about him screamed 'evil'.

He looked to his right, where another silhouette suddenly appeared. "Even though he has no idea what's going on, he knows too much." He told whatever person stood next to him. The other man stepped into the light, revealing his identity. My eyes widened exponentially as I recognized the man. "Please take care of this trash, Doranbolt." He told the man.

Doranbolt, or as I knew him, Mest Gryder, nodded. He lifted an arm towards me. "Yes, Master." He said. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the guild mark on his arm. Raven Tail.

**Back with Natsu~**

**Natsu's P.O.V**

"AAAH!" The Ice Princess screamed from his free ride away from the battlefield. I stood with my hands at my sides and looked at my two opponents with a grin. This would be a piece of cake.

Both Sting and Rogue looked at the direction where Gray'd been moments ago with confusion written all over their faces. "Wha.." Sting started off. "What's going on…?" He asked confused.

I took a step forward with one foot, drawing both of their attention. "I have to pay you back for looking down on us." I told them. I put one hand in the air, my fingers spread and on fire. "I alone am enough!" I reassured them, the fire on my hand writing 'come on'. "BRING IT ON! BOTH OF YA!" I told them grinning. This seemed to surprise them even more. "You're all fired up, right?" I asked them, as they stared at me incredulously.

There was only a second's silence between us before the Light Bulb decided to speak up again. "You said.. By yourself?" He asked slowly, as if he didn't understand what I'd said. Not so surprising. "You're messing with us." He growled at me.

Rogue looked past me again to where Gray had disappeared. "We need to extract revenge from Gray…" He said lowly. Dunno why.

I just grinned confidently at him. "Forget that Ice Prick, he's no fun anyway!" I told them, getting pumped up for fight. All this talking was useless.

I saw Sting's magical pressure spike again as Light began glowing from him. "The power of Dragon Force is that of a real Dragon's. There is nothing more powerful in this world!" He told me, getting back the white scale's he'd had before. Then he jumped forward, fist lit up with his Light magic.

I just stood still and kept smiling. "So that wasn't your full power?" I asked him. This would be fun! Maybe he moved differently then!

Sting hammered his fist down on me, but I easily blocked it with my left arm. He looked at me with a rather crazy expression. "I KILLED WEISSLOGIA WITH THIS POWER!" He yelled right into my face.

"I see." I simply said back to him. "Then I'll use my power to fight for those you looked down at." I told him, my smile disappearing in an instant. No one looked down at me. At Fairy Tail, my nakama. I lit my right hand on fire and shot it forward, hitting Sting's cheek and pushing him away.

"Shadow Dragon's…" I heard behind me. I glanced back, where Rogue stood behind me, readying a Roar, also in his Dragon Force mode already. "ROAR!" He yelled, shooting off a sea of Shadows towards me.

I quickly charged up my magic in my mouth. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" I roared, flames sprouting out of my mouth. They easily devoured Rogue's Shadows and just as quickly him too. It was easily the biggest Roar I'd made in my life.

Sting got up from where he lay, announcing it with the sound of stones and stuff being pushed away. "It's far from over!" He reassured me while Rogue also appeared from the aftermath of my spell.

I put a hand up and waved four fingers at them in a challenging gesture. "Bring it!" I said, getting pumped up. Sting and Rogue jumped at me at the same time, each of their fists enveloped in their magic.

I grinned at the great opportunity that had been given to me and waited till they were right by me. Then I swiftly ducked, when they began shooting their fists forward, only in the last instant, so that they wouldn't be able to stop what they were doing before it hit their comrade's face.

Unfortunately, they'd actually seen that coming and redirected their fists, only barely missing each other. I scowled at my fun being ruined and dug my hands into the ground, spinning around quickly, kicking both of them in their faces.

They quickly stopped their momentum with their feet skidding on the ground, then set off again, engaging in close combat, both at the same time. They didn't seem as fast as they had before, so I easily overpowered both of them, pushing them away again.

They exchanged gazes and nodded. I furrowed my eyebrows. What were they up to now? They jumped towards each other, standing directly in front of me. They stood with their backs to each other and pointed at me with clenched fists.

They suddenly shot a big laser of their mixed magic at me. "HOLY SHADOW DRAGON'S FLASH FANG!" They yelled at the same time.

I widened my eyes. A Unison Raid?! Heh, well then, I'd just have to counter that right. I pulled my left arm back in front of me, quickly charging it up with my Fire magic. "FIRE DRAGON'S SECRET ART!" I yelled while I gathered magic even faster. "CRIMSON LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!" I roared as I swung my hand forward, a whirlwind of Fire magic erupting from it and speeding off towards their attack.

And just like with the Roar, it overpowered it with ease and hit the two head-on, making the mountain explode behind them, letting the light from outside come in through it. The Fire soon disappeared, revealing my opponent's falling figures as they fell face-first to the floor.

Chapati was as usual not one to keep quiet. "Th-th-this… This is…" He trailed off, trying desperately to find words. Finally he found 'em. "FAIRY TAIL!" He simple yelled as I raised two hands in the air in victory, spouting remaining flames out of my mouth as well. "THE TWIN DRAGONS HAVE BEEN DEFEATED!" He yelled, making my ears ring lightly. But on the other hand the crowd was so loud you could barely even hear it anyway.

**Back up at the stadium~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I looked at the Lacrima screen with a surprised expression and sweat running down the side of my head. What the heck? This wasn't the Natsu I fought the other day. That guy back then was a weakling, but this one was a monster. What was the difference between then and now?

I didn't really listen as Chapati was talking about how we'd have to find somewhere else to battle the last match of the day. Then he also announced the ones battling. "The next battle will be between Fairy Tail B's Lucy and Acnologia VS Raven Tail's DD and Kurohebi!" Chapati announced.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Those were obviously set up. Someone wanted Lucy and DD to face off again, maybe with me included with it as well. Was this Raven Tail's doing again? Did they really have connections like that?

I looked down at Lucy who nodded, having realized the same as me. We'd find out, during this next match. Which apparently was out of town, so we wouldn't destroy anything unnecessarily.

**You will not believe how long this battle is.. 10 PAGES IN WORD! It goes for a chapter in itself, which is why Kurohebi &amp; DD VS Lucy &amp; Acnologia will be next time! **

**So, obviously Gray discovered something he shouldn't have. But what was it all about? Well, we'll find out I guess. At some point anyway. **

**So points, I forgot 'em up till now, but here they are. **

**Raven Tail is at the top with 52 pts  
Fairy Tail B with 46  
Sabertooth with 42  
Mermaid Heel with 41  
Blue Pegasus with 31  
Fairy Tail A with 29  
Lamia Scale with 23  
and at last Quatro Puppy with 15**

**Well, the reason I haven't posted them is because they don't play the biggest role in all this, despite being what the Games are all about. It's more about the frictions between Raven Tail and the Dragons. Well, that should be quite obvious at this point, I guess XD**

**Thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, AnimeOnCookie, Nicole (Guest), wheafel, StrongGuy159, Konan15, Aira0906, 7Annabelle43, aristofthemind, Nekogirl 15, mjb379, clumzybeans, Alaina Kuski, booklover21567, Darkverger1, GoldenPiggy, SillyKitty88, befruit, Kamen Rider Cross, Acnologia Prime, xxsomthngvague, OtakuLover43, Hiina, wild childkk, FairiesForever92, Galavant, alecvolturiswife, fairychime-diamond47, Insidious Person, Yuuki Zwin, jennosaur, Moonlight Starlove and all you other wonderful people! I don't need to mention why anymore, do I? XD**

**~Line464d**


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

**We're really getting a lot of chapters, huh? And we're at 1.100 reviews and more than 600 followers! I'm having trouble following that quick progress - which is why I haven't mentioned it for a while ^_^" Well, anyway. Thank you so much guys!**

**Also, kind of like with the battle against Jura, each of their (Lucy and Acnologia's) P.O.V's have each 'storyline' if you can say it like that. There aren't any skips and they're happening at the same time. If ya'll know what I mean? I don't really know how to explain it…**

**Thank you for helping me out with the story Desolation Death!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke's the owner of Fairy Tail. All alone. And unwilling to share. Typical slow, old men **

**Somewhere outside Crocus~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

So basically the four of us as well as a hologram of Mato and one of the gong - that was apparently important to let us hear - were outside Crocus at some big field, while the crowd and the speakers stayed in the stadium and watched over the Lacrima screens. They simply wouldn't have a good enough view, and they could possibly be in danger if they watched us from our level.

But this also meant our field to battle was much bigger than what it normally would have been, which meant we had much more space to work with. And we didn't really need to worry about anyone getting hurt. This could get ugly.

The four of us were already facing each other, getting ready for the battle. I looked at Lucy, who was standing next to me. "Leave DD to me, I have a bone to pick with that guy." I told her and looked at DD, who was smirking. I hadn't forgiven that guy for anything he'd done to her the other day during their battle. I know there was nothing to be done, but he had hit her, made her hurt physically as well as psychologically. The latter one first came afterwards though, but it was also by far the worst of them. Now I had the chance to legally pay back what he did to her all I wanted. Not that I cared either way.

I could see Lucy look up at me, nod and then probably aiming her gaze at Kurohebi. "Alright, I'd like to get my revenge for myself, but I guess that's also your job in a way." She told me.

I smiled at her. "Of course, it's a Dragon's pride." I told her. If there was anything of that jackass Dragon left in me, it would be the part roaring at me to kill this guy.

The hologram of the pumpkin drew all of our attention as he cleared his throat. "Are you all ready to begin?" He asked us looking around as each of us nodded. "Well then, let the battle begin!" He announced and the usual gong made its usual way too loud noise. Both holograms blinked out of existence and the Lacrima, which had been supporting them, quickly flew away.

I crouched down as usual and glared at DD, who was only looking back at me with amused, blue eyes. I took a moment to get a feel of his magic. According to Lucy he had Crash and Gravity magic and from what I'd felt and seen from where I stood, he had a lot of magic and knew how to use it.

My opponent didn't seem like he was planning on moving anytime soon, so I guess I had to take the initiative. I dug my feet a little into the ground, putting all my weight into my legs and then pushing off the ground with as much power as I could. I quickly encased my fist in my black Chaos magic as I charged at the guy.

It all went down in less than a second as I slammed my magically charged hand into the guy's unsuspecting jaw. He had probably underestimated my speed or something. DD took a few steps back, then spit blood at the ground. "Impatient, are we?" He asked me, grinning while he wiped off the trail of blood with the back of his hand.

Instead of talking I pounced at the guy again. I aimed for his jaw again, but this time he was prepared. He easily caught it in one hand before it hit. Before giving him any time to continue speaking, I pulled my other hand forward, trying to hit his shoulder-joint belonging to the hand he was blocking me with, hoping to break something. But as it would seem, he had also seen that coming. He used his free hand to shove me to the side.

I used the added momentum he'd given me to spin around and kick him at the back of his knees, quickly making him fall to his knees. I didn't give him enough time to figure out what had happened before I quickly delivered yet another kick to his stomach, sending him flying away towards the two others. Kurohebi narrowly dodged his flying team mate when he in the last second spotted him.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It was hard figuring out what this guy thought, his face and expression didn't change at all. He kept a poker face all the time, just like he had against Tobi.

I did what Metallicana and Loke had taught me and stood with my knees slightly bent, ready to move quickly if that was needed. I waited to see what Kurohebi would do other than mimicking my posture.

It seemed we were both considerably patient people and the silent stare-off took quite a long time, but when DD suddenly flew behind Kurohebi, distracting him for a second, I took the chance to use that momentary distraction to my advantage.

So I lit my hands up with the golden Celestial magic and ran at Kurohebi, who was directing his attention to me again. When I struck my clenched fist down on him, he easily evaded that as well as the next few punches I tried to throw at him.

Finally he got irritated with me and began charging up magic of his own. I could feel the heat rise around him and saw that he was beginning to inhale the air around us. I widened my eyes when I realized he was readying for the Kapura Haruru (Fire Roar). I quickly reacted by swinging my leg around, hitting the guy's side. But he didn't lose either focus or stance as he kept inhaling.

Before he was done, I quickly jumped back, wondering what the hell I should be doing right about now. I could summon Aquarius, even though I had no water, but she would just flood the whole field and everyone in it. Maybe Terra could help me with a blockade…

I didn't get further into my own considerations as Kurohebi suddenly released the Haruru (Roar). "Kapura Tarakona's Haruru!" (Fire Dragon's Roar) He said considerably loud as he spit the pillar of Fire at me.

"Argh, goddammit girlie." Some male said behind me. "You just have to release those bloody restrictions you put on yourself!" The unfamiliar male voice said angrily. Before I got the chance to see who the guy was, a similar torrent of Water shot out right beside me and directly at the incoming Haruru.

The two opposite types of magic crashed together head-on and damp quickly rose between them as one neutralized the other. I paid no attention to the two magical beams equal in strength, but rather at the man standing behind me.

He was stunningly beautiful, to be all honest. He had delicately milky white skin, which seemed to glisten as if wet. He had long light blue hair, but it seemed that when it fell into shadows, it was as dark as the ocean waters. It was slightly wavy and flowed down to the middle of his back freely. He had the same beautiful ocean-blue colored eyes, with some intricate, light blue swirly patterns at the very edges of them, crawling up to his forehead and following his jawline. These beautiful markings also went from around his neck and spreading down to his chest and shoulders. If they were anywhere else, I would never find out as his long, loose light blue robes covered the rest of him. They lay loosely in what looked like several layers, but still enough to make it easy to move around in. There was an air of calm about him as he stood there stopping the Haruru (Roar) in front of us.

It was obvious which Spirit this was. "Ceterum.." I muttered, mostly to myself. Ceterum, the Hydra constellation of the Dragon Realm, user of Water magic, of course. It was funny how they all showed up when I was in need of their help.

He moved his gaze from Kurohebi's as he dropped the other arm as well and looked down at me with his beautiful ocean eyes. I half expected him to say something like he'd take care of the Fire magic, but boy was I wrong.

His earlier calm gaze changed to irritation and anger. "What the _hell_ are you looking at girl?!" He suddenly yelled at me. My eyes widened just a little at the contradictory personality he had. And the fact that he straight out yelled at me the first time we met. Even Daemon was polite when he appeared before me the first time. "This isn't my battle, it's bloody yours!" He told me and walked closer, in a lightly stomping way. He dropped something down in front of me, which landed in my hand. "There, take it." He ordered me.

I looked down at the thing he'd given me. The golden metal key cooled my hand in a comfortable way. The handle of it looked like three draconic heads spread out in each of their directions, the two outer from the side and with bared teeth, while the one in the middle was seen from above. They each had some kind of spikey things going down the backs of their heads. The stalk looked like a tail which twisted around itself so closely it was as if it was ascending a pole of some kind. The end of it had a kind of fin-looking tail. It kind of had three spiky 'fingers' with a thin layer of golden metal between them.

I looked up at Ceterum, about to say thanks and such, but he was glaring right at Kurohebi, who seemed a little confused. "Now who the hell is this idiot? And how does he know the magic of Dr-mpf!" I quickly put a hand over his mouth before he could say it. I didn't know how much the Lacrima could catch, but I didn't want to risk anything.

I put a finger over my own mouth and shushed him. "Shh! Don't say it out loud!" I told him, getting just a little panicked with the situation. I could only imagine how suspicious this seemed to anyone who didn't know what he was about to say.

His otherwise calm eyes were looking at me with a ferocious glare, they reminded me of the raging ocean waters. He roughly pulled my hand away from his mouth. "Tch. They told me about that." He said, his voice a bit more calm. "It's stupid." He then commented and walked in front of me, turning his glare to Kurohebi. "Since you can't fight, girlie, I'll take this bastard on and go home." He told me with an annoyed tone, as if he didn't really want to be here.

I sweat dropped at him. Well then, not really what I would have expected my Water Spirit to be like, but he was a Hydra after all. As if that explained anything. I looked at Kurohebi, who seemed to have regained his composure again and was on guard for this new Spirit.

I realized that he probably didn't know the Raven knew Mimic magic rather than actual Dragon magic. "Wait, Ceterum!" I yelled after him, but he didn't seem to hear me.

Instead, he sent another torrent of Water magic towards Kurohebi. While it wasn't as big, the speed it was going at was much faster. Kurohebi quickly reacted to the Water magic by mimicking yet another Dragon magic. "Uira Tarakona's Maikuku." (Lightning Dragon's Claws) He called as Lightning claws appeared at the end of the guy's fingers, cackling in the air. When the Water beam was within his range, he slashed down at it, sending the electricity through the attack as well as clearing a path for himself, so he wouldn't be hit.

The Lightning swiftly traveled back to Ceterum, hitting his arm before he could do anything. The sudden jolts of electricity, which I was sure the Hydra Spirit just felt, sent him skidding back and stopping next to me. "He has Mimic magic…" I muttered, knowing I was too late anyway.

Ceterum slowly turned his face towards me, a vein bulging at his forehead. "WHY THE _HELL_ DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!" He roared at me, making my ears ring in indescribable pain.

**Just after DD was sent flying~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I ran towards DD, who was still lying on the ground, deciding I might as well get the idiot over and done with as quickly as possible so I could help my mate beat that other Raven.

I kept running at the Raven, aiming to kick him around a little more. He weakly raised his hand at me as I came running towards him. "Gravity…: Up." He muttered into the ground. Suddenly I felt as if I was too heavy for my legs and abruptly stopped my running. I glared at him. So he used his Gravity magic, eh? I watched as he slowly made his way to stand on his feet, while he was nailing me to the ground with his magic. He was smirking with shining blue eyes and made came up to stand face to face with me, so close he was basically invading my personal space in an attempt to be intimidating. "Not so tough now, are we? _Dragon._" He mocked me.

I glared at him for a second longer. "You're forgetting something important, _Raven_." I warned him. He looked at me with interested, green eyes, wanting me to continue. I did and swiftly kneed him in the stomach. While he was still trying to breathe over my knee, I leaned closer to his ear, just to copy what he had meant to do. Intimidate. "Humans can't beat Dragons." I told him. I grabbed his brown hair and threw him on the ground next to me with a thump.

While the guy was wheezing, he grinned with bright, blue eyes. "I'd say I did quite well yesterday." He mocked me and coughed as he tried to laugh.

I lifted one foot and stomped it down on his chest with the added force of the gravity he'd put on me, only the feeling of the purest of hatred was present in my mind. "You don't have anyone to help you this time, Raven." I reminded him. Last he had had someone from his guild or something lock away Lucy's Dragon magic, but that guy wasn't around this time, except if it was Kurohebi.

DD kept grinning at me as he pointed his hand at me again. Before I could do anything to stop the guy, he'd already cast the spell. "Gravity: Down." He said as I began floating a little in the air just above him, giving him the chance to roll away from me. He got to his feet as if it was just any other day and dusted off his clothes without even glancing at me. "You're not half bad, Acnologia." He complimented me. I inhaled deeply, what was this guy up to now? He looked up from his clothes and at me with a smile. "But it's not enough to beat me." He told me, drawing the 'but' out, as he rolled his shoulders.

I just kept inhaling as he spoke. "Chaos Dragon's Roar!" I yelled and spewed out a sea of Chaos magic. Just as I had learned from Lucy, he couldn't do anything to pure magic with his Crash magic, so the Roar would land perfectly in his face and engulfed him completely.

"Gravity: Down." I heard him say just before the Roar would hit. He suddenly flew up like a rocket, just barely missing the magic coming his way. But because he had to focus on saving himself so quickly, he probably accidentally let the gravity go back to normal for me.

As soon as I felt my feet on the ground again, I jumped up at DD who was hanging freely in the air, just waiting to be hit. So for a longer reach I began readying a spell as I flew up. "Chaos Dragon's Claws!" I yelled as my Chaos magic began reacting. As usual, they formed as extensions of my fingers, except much sharper. It was right about then I reached his height in the sky.

No matter what the guy did now, he wouldn't be able to avoid these claws. If he suddenly decided to either make the gravity lighter or heavier, he wouldn't fly away fast enough to dodge the attack. And with that in mind, I slashed down at him. The usual four claw scars appeared across his chest and tore his black shirt apart.

I began falling to the ground again, not able to hold myself airborne any longer without my wings. I landed securely on my feet and watched as DD lost his grasp on his Gravity magic once again and also began crashing towards the ground. He saved himself in the end though as he flipped around and landed on his feet.

Just like I had earlier, I shot off the ground and towards him, as he currently had his back to me. I reached him in an instant, charged my foot with Chaos magic and used the extra force I had built up with running to enhance the kick I was going to deliver to the back of his head.

Keyword: going to. He simply put up a single arm as blockade. And it stopped it. He slowly turned his head around to face me with a glare and burning, red eyes. "Don't you think it's time to drop the games?" He asked me.

I grinned and nodded. Now was when it would all begin.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I put my hands to my ears and rubbed them. "Jeez Ceterum, you don't have to yell." I told him, while trying to calm the ringing noise. I looked directly at Kurohebi even though I was talking to my Spirit. "He knows of all of the elements I believe, so be careful." I told him.

The Hydra nodded, also looking at the Raven. "Then I'll just have to beat this guy with my bare hands." He told me and began walking forward as he cracked his knuckles.

I stared at his back with a raised eyebrow. He didn't strike me as the close combat kind of guy, but looks could be deceiving as they say. But even so… I had to join in as well, I wasn't the kind of summoner who hid behind her Spirits. I felt Acnologia beginning to power up next to me. If I wanted to have a chance at DD, then I guess I had to speed up a bit with my own work here.

So with that, I charged right past Ceterum and at Kurohebi, who had been standing by so patiently. When I was about a meter away from the guy, I jumped a little into the air, spun around with my foot stretched out. Unfortunately he was ready for it and easily dodged it by bending backwards.

Ceterum quickly appeared right behind him and tried to hit the guy's lower back with a knee, but once again, Kurohebi simply evade the attack with a single side step.

I had landed back on my own two feet again and lashed out towards Kurohebi with a glowing fist. It only narrowly missed his face, but I kind of got the feeling that it was intentional. I had predicted he'd dodge it though, and was already sending my other fist flying at his face.

His eyes widened when he noticed it. He apparently hadn't expected it. But in the end it didn't matter as all he needed to do was making a somersault backwards and away from both my and Ceterum's attacks. He landed on the ground right next to us and instantly blended with our shadows.

It was fine.. No matter what, he'd have to stay in the shadows to actually stay in that form. But that was quickly thrown out the window as Kurohebi traveled away from the shadow he had taken over and reappeared a little away. He was probably mimicking Rogue on this point instead.

I felt the air beginning to cool down a lot and realized he was going to use Ice magic. "Haupa Tarakona's Ãwhã Kino!" (Ice Dragon's Blizzard) He chanted as a powerful wind blew straight at us. Of course it wasn't _just_ air, small icicles also accompanied it.

And as it was my own spell, I knew exactly how sharp those things were. So I quickly held my hands up, palms facing the incoming attack, and created a golden barrier which covered both me and my Spirit from the sharp icicles. As soon as the wind crashed into the barrier, I also felt the impact on my magic and how hard it actually was to keep this up. If only I could make it smaller… But then I couldn't cover Ceterum too.

Apparently Ceterum felt my troubles and snorted. "Can't even keep this up, can you?" He asked me, I just sent him a halfhearted glare. "Send the bird out, will ya?" He asked me and suddenly disappeared.

I instantly let the barrier minimize to a size that only just covered me, but on the other hand it was also much stronger and much easier to keep up. I gently closed my eyes and imagined Fenix' Gate in my mind. "PHOENIX!" I yelled and soon felt him appear outside the blizzard.

I could even feel the usual heat that followed his presence. "Princess, I'm here to-" He cut himself off as he probably realized I wasn't right beside him. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO _MY_ PRINCESS YOU GODDAMN FREAK?!" He yelled at Kurohebi, I presumed, as the spell was continuing on.

I heard Ceterum sigh exasperatedly. "You never change do ya, Bird?" He asked the guy. I sweat dropped where I stood. Right about now would be a good time for them to at least distract Kurohebi.

"SHUT UP ABNORMAL SNAKE!" Fenix yelled at the Hydra, then began running, I think anyway. "PHOENIX FLAMES!" He roared. He might as well have been a Dragon right at that moment.

The icy wind abruptly stopped and instead a heat wave hit me, melting away any leftover ice there might have been lingering on the ground. I released the protective barrier I had put up in front of me and stood face to face with a vortex of fire spinning around Kurohebi.

Suddenly my newly summoned Spirit flew right past me. "WHEN WILL YOU LEARN, _BIRD_?!" I heard my mate yell at him and looked to see Acnologia probably had given him a quite rough kick in the stomach. It seemed my mate had stepped up his game and sported wings and tail. "She's _not_ yours!" He added and with a last wink to me, he went back to his own battle against DD.

I felt Fenix disappear back to the Spirit World again. Had Acnologia really kicked him _that _hard..? "Oi, Miss Popular over there! Get a grip!" My new Water Spirit told me and returned me to my battle.

The Fire was gradually vanishing again, but leaving a roughed up Kurohebi behind. The loose pants he'd been wearing were completely burnt away. It seemed that the black skivvy he'd been wearing was resistant to at least fire, maybe other kinds of magic too, and wasn't even singed. His face and hands were though.

I realized Ceterum wanted me to finish the guy off and quickly complied. I shot off the ground and lit my fist up with my Celestial magic. The poor guy didn't seem like he was able to move after Fenix' spell, but just to be sure, I wanted to end him off completely.

Which was what I did. I was right in front of him in a flash and quickly gave him a hard punch to the stomach. He bent forward over my shoulder as he exhaled all the air he had in his lungs in a quick breath.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "You can't beat the original with mere mimicry, you'd be wise to remember that." I told him before he collapsed over my shoulder, losing consciousness.

Ceterum quickly came to my rescue and helped me get the Raven down on the ground. He looked at me. "So, are we going to interrupt your mate's fight or what?" He asked me.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I snorted. "Sure, if you're that eager to lose." I told the guy. He obviously had no idea what kind of strength a Dragon had even in Human form.

He looked at me with those red eyes. They flashed blue shortly, but otherwise stayed red. "It's not going to be that easy." He told me. We both jumped back simultaneously and created some distance between us.

I glared right into his eyes as I began powering up. I instantly dropped all the barriers I had on my Chaos magic and let it swirl around in me, guided along by the adrenaline coursing around in my veins. I gave it all an extra push, kick starting it into an even faster pace. It coursed around in me so fast it almost hurt. Now it was warmed up, I couldn't keep it all in, so it began leaking out of me, surrounding me in black and blue wisps of magic.

I kept the eye contact with DD as he also powered up, much like me, but with his Crash magic. It appeared around him in a soft white glow. Despite being a soft light, an immense magical pressure rolled off him. It was really high, actually. For a human anyway.

I quickly went to the last phase of my powering up and used all the magic that was currently flying around in me to build up my Dragon Strength. When I felt I had all of it, I quickly cast the spell. "DRAGON STRENGTH!" I roared and felt the magic beginning to spin even faster.

The rush of power I got right there was kind of like when I pretty much annihilated Fairy Tail back at Tenrou, where I let my Dragon take over. The strength I had before was basically doubled. That was what I loved with this thing.

I swiped my tail behind me and folded my wings out, grinning at my enemy with my fangs clearly showing. Things would get interesting from this point on.

It seemed DD was also done with his powering up and was looking right back at me with glowing red eyes, clearly standing out in the soft, white glow around him. "Ready to get this show on the road?" He asked me.

Instead of saying anything, I pushed off the ground and gave a quick yet powerful beat with my wings. I was right by his side in an instant. "Chaos Dragon's Wing Attack!" I yelled, with Chaos magic spouting out from the back of my arm, speeding it up on its way to his face.

But of course it wouldn't be that simple. He leaned a little back, evading the attack and instead strengthened his hand with Crash magic of his own before giving me a hard blow just underneath my ribs.

Even though I had absolutely no air left in my lungs, I didn't let it bother me. I quickly covered my other hand in Chaos magic without him noticing and jabbed it at his chin, making his head tilt back.

DD didn't give in either though as he too gave me a hard blow to the cheek, pushing my head to the side. I retaliated by wrapping my tail around one of his legs and pulling back, making him fall on his butt. Before he got any chances to do anything, I quickly kicked his side, making him roll around to his stomach.

I took a few steps back, watching him get on his feet and waiting to see what he had planned now. He got on his feet, staggering a little. He wiped off blood from his mouth for the second tine and glared at me with those unchanging, red eyes.

This time he kept silent and didn't say anything. He was the one to push off the ground and towards me at a blinding speed. But not one a Chaos Dragon couldn't follow.

He attempted to give me an uppercut, but I quickly covered myself with one wing, pushing him away with it. But he had dug his feet in the ground so it only pushed him out of my reach. Before he even slid to a stop, he lunged at me, coincidentally at the same time as I did at him. We both flew in air for a second before crashing into each other with a fist to our faces.

We both fell back panting and glaring into each other's eyes. I heard a yell from Lucy's side of the battlefield which pulled me out of the competition of dominance there'd been between the two of us. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO _MY_ PRINCESS YOU GODDAMN FREAK?!" I heard my favorite bird squawk on the other side of the field.

While I felt my usual possessiveness and rage building, I could hear my opponent snort. "Aren't you going to do something about that, Dragon?" He mocked me.

I glared at him, but knew he had a point. That stupid bird should have learnt long ago. While the idiot with feathers set fire to the other Raven I quickly flashed next to him and swung my knee into his stomach, sending him flying back into the Spirit World. "WHEN WILL YOU LEARN, _BIRD_?!" I roared at him. "She's _not_ yours!" I reminded him just before he disappeared. Before I returned to my own battle, I gave my mate a wink.

Using the opening DD had freely given me, I charged right back at him. I was by him in an instant and landed another kick at his side, reinforced with my Chaos magic. Contrary to what so many others would do, he didn't fall on his knees grabbing his sides, he quickly landed a hit on my right shoulder, sending a wave of pain through me.

I didn't just give up there either, I quickly aimed a punch at his gut, hitting it perfectly. He retaliated with giving me an uppercut. While I feigned being immobilized by the pain that hit probably would have given a normal human, I quickly slashed at his side with my tail, the side I had kicked just a moment ago.

This time he actually fell to his knees in pain, I guessed. But I didn't take the time to consider that, as I simply gave him a hard kick to the chin, making him fly off the ground right in front of me with his back arched.

I quickly inhaled both magic and air as fast as I could. "Chaos Dragon's Roar!" I yelled as I sent the usual magical beam at DD's hovering form in front of me. While the Raven landed roughly on the ground, I stood back panting a little. This guy was way better than he looked.

Suddenly the magical pressure of my mate rose exponentially and in a familiar way.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I nodded to my Spirit. "Of course we are, I want my fair share of that guy too." I told the Spirit with a grin.

I looked at the battle going on between my mate and the Raven. And widened my eyes. A lot. Those two were really going at it, because both having powered up. I knew DD hadn't given this much in the battle between me and him.

I sighed exasperatedly. "There's no way I can enter that battle and go away with my life intact with only Celestial magic..." I muttered mostly to myself.

The Spirit next to me shook his head. "That's probably right..." He agreed. Suddenly he flipped his head in my direction. "Girlie! You haven't opened Terra's Gate in your mind yet, right?!" He quickly asked me.

I looked at him confused. "No... Not yet." I told him slowly, desperately trying to figure out what the Hydra was trying to tell me.

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "Are you seriously trying to tell me you have no idea how much magic you release when you open Spirit Gates in your mind?" He asked me incredulously. He groaned, but there was a hint of amusement behind it. "Just do it, will ya? It serves as a great distraction." He explained.

I slowly nodded my head. I had heard from various people that I kind of leaked a whole lot of magic when I did that, but obviously I didn't know exactly how much myself. But if Ceterum said it too, then I really couldn't argue it.

I placed my butt on the ground, feeling weird doing that in the middle of a battle. I closed my eyes and instantly transferred to my inner mind , where the golden star and the silver insignia now shone with equal, blinding strength.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

She was entering her mind and was about to open one of those Gates. I had only seen her do that very few times, but every time it became stronger and stronger. And the funny thing about it all was that she wasn't at all aware of it herself.

Just like last time, she was quickly surrounded by a golden light, which only intensified with each passing second, and seemed to be her inner light that shone brightly for everyone to see. The few strands of her silky, silver hair, which either were left out on purpose or had been pulled out of her braid began floating on the air around her. The braid also slowly began moving, but it was too heavy to float in the air like the strands.

But the most noticable about it all was that the four pillars of bright, golden Celestal magic which appeared around her. Of course I wasn't surpeised to see them beginning to spin around her faster and faster, but that didn't mean I didn't look at them with a mild awe in my eyes. It always impressed me how she had so much magic in that tiny, beautiful body of hers, but she did no matter what I thought.

The Spirit who had suddenly appeared at the start of the battle, was looking straight at me. Of course I first noticed the guy after taking my sweet time admiring my mate's power, but when I did he quickly made eye contact. He nodded towards DD and made a gesture that told me to hurry up.

I realized he wanted me to attack while my opponent was distracted and I quickly nodded, agreeing with their plan.

I looked at DD, who was also admiring Lucy's display of power. Anyone would be if they saw that for the first time. "I never got to see it for myself before now.. What power..." He muttered to himself like some wise old man, his eyes having turned to a shade of black. Slowly a grin spread on his face. "Now I understand why Master chose her."' He commented.

With those last words of his said and done, a string of sanity snapped inside me. Without thinking at all and letting my instincts guide me, I grabbed the guy's shoulders, digging my now longer and sharper fingernails into his skin for a better grip. Then with a powerful beat of my wings, I sped upwards with DD in my hands.

I stopped going vertically upwards when I was about ten meters above the ground. Instead, I quickly made a backwards U-turn and began flying vertically downwards instead, head first and everything.

I quickly neared the ground, it was only a matter of seconds really. But, I didn't even stop when I was two meters above ground, I kept going. As soon as I passed the one-meter-mark I practically threw SD down into the ground, head first, and quickly turned myself around so I was flying parallel with the ground. I flew to my mate and landed next to her.

Where DD 'landed' in the ground, an explosion of earth, grass and small stones flew to all sides. As well as a cloud of dry ground settling in the air above him, obscuring him from view.

Slowly he began getting onto his feet again, as the fog of dry ground gradually began clearing just a little. His eyes almost glowed red through the fog, the same crimson color as the blood flowing from all of his wounds.

I knew he'd used both Gravity and Crash magic to soften the fall in the very last second, but even so, anyone else would have been at the very least unconscious. But not this guy, he was something else.

If I wasn't wrong, it looked like the Raven had powered up once again. The white that seemed to have been inside him before, was now present on the outside and showed itself in angry, vertical waves rising high into the sky. I betted that if you stepped closer to him, you could feel the heat in the air as an effect of the leaking magic. That and I could hear the sizzling sound of it meeting the air.

I glanced at my mate, trying to see what state she was in. She was of course still inside her mind. Which meant she was absolutely defenseless as it was. Sure, she had that Spirit, but he wouldn't be anything against DD at the level the Raven was going at now. Especially not when he couldn't change to whatever form he had.

I grinned internally. So it was all up to me, eh? Well, I would find no greater pleasure than ripping this guy to shreds for the sake of protecting my mate. No greater satisfaction. Of course, I quickly matched my magical pressure with his, setting my magic on a rampage inside me. Now it also poured out of me much like it did him.

I glared right back at the Raven, who was now clear to see since the fog has lifted. But soon we both became impatient and launched at each other simultaneously.

We met each other in the middle, where we quickly engaged in a ferocious hand-to-hand combat, not much magic used except for reinforcing hands, feet or whatever body part we decided to use. The exchange of fists went by so fast the untrained eye wouldn't be able to catch what was going on.

Suddenly, in the middle of it all, something broke through the barrier keeping the two of us and the rest of the world separated. "Lucy...!" I heard someone growl as they approached the two of us. Both DD and I turned out heads in the direction of the voice, to see what was going on. But as soon as my opponent did that, he was hit in the jaw with a hard blow from a foot. "KICK!" The owner of the foot said as it hit. DD, having gotten no time to react whatsoever, shot away from the two of us like a bullet through the air.

I looked down at the one who had delivered the kick. Of course it was my mate who's used her infamous kick. Now adorning wings and tail.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I opened my eyes groggily. Opening Terra's Gate hadn't been too difficult, but figuring out what he could do on the other hand was quite hard. In the end I figured he could transform to a Golem of some sort, going by his title anyway. Terra, the Spirit of the Golem.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision of the haze. What I saw was my mate and that Raven going at it for real. If it hadn't been for all that training with Metallicana and Loke, I doubted I would be able to follow their battle.

Every time either of them lashed out at he other, one way or another, some part of the once nice and pretty field around them exploded as if hit with some kind of mini bomb. And I didn't even think they realized it themselves.

I just gaped at the battle unfolding right in front of me. "There's no way I can interfere with that.." I muttered to myself. Well, not if I didn't want to reveal all my secrets anyway. And I didn't, not yet.

"Tch." I heard my Hydra Spirit grunt right next to me. "That right, not with that attitude and those restrictions." He told me.

I nodded. I knew I couldn't do anything here unless I could use my Dragon magic, but how should I do that without it being revealed? Wait! There was one way!

I turned to Ceterum excitedly. "Thank you Ceterum! You gave me a great idea!" I told him happily. He just looked down at me with a confused expression. "You must be tired by now, you can go back to the Spirit World to rest, I've found a way to win this!" I told him confidently.

He looked down at me a moment longer, then grunted in some kind of agreement. "Whatever you say girlie. Just don't die yet, I want to be in my Hydra form one of these days." He told me as he disappeared in a shower of golden light and the sound of raging waters.

I smiled and touched Sagittarius' key. I closed my eyes and imagined the archer's Gate and quickly pried the big, golden door open, summoning my Spirit without saying a single word. I opened my eyes to the Spirit's usual greeting. "Moshi-moshi, Lucy-dono." Sagittarius greeted me. "What do you acquire of me today?" He asked before I could greet him back.

I smiled at the horseman. "Hi Sagittarius, it's been a while." I said to him, to which he just nodded and waited patiently for my reply to his question. So of course I quickly answered. "I need you to shoot down all the Lacrima in the sky as quickly as possible." I explained.

My Spirit nodded and looked up, where the many small crystals floated around calmly, showing the people in the arena all that was going on down here. They had to go before I could participate in their battle. Sagittarius nodded and quickly fired his arrows as if he'd been holding a machine gun rather than a bow. In a matter of seconds, all the Lacrima were shot down and had crumbled into dust at our feet. The two males didn't seem to notice anything though.

Sagittarius saluted and left for the Spirit World once again. I smiled at the disappearing golden light. I had been using my Zodiac's too little lately… I kind of missed them.

Well, it would have to wait for later though. Now wasn't the time. Ending that line of thoughts, I closed my eyes and focused on the magic in me. Now I didn't have anyone watching, I could finally let loose a little.

I quickly found my Peace magic, which swirled around, eager to be used again. I quickly fulfilled its wish and let go of the barrier keeping it back. It quickly flooded around in me, I helped it along by speeding it up as much as I could.

When I thought the magic had warmed up enough, I let it pour out of me and into the air around me. Then I quickly pulled it in again and let it sit on my skin, on top of my head and on my back as well as my hands. Gradually, scales, wings, tail and claws appeared on me.

I opened my eyes and looked at the two going at it, now feeling much more powerful than I had before. My eyes could easily follow the battle unfolding in front of me, actually it seemed more like it was going in slow-motion, if anything.

I decided to jump in as quickly as I could, and when I saw the perfect opportunity, I began running at the two of them, preparing my favorite move of all time. "Lucy…!" I growled as I ran at the both of them. Just as I'd figured, it would draw their attention away from the battle going on between them and to me. I instantly ended up right in front of DD and shot my foot upwards. "KICK!" I roared as my foot connected with his jaw, sending him flying away like a bullet.

I swished my tail behind me in satisfaction. Yesterday when we'd fought, I hadn't delivered a proper Lucy Kick to this guy, there was absolutely nothing behind it that was worth mentioning, so now I might as well show him how it was really done.

That and I really reveled in my mate's attention. Speaking of the devil, the guy broke the silence. "But… Lucy? Why are you…?" He trailed off.

I looked up at him and smiled with fangs showing. "Don't worry about getting discovered. Sagittarius shot all the Lacrima down already." I explained, probably answering the question he hadn't been quite able to ask.

He just nodded and looked towards the place, where DD now was slowly approaching us, chuckling by himself. "I see, so you still have some fight left in you, huh Princess?" He mocked me, using the nickname many of my Spirits had given me.

But I wouldn't let his words bother me. "Of course! You haven't seen anything yet!" I reassure him, grinning widely. Oh, he was sure to lose now. Against two Dragons, not even the strongest of humans stood any chance.

He just smirked back. "No, I guess I haven't." He agreed and suddenly straightened his back again and leapt towards me, fist raised and reinforced with the Crash magic that was going wild around him.

I only looked right into his red eyes as he neared me, not budging even an inch. As he came closer he realized I didn't intend on moving at all and adopted a slightly confused expression. In the end, as he flashed across the field, he became increasingly confused and when he was right in front of me, he lashed out with his fist, even though he was still quite confused and probably aware that I had something in mind.

Of course, I also did. That was to show my superiority over him. He had been moving in slow-motion all the way, so it was simple enough for me to just put a hand up and grab his fist when it was right in front of me.

I looked right into his crimson red eyes with a wide grin already feeling kinda good showing him who was strongest. "Don't underestimate me, _Raven_." I told him and swung my whole my whole body around, lifting my foot at the same time and landing a solid kick on his apparently sore side.

He began flying off, much like he had with the Lucy Kick, but before he could land on the ground again, I ran up behind him and gave him yet another kick to the side, not the sore one this time, and let him fly off in another direction. It was more to show off than anything else, really.

I jumped back, landing next to my mate, who'd just been standing by, knowing full well I could easily take care of myself now I could use my Dragon magic. Question was if I would even need it.

Suddenly, in a poof of golden light, one of my Spirits appeared right next to me. There stood my favorite, old clock always there when I needed him the most. "Lucy-san, you only have one minute left of the battle." He told me.

I looked at him with a surprised expression, both because he had suddenly appeared and because there was only so little time left. Had we really already used a half an hour on it? "What? Really?" I asked rhetorically and turned to my mate. "Well, we better finish it then, right?" I asked Acnologia, who nodded. I looked back at Horologium with a smile. "Thank you Horologium, for telling us. I really appreciate it." I thanked my Spirit.

He nodded the best he could and bowed, also to the best of his abilities. "It was my pleasure Lucy-san, now my time's up." He said and disappeared again.

I looked up at Acnologia who nodded again. We quickly stood back-to-back and clasped a set of hands together, aiming at DD, who was groggily getting to his feet on the other side of the field. We both began charging magic quickly and sent it to our arms.

DD looked up just as we finished charging up completely. I looked at the guy with a less amused expression. I would've loved to take more time off to play around with him now I had the chance, but it seemed the time was up.

I sighed internally and pushed my magic out of me. "BEAM OF THE CHAOTIC PEACE!" We both yelled simultaneously as we released out magic. The black and blue and the silver beam of magic blended together and swirled around each other, not quite able to merge. The two - and a half - colored swirl sped off at DD, only getting larger and larger the longer it flew.

When it finally hit him, it was as big as we were in out Dragon forms. But then it exploded, the two magic still battling for dominance, but none winning. That added effect probably made it all the more painful for DD.

The explosion let off a powerful gust of wind, that pushed my hair back and let it wave in the wind, even as heavy as it was, being a braid and all. Both Acnologia and I let go of our Dragon Strength forms and returned to completely ordinary humans again. On the outside anyway.

The black, blue and silver explosion soon faded out, leaving DD lying there on the ground on his stomach and face dug into the ground. And heavily wounded too, as it seemed.

At first it looked like he was unconscious, but then he slowly turned his head up to us, his eyes still burning red. "Heh… Seems I underestimated you two." He laughed, but was then cut off as a cough rose form his chest. He spit out blood that had risen with the cough.

I released my mate's hand and walked towards the guy lying motionlessly on the ground. His eyes followed me all the way, wondering what I was about to do. I kneeled down next to him and held my hands over his back. I quickly lessened the barrier on my Sky Dragon magic a little and let it flow to my hands. The Sky magic enveloped them in a light blue glow as I began healing the guy I had just beaten to the ground.

DD looked at me with an incredulous expression and orange eyes. "What the hell are you doing, Princess?! Why are you healing me?" He asked me, getting a little frustrated. I knew that what he was trying to say was that it hurt his pride to be healed by the girl who had just beaten him. Men and their blasted pride.

I exhaled exasperatedly. "Because knowing your guild, they will just leave you to rot out here, so be grateful that I let you live, jackass." I told him. I looked into DD's eyes as Acnologia also approached the two of us. "I don't know what your Master wants of me and I don't know how or why you're involved, but no matter if you are my enemy or not, I can't just leave you to die out here, it goes against everything I've been taught." I told him and focused on healing him again.

DD sighed in surrender and let me heal him. "From Grandine, eh?" He asked me rhetorically. I figured he'd know all the names if he knew so much about us anyway, so it didn't really surprise me too much when he mentioned one of my close friends' name.

I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see it. A silence ruled between us for a moment as all his wounds slowly closed up and stopped bleeding. But finally Acnologia decided to break the quite heavy silence between us. "You know, since she's doing you this favor you should tell us one thing." He told him. I looked up at him confused. What did he want to know? If he asked for that mysterious Master's name, he was sure not to get it. He knew that, right? DD turned his head and looked up at Acnologia, showing his interest. Acnologia kneeled down as well, so he came closer to DD. "What's your name?" He asked the guy.

Another tense silence hung between us before I finally looked at him with raised eyebrows and an incredulous expression. "Seriously?" I asked him. The name? Seriously?

Acnologia looked up at me with innocent eyes. "What?" He asked, not understanding why I looked at him like that. "You can't tell me you haven't been curious about it too." He said. I just sighed.

DD broke out laughing. "You've got to be kidding me!" He laughed, his eyes now blue. "And here I thought you would ask something serious!" He continued on. But then I guess he caught my mate's expression, which was quite serious. DD sighed amusedly. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you. It's Shi Kōhai." He told us.

I sweat dropped. "What? Is that a joke?" I asked him. Well, that was kinda lame**. (A/N Usually I hate these, but here it's necessary, since I figured most of you don't know Japanese. Shi Kōhai means 'Death Desolation', according to Google Translate)**

He shook his head. "No, I'm quite serious." He told me. Then he suddenly pushed off the ground, forbidding me from healing him anymore. "That's enough, you don't need to do more." He looked across the field to where Kurohebi lay still unconscious and scorched on the ground. He swiftly went to him, picked him up and threw him over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He looked at us over his shoulder as we got up to a standing position. "Thank you for the battle, I'm looking forward to seeing you at the last day." He said and then ran off towards the city before we could answer him.

I turned around, and threw my arms around Acnologia, giving him a kiss as he also locked his arms around my waist. I could faintly taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. I pulled away and looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows. "If you're hurt, you should tell me Sweetie." I told him and put both hands on his cheeks, letting my Sky magic heal him.

He just smiled at me and dove down to capture my lips again, making me lose my focus on healing him. I believe that was quite intentional. I felt him pull in most of his magic again and was reminded I needed to do the same.

And I did it in the very last second too, because right then, our kiss was interrupted. "LUCY!" Someone yelled from behind us. Acnologia and I pulled away from each other again, much to our dissatisfaction, and looked at whoever was approaching us. Surprisingly, that was the two Teams from Fairy Tail. The one yelling had probably been Gray, it had sounded like him.

I smiled just as the three girls, Erza, Juvia and Wendy, all ran into my arms, catching me in a group hug. "Hey? What's up?" I asked them and looked around at the guys too. "Why're you all here?" I asked them.

Natsu grinned at me. "Well, you shot down the Lacrima, so we didn't want to miss the battle and came running!" He told me.

Gray scratched the back of his head, looking around at the destroyed field. "Yeah, but it seems we were too late." He said with disappointment.

Erza put her heavy armored arm around my shoulder. "Yes, it would seem so." She agreed with Gray and looked down at me with her brown eyes. "Why did you shoot those Lacrima down, Lucy?" She asked me bluntly.

I smiled at her. "The wise hawk keeps its talons hidden, isn't that what they say?" I asked her. Well, more like Dragon in this case, but whatever.

Gajeel laughed at me. "That battle was awesome Bunny-Girl and mate!" He complimented us. Well, me, really. He just pissed Acnologia off by only calling him my mate and nothing else.

In the end, Mato showed up as a hologram from a Lacrima and told us we'd get the day off tomorrow, since we had to be all rested for the big Fifth day. So with that, all of us went to the rest of our guild and threw a long party that continued till the break of dawn. We all decided that on the day off, we would visit the Water Land, Ryuzetsu Land.

**First of all, I want to ask quite the **_**IMPORTANT QUESTION! **_**About the Fifth day coming up two chapters from now. Do you guys want me to just follow Lucy and Acnologia's P.O.V or do you want me to let you see all the other battles too? Of course I'll let you know who battles who, but it's whether I should show you all these battles? I'll make a poll, if you want to put it there. Otherwise you can PM me or something, 'Kay~? ^_^ **

**Second, I really want to thank the Guest, satantextedme, for an absolutely awesome review! It's been a while since a review has **_**really**_** touched me, but you managed to. THANK YOU SO MUCH! And yes, this story means a lot to me, which is why I'm still writing it as much as I am ;) And I'm glad you could see my point of view, with Lucy and all!**

**Guys! My Beta's posted a story! Please check it out~! His name's DesolationDeath if you're wondering**

**Hope my battle scene was alright! It took **_**so**_** long to write, you can't even imagine it. They seem to get longer and longer, but I wonder.. Do they also get better? Please tell me, I'd like to know your opinion - no only my Beta's!**

**So as usual, thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, StrongGuy159, Person (Guest), Nicole (Guest), Alaina Kuski, BecauseIamSoBored, justenb7, Tatsuyoshi Tsubasa, Guest, Aira0906, DoxheartForever, cellum95 (Guest), SillyKitty88, Darverger1, Guest, MoonStar1312, Moonlight Starlove, blaaern, Acnologia Prime, Maki is the boss, aristofthemind, mjb379, ANG3LBL00M, satantextedme (Guest), vampiregirl31, Jayd-LouiseXX, OutsidersWhiteTiger, OtakuLover43, lele101, otaku4lifeee and all you other wonderful people out there! I beyond love you~ XD**

**~ Line464d**


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

**This goes without saying, of course, but this chapter is dedicated to Yodlehima (Guest) and the Guest who brought up the recent news about SkyLiarLee and my story! THANK YOU, YOU TWO! - Again. I wish there was something else I could do for you, but this is all I can… **

**And thank you so much to all of you who acted upon the A/N last chapter and commented on SkyLiarLee's story! I smiled and laughed every time I read some or at your reviews (not in like they were funny, but ya know). Every single one of them touched my heart!**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Funny how I keep almost forgetting this thing… Seems I already consider Fairy Tail mine :3**

**Outside Ryuzetsu~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"Ohh, we're here!" I gushed as I looked up at the entrance to the water park. The building in itself wasn't impressive in any way, it was just like any other building in this city. Nah, it was all the laughter and splashing I could hear from the other side that riled me up.

As usual these days, my team, Team B, had been sleeping way too long - probably due to the party the other night - and so we hadn't been with the rest of Fairy Tail, when they came here. If it hadn't been for Mira, who suddenly dropped by, I doubted any of us would've gotten out of our beds and come here. But luckily she was there to wake us all up.

So basically, all of Fairy Tail, with the exception of the six of us, would already be in there. I just hoped they hadn't destroyed it all before I came in there too. No, of course I wouldn't be thinking of a certain Fire Dragon Slayer and Ice Make mage, what did you think of me?

Before anyone else could say anything, Juvia and Mira grabbed my hands and began dragging me into the girls' changing rooms giggling. I looked over my shoulder at the three men we were leaving behind. "See you in there!" I just barely managed to say before I was pulled around a corner.

Juvia and Mira chatted happily with each other as they dragged me around as if that was an everyday thing. "I'm _so_ looking forward to this time to relax!" Mira chirped.

Juvia nodded. "Yes, Juvia is also looking forward to this." Juvia agreed, none of them giving me the chance to get up to my own two feet so I could walk after them myself.

I squinted my eyes and looked up at Juvia. Now Gray would probably be in there… Oh, I was going to make sure I'd get some fun out of that. Oh dear… Amelane stop rubbing off on me.

Finally, the two stopped up. It sounded like we'd ended up in a pretty big room where there were a lot of people. The place echoed with many different voices talking at the same time, giggling and laughing. Just generally a happy atmosphere.

Now I had the chance, I got on my feet and stood next to the other two, who'd stopped up. I looked at what they were looking at and understood why they'd stopped up. The place was crammed with people all over the place. All female of course. It didn't seem like there would be any space for the three of us. We didn't see anyone from Fairy Tail, confirming my thought that they were all already here.

"Hey, Juvia!" Someone called. I didn't recognize the voice at all, I only vaguely remembered hearing it. Who could it be? All three of us looked in the direction of the voice and I - for one - found myself surprised. "Did you guys also plan on going to Ryuzetsu today?" Minerva asked Juvia as she approached all of us.

Juvia nodded to the Sabertooth mage. "Yes. Juvia thinks all of Fairy Tail should be in there already." She told her with a smile. Minerva, huh? She seemed really strong, it was obvious from the way she carried herself. She had lots of experience on the battlefield and her magic was strong, if the Naval battle was anything to go by. Although… Here eyebrows were a bit curious.

She wore a dark blue bikini, which was the same blue color as the clothes she'd worn the other day. That kind of color fitted her really well, but it was also almost the same color as Juvia's clothes.

Minerva nodded to Juvia, also with a smile. "I see. It seems a lot of the participating guilds have thought that this would be a good idea." She said and looked at Mira and then me. Her gaze stopped at me for a second as she looked directly into my eyes.

I had no idea what to do as Minerva just keep looking at me. I slowly grew uncomfortable with her attention and decided it was about time I said something to break this awkward atmosphere. I smiled at the Sabertooth mage. "Hi, I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I greeted her, not knowing what else to say.

Minerva nodded with that calculative look in her eyes. "Yes, I know." She told me. I sweat dropped. Well then, what now? A rather tense silence lay between all of us for a second before Minerva once again began speaking. "You're the girl Sting and Rogue - mostly Sting - has been blabbering on about since they joined, right?" She asked me.

I looked at her surprised. "What? Have they really been talking about me that much?" I asked her, to which she simply nodded. I averted my gaze to the floor. "I only offered them a seat in my booth though.." I muttered to myself. How could that have left such a big impression on them? It was ridiculous.

Minerva sighed. "Well, you were the first human they ever spoke to, besides each other, since… 'Parting' from their parents." She commented. I looked up at her again. What? Really? Then it actually made sense. Since I didn't say anything in return, Minerva continued on to the next topic. "You're looking for space, I'm guessing?" She asked us. Mira nodded with her usual bright smile. Minerva smiled at us. "There's place for you right next to where I am if you want it." Minerva offered. She was much nicer than she looked, actually. I'd thought she'd be a tough and arrogant person going by how she didn't give a damn her bikini top was torn open, but she didn't seem to be like that at all.

Mira nodded eagerly again. "We would appreciate that a lot! Thank you Minerva!" She thanked the Sabertooth mage, who hadn't even introduced herself.

Minerva laughed a little at Mira. "Oh, so even those who have been asleep for seven years know my name?" She asked Mira in a teasing tone, which made all of us giggle a little. She quickly made her way to where she kept her spare clothes and what else she could have brought in a locker. Right under and in the vertical row next to hers, there were three free spots. Couldn't be more perfect.

The three of us began undressing as we chatted a little with Minerva. Contrary to what I would have believed, there was no hostility even between our guild and Sabertooth, it was all kind of relaxed between all of us. Of course, then there was Raven Tail, but they were out of the equation.

I touched Virgo's key and summoned her without saying anything. Just because it wasn't quite as flashy as the other thing. And it was much easier too. Virgo instantaneously appeared right next to me in a flash of golden light. "Hello Hime-sama, is it time for my punishment?" She asked me.

I sweat dropped. It was a while since I'd heard that comment from my favorite Maid Spirit. Nevertheless, I smiled at her, happy with what could be called an unusual greeting. If you didn't already know Virgo, that is. "Nah, not today Virgo." I told her, apparently to her disappointment. "But I _do_ need a bikini." I told her. She nodded and saluted before disappearing back to the Spirit World to find a bikini. Maybe… That was a bad idea… Now I thought about it.

"That's right." I heard Minerva say thoughtfully. I turned around and looked at her in wonder, trying to figure out what she had figured out. She looked at me. "You're a Celestial mage too." She stated. I nodded silently, trying to figure out where she was going with this. She smiled at me. "I'm sure Yukino would love to learn some things from you, you seem to be quite skilled with your magic." Minerva complimented me.

Yep, she was definitely not the person she looked like she was. I smiled at her and nodded. "Of course! I'd love to teach Yukino whatever I can!" I told the other mage.

Mira began looking around the changing room. "Speaking of Yukino, isn't she with you, Minerva?" She asked, still looking around for Yukino.

Minerva shook her head with an amused expression. "No, she's with Kagura. She's been staying with the Mermaids lately, because of that promise she's made with the swordswoman." She explained to us.

Juvia looked at Minerva with her ocean blue eyes. "Juvia was wondering what kind of work Yukino does for Kagura?" She asked her.

Minerva looked down at her. "Well…" She trailed off. "It's all kind of work I think. I haven't been able to speak with her lately, so I really don't know, but I imagine it's some of the more practical things." She commented.

I nodded. Yeah that sounded about right. Suddenly Virgo poofed into existence right next to me. "Hime-sama, I have returned with your bikini." She told me blankly and held the bikini out to me. As I had expected, it was of Virgo's taste. It was simple, really. It was white and with a silver lining, bows in the sides for the bottom and two straps over the shoulders for the top. That was simple and plain enough, but that wasn't all. If only it had been though. No, the white fabric was almost transparent now, while it was dry. I didn't even want to think about how it'd be when soaked in water.

I looked at Virgo with a raised eyebrow. "Listen Virgo…" I started off, trying a soft approach to her, hoping it'd work better than yelling at the top of my lungs, even though that was what I wanted to. "Do you want Acnologia to kill every single male in that water park?" I asked her. 'Cause he would.

I heard the girls giggle behind me as Virgo just looked at me expressionlessly. "I think Acnologia-sama would enjoy seeing Hime-sama in this bikini." She commented. I just sighed and face palmed, but with the added bonus of a light blush. I didn't even know how to respond to that. Virgo seemed to understand I was skeptical towards her bikini. "Punishment, Hime-sama?" She asked me again, with a tint of hope in her voice.

I quickly shook my head. "No, no Virgo." I told her off, then came up with a bright idea. I smiled at her. "Actually, yes. Your punishment is to find a bikini Acnologia would accept but isn't ugly or grandma-like." I told her.

Virgo's face lit up, if only just a little. "Yes, Hime-sama! I accept your punishment!" She said and disappeared again, taking the skimpy bikini with her.

I breathed out and turned to Minerva with a hopeful expression on my face. "Please tell me Yukino's Spirits are just as crazy as mine." I pleaded with her. I didn't want to be the one with all the Spirits with extreme characters.

Minerva laughed and nodded. "Yeah, they have extraordinary personalities too." She reassured me. "I guess it's just a Spirit-thing." She said.

I nodded and right then and there, Virgo appeared again. This time, she was holding a proper bikini. For once. It would cover all it should. It was mainly silver, but with thick, white ribbons on both sides of the bottom part, to hold it all together. The same kind of ribbon was supposed to be bound on the back of my neck and back on the top part of it.

I smiled at Virgo and nodded. "Yeah, I like that one. Thank you very much Virgo." I told her and took the bikini when she handed it to me. She gave a last salute and returned to the Spirit World again. I quickly put on the bikini she'd given me and followed the others out of the changing rooms.

When we reached the outside, I found myself surprised with the sheer size of the park. While I looked around at all the attractions available, I unconsciously pulled my braid over my shoulder and began stroking it and playing with the tip, leaving my mark visible for everyone to see. Not that I minded at all, I loved that mark.

There were so many different attractions; I couldn't even come near naming all of them. There were several different slides, different pools, some with tall waves and others with bubbling, warm water. Heck, there even seemed to be an aquarium. There was nothing this water park _didn't_ have.

And right as I thought that, Natsu came shooting past us on some kind of train, looking like he could barf any second. I put my hand over my mouth and giggled. When would he learn?

"Finally you're outta there." Someone said in an annoyed voice next to us. We all turned our heads and saw the three boys from our team as well as the Sabertooth guys. Of course, it'd been Gajeel, who had spoken. "Tch, why do girls always take so long?" He asked rhetorically.

Mira laughed. "That's because the bikini Lucy's Spirit brought was transparent and- mmpf!" I cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

"Mira!" I said a little loudly as my cheeks heated up again. I glanced up at the males with a burning face. Which only got worse when I saw most of them had blood running out of their noses and staring at anything _but_ my face. It seemed Laxus was bored with the conversation though. Which was probably for the best.

Acnologia also noticed the guys' dreamy stares and turned around, glaring at them with an intensity only a Dragon could manage. He began cracking his knuckles. "Ohh? Seems I'll be having some fun today." He said with a dark voice. The guys quickly realized what kind of danger they were in and looked the other way before they lost their lives, wiping off the blood just as quickly.

Before any more could happen, my bookworm of a friend came running. "Gajeel! Let's go in the aquarium!" She said as she grabbed the guy's hand and dragged him after her with much more strength than she should have in that little body of hers. Gajeel stumbled after her, sending us a helpless expression before disappearing out of sight. Lily, Carla and Happy soon followed the two of them, Happy for the fish, Lily to watch out for Gajeel and Carla to make sure Happy didn't eat any of the fish.

Likewise, Mira skipped to Laxus and also went away with him, locking both of her arms around his bigger one and pushing herself into him. I smiled at the two couples who just left. Ohh, Levy. Finally you built up some courage!

I felt an arm land around my midsection and looked up at Acnologia with a smile. "Let's go." He told me with a smile and began walking, pulling me along gently.

I nodded and waved at the Sabers and Juvia. We walked around the water park, trying to figure out what we should do.

"Hey! Wendy-chan! Wait for me!" I heard an excited little guy yell. I looked to the pool next to us, where the voice was coming from. As I'd thought, it was Acnologia's little cousin, Basuril. He was running towards Wendy and Chelia, who were about to play in the lower basin. I smiled. Since when had he gotten on _so _friendly terms with Wendy? I elbowed Acnologia lightly, making him look at whatever exchange was going to happen in front of us.

Since never it seemed, because Wendy was quickly blushing a dark shade of red when Chelia began teasing her with it. "B-Basuril-san!" She shrieked loudly in embarrassment.

Of course, Basuril didn't understand why, having the IQ level equivalent to that of Natsu's. He ran through the water and all the way up to the two girls. He looked at Wendy with a confused expression. "Wendy-chan? Your face is all red." He stated. Boldly, he put his forehead to hers, probably trying to see if she was warm. He was looking right into Wendy's eyes too.

Wendy was too stunned to even react or do anything, while Chelia was suddenly also blushing, most likely getting the feeling she was watching an intimate moment between the two. I guess anyone would.

Suddenly, Basuril pulled back again and grinned as if nothing had just happened. "It's fine! You don't have a fever!" He reassured her.

Wendy's face turned completely red, like a tomato, from bottom to top and her legs seemed to waver like jelly under her. "B-B-B-B…" She couldn't even say his name. Her legs trembled a little and then gave up trying to carry her weight. She fell right into the water and sat on the bottom with her face half covered in water. The water surrounding her face was beginning to bubble at the heat of her embarrassment.

While Chelia and Basuril was making sure Wendy was okay, Acnologia and I burst out laughing. I doubted it could get any cuter than that, to be all honest.

I heard someone growl in frustration. "Tch, damn Dragon Slayer." The person said, standing only a little away from us. I looked up, seeing Romeo with a kind of mad expression, but with determination in his eyes. "I won't let him win!" He told himself determinedly and also joined the three, putting up his best smile.

I looked at Wendy, who had risen from the water and was now playing with those three happily. Little Miss Popular over there, huh? Well, I was sorry for Romeo, but I really couldn't help supporting Basuril in this one.

I looked away from the four kids and saw Erza talking with… Wait, _what? _Why was Mystogan here? And was he seriously showing up with that bandana, or whatever it was, around his head? Way to stand out.

I began walking towards the two of them, pulling Acnologia after me. "Erza! Mystogan!" I called out to them. They both turned away from their conversation and looked up at Acnologia and I. I looked at Mystogan with confusion probably written all over my face. "How can you be here?" I asked him.

He looked up at me with brown eyes, then gestured for us to come closer. We quickly jumped in the water and joined the two of them. I looked at him with a face that urged him to explain. He breathed out. "Of course I'm not the 'real' Mystogan, I'm Earthland's Jellal." He told us with a low voice. I just nodded and made a face of realization. Right. Why couldn't I figure that out? He looked at Acnologia and put his hand out for a shake. "You must be the Acnologia I've been hearing about." He stated. "I'm Jellal, nice to meet you." He greeted my mate.

Acnologia looked confused for a second, then realized who the guy was. "Oh, right. Yeah, that's me." He confirmed and shook Jellal's hand. "You must be Jellal Fernandes, then." He said, also with a bit lowered voice, in case anyone were listening.

I turned to Erza with a smile. "So Erza. Are your injuries all healed now?" I asked her, noticing all the injuries she'd gotten from Pandemonium were gone and her skin was smooth as usual. Although with a pair of bandages around her right arm and left thigh.

Erza smiled at me and nodded. "Yes, of course they are." She said proudly, making me smile. I couldn't help wondering about what the two of them could have been talking about just now, before I interrupted them, but decided not to pry it out of them.

"Shit…" I heard my mate mutter. I looked up at him in confusion, but he only looked at something else at the other side of the pool. "Lucy, we've got to go." He told me, still staring in that same direction.

I quickly got curious myself and looked to see what he was looking at. And widened my eyes. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY DOING HERE?! "Agreed." I said, showing a much more calm personality than what was going on inside of me. I looked alternately at Erza and Mystogan. "I'm really sorry, we gotta go!" I told them and hurried after Acnologia, both swimming as fast as we could to the two idiots.

Finally the fiery one of the two looked at me with the biggest grin ever. "Oh, hi Lucy!" He greeted me happily. Much too happily.

The other one just gave a curt nod. "'Sup, Squirt, Brat." He simply greeted us and continued doing whatever he was doing.

Before I could yell at them, Acnologia placed a hand on my shoulder and glared at the two Dragons. "What the hell are you two doing here?!" He asked them furiously, but with a hushed voice, as to not draw too much attention to ourselves.

Metallicana just looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Looking out for our kids, what else?" He asked him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Oh, now it made sense that they were half hiding behind the rocks and peeping over and around it.

I face palmed at their enormous stupidity. How was it even possible? I looked up at them with a glare just as intense as Acnologia's currently was. "Do you even _know_ how much you look like your sons?" I asked them, getting a little frustrated and looking around to see if anybody was looking out way. Luckily, no one were, not even Mystogan and Erza, who were engaged in some kind of conversation again.

They both tilted their heads simultaneously and looked at me confusedly. "What are you talking about, Lucy?" Igneel asked me dumbly. I just stared incredulously at the both of them. They had the exact same body structure, face, hair, even eyes! How did they _not_ know?!

I sighed in exasperation. "You know what? It doesn't even matter." I said, giving up on trying to tell them. If they didn't already know, they never would. I turned to Acnologia. "Why don't you take these two out? I'll keep Gajeel and Natsu away." I asked him. He nodded and went to the two men.

Igneel began whimpering like a little puppy. "But Lucy~" He whined childishly. "I wanna see Natsu!" He told me, fake tears streaming down his face.

I pointed to my own face and looked at them with a deadpan expression. "Does this face look like it cares?" I asked them. They both shook their heads. "Thought so." I looked to Acnologia. "Sweetie, if you'd please." I told him.

Acnologia nodded and got a firm grip right above the two men's shoulders, right where there was a soft spot, between the neck and shoulder. "Now, old men, let's get you out of here." He said with repressed rage in his voice. The two silently agreed, nodding their heads and looking down in the water.

I watched the three leave and decided I might as well sit on one of the loungers by the water. That way I would both get a great view of the whole place _and_ be comfortable at the same time. So I swam to the edge and got up, making my way to the lounger.

I sat on it and leaned back with my hands behind my head, watching out for any Fire Dragon Slayers or Iron Dragon Slayers, so we didn't risk them seeing their fathers all of a sudden and making a big ruckus out of that. But fortunately Gajeel was still in the Aquarium with Levy and the Exceed. And Natsu was also preoccupied with a conversation with Ichiya.

Wait, that meant-. "Ah, Lucy, you're as bright as the sun itself and as enchanting as the moon." A way too familiar voice flirted with me. Of course, it was none other than Hibiki Lates himself. I grew an annoyed expression on my face. I thought they'd have learned already?

"You gotta be kidding me, what's with your amazing style?" I heard Ren say, also behind me. I betted the two of them were standing behind me, side by side and wondering whether they dared to come closer. The last one couldn't be here, after all he was very injured in-

"If you'd like, I'll become your pet." A light voice offered, a bit more to the right than the other two. I sweat dropped and tilted my head back, coming face to face with the Trimen, _including_ Eve, who looked like he was cosplaying as a mummy.

I sighed again. "What are the three of you doing here?" I asked them and looked at Eve. "Especially you. Shouldn't you be resting until you're fully healed instead?" I asked him.

I guess Eve smiled at me, but I wasn't exactly sure with all the bandages. They even covered his mouth. But judging by the sparkling eyes, I guessed right. "You're worrying about me, Lucy-nee!" He stated ecstatically.

I internally rolled my eyes. "Of course I do, Eve." I told him, then looked around at all of them. "Now tell me, why are your daring your lives just to talk to me?" I asked them.

Ren snorted. "It's not like we're afraid of your boyfriend or anything." He told me and looked around to see if my mate was coming.

Hibiki laughed and sweat dropped. "That's not exactly true Ren." He told his fellow Trimen. He looked down at me again and smiled the kind of smile that would make most girls swoon. "But you know, now he's away, we might as well take the chance." He said, then easily swept to the side of the lounger, took my hand in both of his and looked straight into my eyes. "Let's all have some fun since we're here." And without your mate. I knew he was thinking it. Oh well, maybe he'd rather think boyfriend, but the point's the same.

I blinked twice, looking into his eyes, then shook my head. "Listen, I don't want to be the reason for three murders committed by my boyfriend." I told them, watching his face light up at the thought that I didn't want them dead. "It's too much of a hassle." I added in hopes of scaring them away or something.

Unfortunately it had the opposite effect. Rather than scaring them, it seemed to make them adore me even more. They were gushing about how I also had a tsundere side, like Ren, and how I really cared for them deep down, but wouldn't let Acnologia hear or something.

I quite quickly got irritated with all their talk and shot off the chair in frustration. I got out of their reach and glared halfheartedly at all of them. "For Mavis' sake, guys." I said, first looking at Eve. "You shouldn't be out here with all those injuries, Eve, go back to where you're staying and rest properly so you're fresh for tomorrow." I told him. He nodded, dropped his head and trudged dejectedly away and towards the exit of the water park. I turned my head to Ren. "You should be with Sherry, not walking around flirting with other girls, Ren." I told him. Ren averted his eyes from me, found Sherry with some of the other girls and blushed a little, also beginning to walk towards her. I looked at Hibiki as the last one. Then sweat began trailing down the side of my face. Damn, I didn't have anything for this guy. "Why don't you just…" I hesitated as I thought something up. "Go over to Cana or something?" I asked him. Cana would love his flirting.

Of course it didn't have the same impact on him as the things I said to the other two did on them. Hibiki shook his head and approached me again, smiling widely. "She's with Quatro Puppy in her undergarments." He told me and gently pushed me forward with a hand on my lower back.

I looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and confusion. "_What_ is she?" I asked him again. He just smiled, knowing I'd heard him the first time. I moaned internally. She'd probably forgotten all about a swimsuit and decided to just go out in her underwear. Oh, that Cana. I just shook my head lightly with a smile. I looked up at Hibiki again. "Wherever you have in mind taking me, you better be quick." I told him. "Where are you taking me anyway?" I finally got the idea to ask him.

He grinned widely. "To the LoveLoveSlider, of course!" He said enthusiastically. The LoveLoveSlider? Seriously, what kind of idiot named it that? And why the heck was Hibiki taking me there?! Of all places…

I dug my feet in the ground and ceased all movement. "Hibiki you can't be serious about that." I said and looked up at the slim slide, where it was meant for couples to sit with their arms around each other as they slid down. Was he really trying to get me on that when I already had a boyfriend? Well, not that I'd ever get Acnologia on that thing. Just like the Dragon Slayers, he also suffered from motion sickness.

Hibiki just smiled and began pulling me instead. "Oh come on now, it'll be fun!" He promised me with a real host smile. I looked at him with a deadpan expression. Yeah? Exactly who would this be fun for? Him and no one else. He pulled me closer into himself and whispered in my ear. "You know, Lucy, almost every single guy in these Games are trying to have a blast at pissing you boyfriend off. It's so easy and simple." He revealed. "Also, it gives us a reason to come close to you. It's rare to see beauty such as yours." He admitted to me.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really now?" I asked him. He just nodded happily and pulled me after him again. "Don't you remember back when the core members returned and you and the other Trimen tried hitting on me?" I asked him.

Hibiki nodded with a grin. "Yep, that's exactly the reaction we are aiming for!" He said with amusement written all over his face.

I looked up at him with a worried look. It looked like these guys had no idea what they were dealing with. Only Laxus and Gajeel did, and I believe they only dared because they knew they were Dragon Slayers. "You know Hibiki." I said to catch his attention, while I looked away at another long set of loungers, where Kagura and the rest of Mermaid lay with Yukino bringing them drinks and the like. So that was the kind of things Kagura made her do. "The magical pressure Acnologia lets off naturally, you've felt it, right?" I asked him. Rufus had mentioned how it was quite heavy, so I betted someone like Hibiki would've felt it too.

He also nodded, as I had expected him to. This time his smile had faltered a bit "Yeah, it's quite heavy, actually. I'd say easily S-Class." He told me and looked at me with a smile. "But some of the people in on this are S-Class too, so it should be fine." He told me.

I looked at him with a smile. Ahh, Hibiki. "You weren't around for the First day's battles, were you?" I asked him.

He shook his head with a wide smile. "No, at that time, when I was sure I wasn't going to battle, I went on a date with Elaine Michaelson. She lives here in Crocus and-" This was about where I cut him off by raising a hand.

I had closed eyes and that hand held up in front of his face. "That's fine, Hibiki, I don't really feel the need to know all of your girlfriends, thank you very much." I told him and pulled my hand down as I opened my eyes again, now wearing and intense stare. "No, the point is that you didn't see him beat Jura." I told him. He was stunned speechless at this. What? He hadn't been told? Come on, Blue Pegasus. "The magical pressure he lets off naturally when you walk by him in the streets is about a quarter of his full 'power'." I explained.

This actually really surprised Hibiki. That's also why he stayed silent for quite a while before finally saying something. "Hmm.. That's quite an extraordinary boyfriend you've found yourself." He complimented me. Then smiled and winked at me. "But that won't stop us." He then added, to which I just groaned not so ladylike. "Anyway Lucy, we're here!" Hibiki exclaimed happily.

I looked up to see we indeed _did_ reach the top. But it seemed we'd have to wait a little before getting on, Juvia, Lyon and Gray were standing at the start-line. I didn't even have to listen to their conversation to figure out what had happened. Lyon had most likely swooped Juvia up in his arms, suggesting to go on this ride and Gray heard this and instantly became jealous of his brother.

Right now, the two of them were butting heads and about to go fight to see who would go with Juvia, although Gray tried to say he wouldn't let one of his nakama fall into Lyon's hands without a fight. It was a very unconvincing lie. But Juvia seemed to be a little uncomfortable with both of them fighting to ride this slide with her.

I put a finger over my mouth and so silently told Hibiki to stay silent. He nodded with an amused smile, probably knowing what I was about to do.

I silently tiptoed to the three mages. None of them noticed me at all, except Juvia when I was right behind her. I grinned at her and put my finger over my mouth, just as I had with Hibiki. Juvia nodded, looking a little confused.

I looked at the two Ice Make mages. They were still butting heads like Natsu and Gray did so often, growling at each other like some kind of animals.

Juvia stepped aside as I crept closer, so the two were within arms length. They simply were too engrossed in their battle for my friend to notice me standing right beside them. Honestly, those boys.

I grinned to myself and winked at Juvia, before jabbing my hands out, pushing the two boys right down the slide. They both began screaming and had their arms around each other, yelling insults at each other and 'the one who pushed them down'. Apparently they hadn't seen my face.

I heard a giggle next to me, which soon developed into a contagious laughter. I looked at Juvia, who was standing with her arms wrapped around her stomach, laughing loudly. That made me begging laughing too.

I also caught a more masculine snicker coming from behind me and suddenly remembered Hibiki. Juvia also looked at him and then back at me questioningly. I just sent her a smile, not sure how to respond otherwise.

I quickly grabbed Juvia's wrist. "Sorry Juvia, this time you'll have to save me!" I told her as I pulled her down on the slide. I swiftly placed myself behind her, sitting with her between my legs and my arms around her as we began going down. I looked back at Hibiki, who looked speechless, with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Hibiki!" I apologized just as the slide took a swing.

Juvia and I made eye-contact, then burst into laughter all over again. Completely unrestrained laughter, which didn't seem likely to stop anytime soon.

Well, that was until it was interrupted by an explosion, which effectively drew our undivided attention and silenced our laughter all at once.

What the heck was going on over there? Were someone battling? Those two magical pressures... AH THOSE GODDAMN IDIOTS!

While I was fuming, we reached the end of the slide, where Gray and Lyon were waiting for 'the person who pushed them', getting ready to kick some butt with furious expressions and cracking their knuckles. But of course they hadn't expected it to be me.

I didn't care about them though, I needed to get to those morons before the who place blew up. So when I had landed on the bottom of the mini-pool at the end of the slide, I began stamping away from Juvia and directly towards the boys, who were blocking my way.

I roughly shoved them away as soon as I got the chance. "Get outta my way." I said, Demon Lucy making her way to the front yet again. They each fell down in the water and let me past them.

I continued walking forward, ignoring the calls behind me, my eyes fixated on the spot the explosion had originated from, where the number of onlookers was quickly rising. Of all places... Honestly.

I proceeded to push people away, so I could come closer to the two battle-eager boys. Since they didn't make a path _for_ me, I just had to make one myself. Soon, I'd gotten all the obstacles out of my way and had a free view of that battle.

The one between Acnologia and Natsu. Of all people, why did it have to be the two most destructive ones? What had even brought this up?

While the two of them continued fighting, I turned to the people standing next to me. Fortunately, that was Sting and Rogue. "What brought this on?" I asked the two of them.

They seemed to first notice me now, judging by Rogue's slightly surprised expression and Sting's that went from shock to a big, wide grin. "Lucy-san!" He 'greeted' me. Then he nodded and looked at my mate and Natsu. "I don't really know, I guess they bumped into each other or something." He said.

Rogue sighed. "Natsu was racing with Ichiya, but ran into Acnologia when he slipped." He told me, looking towards one of the pools where the leader of the Trimen stood with his head dug into the ground and his feet sticking up in the air. I guessed he had slipped too.

I glanced back at the fight going on in front of me. Now they even brought magic into it. This place would for sure be done for if this continued much longer. I would just have to stop them before that then. I began walking forward, towards the two, with sure, attention-drawing steps. But as per usual, the two didn't seem to notice me at all even as I stood only a little away from them.

Acnologia jumped out of my reach, just as I was about to stop him with a hand on his shoulder. He'd been standing with his back to me, probably glaring at Natsu and not at all feeling the magical pressures around him.

But why had he jumped away? Now that was simple, it was because he had evaded one of Natsu's fire balls coming his way. Of course the fire ball didn't stop just because it's target jumped away, no, not at all, it continued on, hitting me head on. Obviously, the two continued on as if I hadn't just been hit by one of their attacks.

To say I was pissed off was the understatement of the year. Finally, Demon Lucy awakened from her slumber again. I began cackling like a crazy person. I looked down at the ground, knowing my head would be cast in shadows that way. My mouth began moving, but to Dragon Slayers, it would be like I said it loud and clear. "Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens… All the stars, far and wide… Show me thy appearance… With such shine." I began muttering, slowly turning my head upwards again. I sincerely hoped Hibiki was watching this. "Oh Tetrabiblos… I am ruler of the stars… Aspect become complete… Open thy malevolent Gate." I continued, my voice rising to a normal speaking level as I spoke and looking up at my mate and the Fire Dragon Slayers with flashes of light replacing my eyes over a completely black face. "Oh 88 Stars of the Heaven… Shine!" I said with a loud voice. "URANO METRIA!" I yelled, finishing my incantation.

The magic pressure I'd gathered up over that incantation spiked to the top and materializing as planets, stars and a dark sky around me. The golden magic lay around me as a thick layer of golden light and as I whipped my arms out to the side, it all exploded forward, hitting its target in a perfectly clean shot.

When it finally ended and I returned to my usual self, Natsu lay silently on the ground, breathing out a final puff of air, the whites showing in his eyes. Of course I'd only aimed for him, there was nothing in the world that could make me aim such a powerful spell on my own mate. Natsu on the other hand… Gladly.

While I stopped their fight effectively, I just as effectively destroyed the whole water park, exactly what I had tried to prevent those two from doing. The whole place was completely wrecked, the roof was lying on the ground in the pools and had made the different attractions break under its weight, many were lying on the ground, knocked out and hurt.

Well, with the simple exceptions of Acnologia and I. I smiled at my mate with an innocent expression, hiding the glare I actually wanted to send him. "Now, now, I think it's about time this battle comes to an end." I said with a happy-go-lucky kind of voice.

The Dragon in front of me began sweating bullets and nodded. "Y-yes ma'am!" He agreed, standing straight, like a soldier, and looking at me with desperation in his eyes.

I would forgive him for calling me ma'am this time, although it did make me seem old.

**Hmm… Well, that's a nice place to end it off, right? So that's Ryuzetsu for you, guys. **

**Next week we'll be starting the Fifth day of the GMG! And believe me when I say that a lot of things will be happening at the Fifth day! Anyway, the poll and your reviews told me I should just focus on Acnologia and Lucy. **

**Oh, and we reached 1200 reviews! Thank you **_**so**_** much guys! I never ever everevereverevereverever **_**EVER **_**expected in my wildest dreams to get so many reviews, followers or favoriters. At all. Never. **

**Thank you booklover21567, AnimeOnCookie, Xx21Katiekat12xX, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), Tramimixx (Guest), Darkverger1, Alaina Kuski, DeathKitsune666, StrongGuy159, .awesome, LaurenSmithxox, archangelofrequiem. Leader of the ducks, Nilnna, tifnguyen104, TheyEathCOokies, ZerefinaFury, aristofthemind, mipikachu15, Meme2x (Guest), Andety, xxMarilynxx, Moonlight Starlove, mjb379, Acnologia Prime, felic42, Guest, reader713, Yodleheima (Guest), Sayzuuka, xxsomthngvague, GoddessPrimaBella, ANG3LBL00M (Guest and non-Guest), ThunderWofl395, fairychime-diamon47, MoonStar1312, theamazingbluesnake, kindrose13, Guest, LadyYunalesca26, 1234mariext5678, Tosha232, LukeCatellanLover379, Moon Devil and Moon Angel for all your support and stuff (XD)**

**~Line464d**


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

**So starting on day Five, eh? Well, a lot of things'll happen, so hold on tight!  
Also, before you ask; No, Fairy Tail will not have gotten any tips of anything from Mavis. I can't have it fit with what I'm doing if they all don't move at all. So yeah. It is awesome in cannon though.. **

**Anyway, so there might be some extra grammar mistakes here and typos, I didn't get to proofread it :/**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I think I'll have to write a letter to Slowpoke signed by one of his assistants. Maybe that way I'll have a better chance? **

**At the Arena, Fifth day~**

**Basuril's P.O.V**

Ahh! It was finally the Fifth day of the GMG! Mato-kun told us all it was different today and it really was! Apparently everyone are supposed fighting against everyone and their field is all of Crocus! Well, except this arena, which would probably be the only safe place the next day.

According to Lucy-nee, every single one of these mages gathered here were just as destructive as Metallicana and Igneel, but only on a human scale of course. Which made it all so stupid. Just what would be left of this city after all this? Nothing.

Anyway, all the teams were spread all over Crocus, waiting for Mato-kun to give them the starting shot. Every team was of five persons, as it had always been, but with one of them appointed as the 'leader'. For every person you defeated, you'd get one point, but if it was the 'leader', you would get five. Which meant even those with the least points could win. It was obvious who were the leaders of the Fairy Tail teams. In Ac-nii-chan's it was obviously Ac-nii-chan who was the leader and then in Natsu's it was Erza, since she was the only S-Class mage there.

From Lamia Scale, it would probably be Jura, being one of those Saints. From Mermaid Heel, it could only really be Kagura. From Quatro Puppy it was the drunk one, Bacchus. From Blue Pegasus it probably that disgusting old man with the long, orange hair. I almost puked just remembering his face. From Sabertooth I guessed it was that black haired lady, she seemed like the strongest of all of them.

And then from Raven Tail… Well there was not much to think about there, it was definitely Shi Kōhai, or DD. Whatever he called himself.

He didn't really matter much though. Ac-nii-chan could take him out if he wanted to. And then he had Lucy-nee with him too, it was a sure win no matter how you looked at it. They also proved to be far superior in the match they had two days ago, when they won over them. I betted they were wetting their pants just thinking about Ac-nii-chan's strength.

Finally, Mato-kun began saying something again after way too long. "And… START! Kabo." He yelled just as the loud gong rang loudly throughout the city. They seriously didn't care about us Dragons with much more sensitive hearing. It was a good thing it wasn't longer than five days. And the roar of cheers from the crowd didn't help anything either.

Every team burst into movement, some spreading out all five and some walking in groups. But people quickly met up and began battling each other.

The first to go against each other is Tobi and Yuka from Lamia versus Nobarly from Quatro. The two easily defeat Nobarly. Yuka started out with sealing the guy's magic and then Tobi quickly gives the dealing blow, earning Lamia a point.

Then that was quickly followed up with the three Trimen members from Pegasus - who actually had looks worthy of a host - met up with Araña and Beth from Mermaid. The girls were quickly defeated and Pegasus got two points.

Next Lyon of Lamia crushed Semmes from Quatro, while Jura also crushed Jaeger, so Lamia got two points more. Seemed they were puppy-hunting.

The Lacrima screen flashed to where Rocker was, and how he was tackled and defeated by the cat-lady from Mermaid from behind.

Somewhere else, Erza encountered Bacchus. It was a more lengthy battle, but in the end Bacchus was too lax, his 'soul didn't tremble' it seemed. As I thought, Bacchus had been the leader of Quatro. And with that, all five of the puppies were already down as the first ones. And without even getting a single point. They'd been unlucky I guess.

But these battles weren't what I had been looking for. All these screens showed me were useless battles. I wanted to see Ac-nii-chan or Lucy-nee kick some butt! Or Wendy-chan!

But all I got was Kagura trashing Yuka and Tobi as if they were just kids. Honestly, there was no excitement there at all.

Suddenly a screen shows Rufus using one of his spells. It was the same as the one from the First day and it seemed all were aimed for the Fairy Tail members. But of course the Lacrima couldn't catch all at the same time, so it only showed people like Natsu, Laxus and Juvia evading it, or in Laxus' case just putting up a guard, having figured out it as Lightning-based. But still it didn't at all show Lucy-nee, Ac-nii-chan or Wendy-chan. In any case, he didn't get a single point, shocking him.

Then Lisanna encountered Jenny from Pegasus. She said something about revenge for pulling the bikini-top off her big sister in Ryuzetsu or something, I couldn't remember that happening, but the battle drew out and in the end, Lisanna lost because of her desperation.

But then Juvia came up from behind and easily defeated her, hardly using any magic at all. She should just stick to modelling instead, she'd just given Ac-nii-chan's Team a free point.

Next up was Gajeel versus the Trimen. With a single Roar, he takes them all down in one shot. They should just stick to their hosting instead. They didn't belong in this kind of tournament. And that was for all of Blue Pegasus. They weren't exactly the strongest guild when it came to battling and fighting.

That was when Gray met up with Rufus. I didn't bother to watch their fight, getting the feeling that it would be a lengthy one. Which turned out to be true.

While those two fought, Wendy-chan and Chelia met up with each other, picking up where they had left off a few days ago. While I liked Chelia, I was definitely cheering for Wendy!

But then, the bully of a Lacrima switched to let us see Orga of Sabertooth beating Ichiya to the ground without breaking a sweat. Now Blue Pegasus was also out of the Games.

It changed once again to Laxus zapping Millianna and Risley, who's coincidentally met up, also without putting much effort into it at all.

As it stood right now, Ac-nii-chan's team was clearly in the front with a total of 62 points. Then it was the Ravens with 52, the Sabers with 47, the Mermaids with 44, Natsu's Team and Blue Pegasus tied out with 34 points, then Lamia with 26 and at last the puppies with a mere 15 points.

I first now realized we hadn't seen anything of Raven Tail's members at all. I wondered what they were up to. It was beyond obvious they had a plan of sorts, but what could it be? They didn't seem too eager to win this tournament either, despite having placed first for a long time.

But right then it was announced that Gray had won his fight against Rufus, earning one point to Natsu's Team. Actually, it was quite the awesome fight, judging by the crowd anyway. And the cheers from the other Fairies around me.

Just then, Kagura charged at Erza and the two quickly engaged in combat. Now that would take some time before that was solved, was what I thought as I looked to another Lacrima, where I saw Gajeel confront Rogue.

One another screen, Gray and Lyon clashed. They were arguing about Juvia or something, acting like immature teenage boys, butting heads and all. Although some magic was involved, when the two actually began battling for real. They were both quickly beat by Juvia, who sent her Water Cyclone at them both when they had their guards down and at full strength.

Suddenly the Lacrima switched to scene, where Laxus and Orga were standing face to face, ready to begin a battle of Lightning and Thunder and all that, when Jura suddenly intervened he quickly defeated Orga, much to Laxus' annoyance and the two of them also began fighting.

So, now several different battles were going on at the same time. One was Wendy versus Chelia, which still didn't seem like nearing a conclusion. Another was Gajeel versus Rogue, who seemed to be quite evenly matched. A third was Laxus versus Jura, a battle which had only just begun. And then at last, there was the battle between Erza and Kagura, which suddenly was interrupted by Minerva, who wanted to join in as well.

That left Juvia, Lucy-nee, Ac-nii-chan, Sting and all of Raven Tail to wander about doing absolutely nothing.

Finally, a screen showed Lucy and Acnologia walking together in the streets of Crocus, looking for an opponent, when Sting and Natsu charged at them from either side. It actually looked like they'd anticipated the two Dragon Slayers' arrival. I didn't care though, finally Ac-nii-chan and Lucy-nee could battle!

**A minute back~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

We'd been walking around for a while now, it was weird how we didn't bump into anyone. Well, we _could_ just follow their magical presences and all that, but waiting to see what would happen was more fun.

But it worried me a little that Raven Tail's members hadn't been fighting at all yet. It was more than obvious that their goal was to start their plan, whatever it was. I was pretty sure that at some point, they'd appear right in front of us and then they'd begin.

I felt Lucy squeeze my hand and looked down at her, wondering what she could be thinking. She smiled up at me. "Seems our first matches are on the way." She told me.

I guess I'd been too caught up in my thoughts to notice a battle was at our hands. I quickly felt out the closest magical presences and found two idiots approaching us fast. I smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, it'll be fun beating their asses." I agreed. I was surprised those two even knew how to follow other people's magical presences. Ah, wait… They probably weren't. Now I thought about it, those two would be relying on their noses. The wind also blew right in their direction.

We stopped up, waiting for the two to reach us. And they soon did, right at the same time and from each of their directions. Natsu came running directly at me, with a stupid grin on his face, and Sting charge at Lucy, also with a stupid grin on his face. What? They thought this was a game?

Natsu stared right into my eyes, making it obvious he wanted to battle me. Well, that suited me just fine too. As he came within talking range, he gave his explanation. "Acnologia!" He yelled at me, completely unnecessarily. "Let's finish what we started!" He continued as he ended up standing face to face with me.

I smirked at him. Just the way I wanted it. And this time Lucy wouldn't interrupt with Urano Metria. "If you're up for it." I said and quickly lashed out, landing a solid hit at his jaw, forcing him to take a few steps back.

Natsu rubbed his jaw and grinned at me. "I'm all fired up!" He promised me and leapt right back at me with a flaming fist. I rolled around him, evading his attack, and elbowing him in the back, making him crash to the ground right in front of me.

I stepped back to give him some space, I didn't want our match to end just yet. He quickly made it to his feet again, grinning just as stupidly as he always had.

Once again, he began running at me, his fist ablaze. But as he came closer, those flames suddenly exploded to become much bigger. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled as he swung his fist down at me once again, but at a much greater speed.

So he really thought this much more speed and these measly flames would make a difference? He was wrong. I'd fought Igneel, no flames burned hotter than his. So, of course, I easily caught Natsu's fist in my own hand and extinguished his flames with my Chaos magic. "You'll need to do much better than that to beat me, Dragneel." I told him and pushed him away roughly. Might as well teach the bastard something now we're at it.

Natsu skid back a little, looking at me with a confused expression as I stood here, completely lax. You could see he was 'thinking' about something and also that it didn't work out for him.

He gritted his teeth, giving up on trying to figure it out and charged at me again. This time, he ran all the way up close and swung his foot around, aiming for my shoulder or something. I quickly ducked under it, but when I was straightening my back again, a flaming fist came flying my way. I twisted my body around, so that fist narrowly flew by in front of me.

I glanced back at Natsu, who was now concentrating on the match, his idiotic grin all gone. About time he did that too.

I grabbed his arm, which was still flying by my face, and pulled him forward, making him stumble with the sudden forced movement. His stumbling made it much easier for me to plant a knee in his gut. He bent forward, just staring at the ground as he tried getting some air into his lungs.

I looked down at him as he looked nowhere but at the ground in front of him. "You know… You have to show me the strength you used in the battle against the Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth. If you don't, you don't stand a chance at even laying a single scratch on me." I told him.

Natsu just stayed silent and continued to wheeze in air. Wait…. He'd been doing that for way too long.. In a burst of movement, Natsu whipped up, looking right into my eyes, his chest all blown up from inhalation of air. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He yelled as a sea of flames flew out of his mouth and directly at my upper body.

The surprise attack forced me to take a few steps back, so I wouldn't lose my balance, but other than that, his attack didn't hurt too much. I did have some Fire magic in me after all.

Natsu's Roar finally ended, leaving me with a slightly scorched face. I looked directly at Natsu, who seemed surprised that his Roar hadn't done more. I sighed and pushed off the ground as fast as I could.

I encased my fist with my Chaos magic and shot it at his chest. This seemed to wake Natsu up, as he also set his fist on fire and retaliated by aiming for my face. I quickly bent my face backwards, avoiding his fist, but then felt another burning hand land a hit under my chin.

I grunted with the hit, but spun my body around and landed a roundhouse kick - with the added effect of Chaos magic - at his upper arm, sending him flying. Well… Not just any kind of flying though.. I'd apparently put a little much power into that, as he flew through three buildings.

I quickly set off after him, knowing he wouldn't be beaten by something like that. He'd made a nice hole through each of the buildings, which made it easy to get through. At the end of the direct line, I saw him continuing to fly backwards, with closed eyes as the rubble of the houses exploded around him. Was he unconscious? Nah, Natsu wasn't the type, who would just pass out like that.

And of course, right as I zoomed past another building and into the next, the pink-haired Dragon Slayer opened his eyes and looked directly at me, as I was slowly catching up to him. He suddenly flipped his body around and pushed off the next wall, making the wall crumble by the incredible force he'd used.

Now he shot right at me with a bullet and preparing a spell he'd used against Sting those two days ago too. "FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!" Fire began erupting all around him and swallowing him whole and making him look like a human rocket. He flew so fast and so suddenly towards me, I had no chance of stopping up or evading it when he rammed his head right into my stomach and as we both began flying back through all the holes he'd made.

He forced me right into another building, on the other side of the street we'd been walking on, which was apparently steadier than most and only began cracking a second after my back crashed into the wall. Right as I crashed into that wall, I could feel how it could become a little difficult to get up and stand again.

Of course, Natsu took advantage of that hesitation to stand freely landed a kick to my side, making me skid on the ground a little away from him, simultaneously creating a little distance between us.

I slowly tilted around, so I lay with my stomach on the ground, with my back to Natsu. I could hear him panting and grunting a little in pain. So flying through several houses _had_ taken its toll on him. I unsteadily got to my feet and turned around, facing Natsu.

It hadn't been so obvious before, but now it practically shone from him that he had taken quite the damage from crashing into all those walls. He was standing slightly hunched, with his arms hanging lifelessly from his torso and his feet legs trembling. I guess I'd forgotten he was a human for a second there. Or.. Well… Half human. At any rate, I'd overestimated his durability.

He wouldn't be able to take much more. This match… I could end it right now if I wanted.

Well, there was no sense in dragging this out, if that was the case, then. I barely felt any pain at all as I pushed off the ground and aimed a Chaos-enhanced fist at Natsu's head. It hit right where I had wanted it to, at his forehead.

Natsu kept eye-contact with me, even as my fist was on his forehead, then he slowly tilted backwards, like some kind of statue, and lay on the ground, completely motionless and beaten.

I shook the hand I'd hit his forehead with. That guy seriously had a hard forehead. Maybe it was his body's natural protection of the last few brain cells that guy owned. At any rate, I might as well have punched Metallicana in his Dragon form.

But he wasn't. He did seem pretty beat though, with only the whites showing in his eyes and an open mouth. Well… He probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

**Before Acnologia and Natsu's battle~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I could feel Sting and Natsu coming closer to us at a rapid pace and from each of their directions. I assumed they were following out scent, which would be carried with the wind. Well then, it was also about time Acnologia and I got something to do.

I gently squeezed my mate's hand and smiled at him, when he turned his head my way. "Seems out first matches are on the way." I told him, knowing his mind had been somewhere completely different. I was pretty sure he'd be thinking about how Raven Tail hadn't made a move yet. Which was suspicious.

He took a moment to feel the two's magical presences and nodded with a smile that lit his breathtakingly beautiful eyes up. "Yeah, it'll be fun beating their asses." He agreed with me.

I smiled and looked in the direction, where I knew Sting would be coming from. I couldn't name many men from Fairy Tail, who _didn't_ enjoy kicking some ass now and then.

Just as I finished that thought, Sting appeared in the distance, running at me with a big grin on his face. Ah, so it would be that kind of match. Friendly yet serious.

He stopped up in front of me, at talking-distance, and with a kind of excited, childish look on his face. "Lucy-san, do you think you can handle a Dragon Slayer?" He asked me proudly.

I grinned at him and gave him a nod. "Sure I can. I'll show you how strong a Celestial mage can be." I reassured him and bent my knees just a little.

He grinned, then jumped into the air in my direction. He pulled his arm back behind his head and as he began falling down towards me, he pushed that arm, with a bright fist, forward. When he came close enough, I evaded his attack by simply sidestepping, then I grabbed his wrist and forced him to continue down at the stone-paved ground head first.

Unfortunately, I hadn't thought of the fact that he might have had impossible reflexes and an arm free. But I found out when I saw him shoot that one, free hand forward and pushed off the ground, do a flip and landing on his feet behind me. "It won't be that easy, Lucy-san." He told me.

I smiled at him. "I didn't expect it to." I told him, then turned wholly around to face him. "Sting, what about making a bet?" I suggested. He looked at me with curiosity in his eyes and nodded for me to continue. "If I win, you will drop the 'san', okay?" I asked him.

He nodded with a grin. "Sure. What about if I win, Lucy-_san_?" He asked me, mocking me with it this time. I shrugged, giving him a free choice. He pondered on it for a second before he figured it out. "What about if I win, you tell me what kind of training you've been doing these last seven years?" He suggested.

I looked at him confused, but with a smile. "Why would you want to know that, Sting?" I asked him. He wasn't a Celestial mage, so what could he get out of it? Surely he didn't mean hand-to-hand combat?

He grinned at me with a knowing look in his eyes. "I know there's something about that training that you're not telling us." He told me, much to my surprise. I was so stunned by his words, I couldn't I couldn't even say or do anything.

Of course, he saw his chance to take me with my guard down and jumped at me again, fist lit up once again. As stated, I was not in any condition to put up any kind or form of defense, so he landed a clear hit on my shoulder. Only… He didn't put any force into it at all.

But his attack _did_ pull me out of my trance of shock. I smiled at him. "Listen, Sting. You'll have to do _much_ more than that if you want to know my secret." I told him, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…" He trailed off. "It just feels weird hitting a girl…" He trailed off again and glanced up at me, as if afraid he'd offended me.

I smiled at him and shook my head. "Don't worry about it, we don't break so easily." I reassured him and crouched once again, showing him I was ready to continue. He nodded and did the same as I burst forward. I lit my fist up with Celestial magic and flew right at Sting, where I landed a solid hit in his stomach, effectively pushing all the air out of his lungs. Before he got time to get the lost air back to his lungs, I planted a kick in his side, sending him flying into someone's house. He dented the wall deeply, then slid down, wheezing.

He got to his wobbly feet with some difficulty, it seemed, but got on the nonetheless and looked right at me with a serious expression. Maybe now the real right could begin?

I heard him sigh, for whatever reason, but after a second where he kept inhaling, I realized this wasn't a sigh. Ah, jeez, these Dragon Slayers. They really weren't very creative. Their first attack was almost always Roars.

And of course, Sting also released a torrent of Light magic at me soon after. "Light Dragon's Roar!" He chanted as the Light flew right at me. Instead of dodging I decided I'd try to block it with some magic o my own.

I stretched both arms out, palms facing the incoming Roar, and quickly sent Celestial magic through them. I copied the size and the swirling motion the Roar did and watched as my golden Celestial magic began twisting around itself, creating a fake Roar, which met the Light magic head on.

The two crashed into each other, making a beautiful show of light and gold sprinkle all around us, kind of like fireworks. The two magic battled for dominance, but in the end, the Celestial magic turned out stronger and quickly dominated the Light magic.

It began traveling towards Sting, swallowing up his entire Roar as it finally hit him square in the face. Sting stumbled back, confused with what had happened. The Celestial magic didn't hurt him much, after all, but it still overwhelmed his Roar. I was sure those were the kind of thoughts flying through his head at the moment.

He got to his feet again and looked at me. I was waiting patiently for him to take the initiative to start a battle again, but he didn't seem like he was about to move out of the spot. I reached down and touched one of my Zodiac keys.

In an instant, Loke appeared next to me. "Your knight in shining armor has appeared, Princess." He told me with a smile that would melt most girls' hearts. Keyword: most.

I smiled at him. "Hello Loke." I greeted him and nodded towards Sting. "I'm sure you remember Sting?" I asked him making him look at the teenager I was fighting.

Loke also looked at him, of course, but didn't seem to recognize him at first glance. Then his face lit up like Regulus itself. "Oh, right. He was the little blonde kid!" He said and snapped his fingers for extra emphasis.

Sting immediately got annoyed with Loke. "Look at me! I'm not a goddamn kid!" He yelled at the Lion Spirit, who just ignored him, standing with his back to the Dragon Slayer.

He looked right at me, having learned touching me would hurt, and with a bright smile. "So what do you need me for, Princess? Shall I shoo this noisy kid away for you?" He asked me and pushed his glasses up, letting the sun reflect in them.

I looked at him with a smile and nodded. "Yes, you could say that." I agreed, while Sting was exploding behind Loke. "My opponent is Sting, you see." I explained and gestured to Sting.

Sting looked at me with a surprised expression. "Really?" He asked me. I nodded and he turned around to see Sting stomping the ground like some kind of little boy. "Well, he hasn't matured much." He said and sweat dropped.

I sighed. "You brought this on yourself, Loke." I told him. He just grinned at me and leapt at Sting like a lion hunting its prey. Like I'd expected, the two quickly engaged in close combat, leaving me with the feeling of being left out.

So, I went behind Sting and gestured to Loke that I was prepared to deliver some to Sting, if he was sent to me. The Lion subtly nodded, so there was the least chance of Sting noticing and at the same time letting me know he'd be sending Sting towards me.

He pivoted on his foot and landed a perfect kick, digging his heel into the left side of Sting's body, sending him stumbling back towards me. But right as he reached me, he fell to his knees and began gasping in pain.

I looked at him in confusion and saw his face was twisted in pain. Much more than what I was taught such a kick would deal. I looked up at Loke with what I guessed was a bewildered face on the verge of panic. "Loke!" I called, but he was already running towards us. I gently picked Sting up and let him rest his head in my lap, stroking his hair, hoping it would somehow do some kind of good.

Loke kneeled down in front of me, looking down at Sting, while I looked at him with worry in my eyes. My Spirit gently touched the left side of Sting's stomach at some precise spots I knew nothing of, but quickly pulled his hand away, as if he'd burnt his it, when Sting gasped in pain.

The Lion looked at me with a little smile. "Don't worry, Princess, it isn't anything serious." He reassured me, as I sighed in relief, about to ask him what was going on then, when he explained himself. "I just hit his liver." He said as if that was normal.

I looked up at him with a furious expression. "And how's that not 'anything serious'?!" I growled at him. For Mavis' sake! He hit an organ!

Loke snickered. "It happens once in a while in street fights, Princess." He told me. I looked at him with an expression which surely told him I didn't give a damn what happened in street fights. He sighed, deciding to give me the rest of the explanation as well. "It will leave him in pain for a minute and then he won't be able to fight afterwards. That's it. He'll be fine, he can take much more than that. It's simply just a vulnerable spot for humans." He told me.

I looked down at Sting's face, which still looked really pained. Well, even though you were a Dragon Slayer, you also had your vulnerable spots, huh? Loke waved goodbye and quickly returned to the Spirit World, saying there was nothing to do but wait. Unless I wanted to call out Alae. But I would feel stupid calling her out for something that would fade quickly again anyway, so instead I just sat there on the ground with Sting's head in my lap.

Without thinking much of it, I kept running my fingers through Sting's silky hair. It almost felt like Acnologia's, actually. Was it just a thing for people with spiky hair? To have it silky like that, even though it spiked out in every direction?

But, I'd forgotten my beloved mate was fighting right behind me. And would probably be done with his own match by now. "Just what the hell are you doing?!" He snarled behind me.

I looked back at him, thinking that snarl was directed at me, when I saw he was actually glaring at Sting, whose face didn't look as pained anymore. I shushed the Chaos Dragon. "Don't Acnologia, I was the one who let him rest here." I told him. He looked at me with a face that asked me why the hell I would be doing that. I sighed and looked at Sting, running my fingers through his hair again, which made my mate growl once again. Amazingly enough, Acnologia actually held himself back, waiting for my explanation. "You don't have to worry, he and Rogue are like brothers to me. Just like how Basuril is to you." I explained.

As I had anticipated, that got him to calm down instantaneously. He sighed, the growling stopping, and kneeled down on the ground where Loke had just before and looked at Sting just like I was. "What happened here, why's he wearing that pained expression?" He asked me, much more calm than I'd thought he'd be. Maybe if I called Sting my brother, Acnologia didn't have to worry about his usual possessiveness towards Sting. And Rogue too. I would have to explore that.

I looked up at him. "Loke hit a vulnerable spot at his left side with a kick. Apparently it went straight in and hit his liver." I explained.

Acnologia grunted. "Okay…" He trailed off and looked up at me. "So?" He asked. "Why aren't we leaving here? He's gonna be alright in a minute or so. He won't be able to battle anymore though." He told me. "You've won. Come on, we need to find Raven Tail." He told me.

I glared halfheartedly at him. "I can't and won't just do that, Acnologia." I told him and stopped my fingers from entangling with Sting's hair. "Rangi taught me otherwise." I reminded him, using Grandine's last name as her name.

Sting grunted in dissatisfaction. "No, don't stop." He told me, his sky blue eyes cracking open just a little to look up at me.

"Sting!" I exclaimed, about to hug him, but stopping myself before I got to hurting the guy. Instead I began stroking is hair once again. It was funny, that simple action also made Natsu feel better when we were on the train sometimes. "Are you okay?" I asked him quickly.

He nodded with only a fraction of his usual grin. "Yeah, I'm fine." He reassured me. I would bet everything that was his pride getting in the way, right there in that moment. "So should I call you Lucy-nee now?" He asked me after a moment of silence.

I began laughing and was about to reply, when our conversation was cut off suddenly. "I'd really _hate_ to interrupt this lovely moment of yours-" A familiar voice told us mockingly. "But yours truly has appeared!" He added on.

I looked up at the person standing in front of us with a scowl. How hadn't we felt him coming closer? And he had that weird, tall one with the little thing on his shoulder with him too. My mate began growling and got up to his feet, standing in front of Sting and I. "Shi." He simply stated.

Shi smirked widely and spread his arms out wide. "Correct!"

**Ohooooooo! Cliffy~! Yeah, yeah, I know I make a lot of them and all, but I'm training my cliffhanger-skills. Am I getting good? **

**Anyway, I did some research on kicks today. I was looking for some kind of flying kick on YouTube, when I got sidetracked and got tips on street-fighting, decided to try a kick and failed miserably XD Anyway, the kick Loke made and the thing with hitting the liver is very much possible and it is an instant KO in a street-fight, remember that, guys! Could be good information someday. So yeah, I'm gonna get inspiration from that channel I guess. **

**Please give me some praise too! I got two fights written in **_**one**_** chapter! WOOOOOOO! **

**Okay, points and remaining members all put together here:**

**Fairy Tail B: 66 (Lucy, Acnologia, Gajeel, Laxus, Juvia)  
Raven Tail: 52 (Shi, Kurohebi, Nullpudding, Obra, Corona)  
Sabertooth: 47 (Rogue, Minerva)  
Mermaid Heel: 44 (Kagura)  
Fairy Tail A: 34 (Erza, Wendy, Gray)  
Blue Pegasus: 34  
Lamia Scale: 26 (Jura, Chelia, Lyon)  
Quatro Puppy: 15**

**So yeah, I don't know what happened to Lamia Scale in my GMG here, they don't really get any points… Well, whatever XD**

**Wonder what'll happen next chaper~! I'm being mean, aren't I?**

**Thank you ExDragon, Aira0906, Nicole (Guest), Yodlehima (Guest), StrongGuy159, booklover21567, animeotakulova (Guest), ZoraPheobaVanessa, exdude122, All-american rejects, 14Fairy14 (Guest), ANG3LB00M, Acnologia Prime, Amanda (Guest), Nightfury-Helixia, Bumblebeemymt, Kea (Guest), Theamazingbluesnake, Guest, mjb379, Konan15, HawkVT, Myth Magyk Fae, darknatsu-anbu, Kisa Tora, Kaynoka (Guest) and all you other people for everything!**

**~Line464d**


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

**So, some things'll be revealed today. Raven Tail's plans and such. What it all is about, basically. I think you'll like it. But it probably won't be as action-packed as some chapter have been lately**

**And during my school trip to Spain, which I believe I forgot to mention it was, I learned something interesting. Which I might have been slow to figure out, who knows? Anyway: in Spanish, 'rain' is spelled 'lluvia'. Now, two 'L's makes an 'lj' sound, which can sound pretty much like just a 'J'. And our favorite RAIN woman's name is 'Juvia'. Interesting, no?**

**Thank you Desolation Death for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is working so hard with his beyond awesome manga, that he simply doesn't have time to listen to a no one like me. Which is why he keeps Fairy Tail to himself. **

**With Acnologia, Lucy and Sting (And a passed out Natsu)~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

That bastard. Of course he would show up in the middle of something like this, so if we go and battle, we'd have to worry about keeping those two idiots safe too. For Mavis' sake.

And he stood there proudly with his arms spread out as if he was the king of the universe or something. With a big, annoying smirk on his face. And right about now would be the time they revealed their big plans. The fifth day of the Grand Magic Games, of course it would be today. Those idiots wanted to make this big.

Shi grinned at all of us expectantly, as if waiting for us to do something, then sighed, still wearing that grin. "Honestly, you're so boring, Acnologia." He stated and looked up at me again with blue shimmering in his eyes. "I bet you also figured out what we're here for." He said.

I simply continued glaring at him, grunting was the only answer he got from me. But from the corner of my eye, I could see Lucy carefully put Sting's head on the ground and move to stand next to me. She sent him a just as ferocious glare, that of which only Dragons could manage. "We won't let you." She simply stated.

Shi grinned at Lucy. "See, you're more fun, Princess." He told her, making me growl loudly and hold an arm out between him and Lucy, as a kind of barrier, which also pushed Lucy a little behind me. I knew she hated this kind of thing, but I really couldn't help it, not with this goddamn guy. Shi sighed again and gestured to where my arm hovered protectively in front of Lucy. "_That_ is exactly what I mean." He told me, amusement written all over his face.

I growled exasperatedly at him. "What do you want, _Raven_?" I asked him, not at all intending to use his name again. Now he would have to earn it.

He just gave me a smirk, which he then proceeded to give to Lucy. "I think it's about time you wise hawks reveal you talons, don't you?" He asked us with that all knowing smirk of his.

I just stared at him in silence. Those were the words Lucy had used after our battle, when he had supposedly left. He'd just twisted them around. But how could he have heard them? He was gone when she said it.

Lucy grabbed my arm and pulled it a little down, glaring fiercely at Shi. "Don't you dare. Not like this." She snarled at him. I realized that what he aimed to do here, was to get us to reveal out secret, that we were actually Dragons. And right here, on the Lacrima screens, with Sting and probably most of Fiore listening and looking. That was not going to happen.

Shi faked a pout to my mate. "But I'm just doing what I'm told." He said in a childish manner. He quickly stopped it, probably figuring out that it in no way fitted him at all. Instead, he continued to smirk. "It is important that you reveal that secret one way or another. If you don't, our plans cannot be completed." He told us.

I growled at him. "We've said it before haven't we?" I asked him. "We don't intend on helping you out with your plans! You can't make us." I repeated what I'd already told him. They didn't have any way to force us to help them with their plans.

Shi turned his gaze to me, his smile faltering a bit and his eyes turning a shade of greenish blue. "I figured you'd say that, Acnologia." He sighed. He blinked once, and then his eyes were back to being blue again and his smirk was on full force. "But you see, you don't really have a choice in the matter." He told us and gestured to Obra, who had been standing motionlessly next to him, just watching our exchange. "Obra here owns quite some special magic actually." He said and looked at both of us, maybe to make sure we were following what he was saying. "He can bring out the 'true nature' of people." He explained.

'True nature'? Did that mean he could force us to transform to out Dragon selves? I looked at the weird guy. He didn't look like he was anything special, I could easily take him out if I wanted to.

Shi looked at the two of us. "That means that for Take Over mages, for example, they will go back to being humans instead of whatever they take over, if this magic comes in contact with them." He explained and looked alternately at the two of us, before speaking again. "But you two on the other hand. You won't be human if it touches you, because being a human is not your true nature." He explained and looked at Obra. "You can start now, Obra." He told him, with green eyes.

Obra nodded silently, and suddenly invisible waves of magic came out from him. They were powerful and came in hard blows faster and faster out of him. I began feeling my muscles and bones change without me having given them the command to. And it hurt. Not just a little, it really hurt like hell. It progressed in slow motion, letting us feel every single crack of out bones changing, which didn't hurt at all normally.

I closed my eyes and felt my magic surround me and hide me from view, which gave me the perfect opportunity to fall on my knees, throwing my changing arms around myself while I soundlessly endured the pain.

I faintly heard someone leaving. "Well, I'll be taking my leave now, I have places to be." Shi's voice cut through the fog of pain surrounding my head and mind. "But not to worry, these waves reach around all of Crocus, so your friends will be by your side. Also, you won't be bored, we have a few of your kind to assist us." He said and then continued to walk away.

**Back at the GMG arena~ **

**Metallicana's P.O.V**

What the hell?! Who was that bastard to walk around revealing secrets all over the place and then just disappearing afterwards? And why in the hell were those two just succumbing to that bastard's sidekick's magic like that?! I had taught them better than that! And why the hell did these humans need to be so frigging loud?!

Tch, even if his disgusting magic reached all around Crocus, they still hadn't reached me yet. And when it did, I wouldn't just let it change me like that.

Well, that was what I thought, when it suddenly felt like I was being pushed forcefully from behind, but not enough to push me off the seat. Weirdly enough, it sent a wave of extreme pain throughout my body. I looked back at whoever was sitting behind me with a glare. I already knew it was that Fire Idiot, it was just like him. And the damn pain continued. Just what the hell had he done to me?!

But when I saw his face, which was twisted in pain, I realized that this was the magic that Obra-dude made. Suddenly, I understood why Lucy and Acnologia couldn't stand against it. This magic was forceful and wasn't about to give in anytime soon. There was no way to resist it.

Suddenly, another wave of that magic hit us all. Like the first, it sent another surge of pain through all of us, some of the ladies even moaned as they endured it.

The old Earth Dragon sitting right next to me barely even managed to give us our orders. "We have to… Get away… From… The humans…" She said with pain all too obvious in her voice. She was getting old, this could only be even more painful for her, than for the rest of us.

And she most likely didn't have the strength to jump down to the middle of that arena. I was the first to react on her words, grabbing the collar of her shirt and jumping down in the arena, which had been repaired somehow. I placed the old lady next to me, just as another wave hit us.

I felt my Iron magic pour out of me and heard the crowd's confused rambling as well as the other Dragons landing in the arena all around us. I couldn't see anything through my Iron magic, but I couldn't help wonder if this arena really was big enough for all of us. Grandine and Silvia stayed back with Kurama, Grandine to take care of the guy and Silvia because she'd been looking a little weak herself, so that was three out of the count. Lucy and Acnologia were somewhere else, so that was yet another two out of the count. That left us with 9 Head Dragons and four other Dragons. 13. In this little place? Nah, there was no way.

I grunted when another magical wave rammed into me, falling to my knees and feeling everything in me changing at a way too slow rate. Usually this took, what, two seconds? One minute had already passed now, and I was still more human than Dragon.

The next wave sent me into a growth-spurt, where I grew to the size of my Dragon form, but still with a considerably human structure. I realized the time between a wave and another were getting shorter and shorter quickly, when another wave washed over me. This time it was my body's structure, which was the one being assaulted. Now I was a Dragon with human skin, no wings, tail or claws. That could only have been ugly, to be all honest. And hurt like a bitch, I literally couldn't hold in the roar that forced its way out of my mouth. The pain rung so sharply in my ears, I couldn't hear anything but my own ragged breathing.

With the next waves, my clothes were exchanged for the metallic scales I loved so much and with the last few, my wings, tail and claws also appeared.

All in all, that was the kind of torture I never wanted to go through again. But finally, after an eternity of suffering, there was only the lingering pain and then the freeing feeling of being in my Dragon form. And not only that, whatever that guy had done, it also got the magic in me running wild. Not that I really minded myself, but if the other Heads also had their magic running wild, all the mages around here would pass out from its weight.

I looked around me to see and feel that that actually was the case. I glanced up at the stand, where all of Fairy Tail stood. Or… Well… Had been standing. They were all passed out from the enormous pressure we Dragons gave off. The only ones still awake were the ones without magic. But they seemed like they could pass out from shock instead.

"**Tch**." I grunted dissatisfiedly and looked at the cameras, which showed that all the mages indeed had passed out. It was only harder on them, since they were also beaten beforehand. I guessed that our enormous magical pressure stretched out all over this city.

"**Everyone.**" Dravola called out to us, making us look at her, waiting for orders. She really naturally took the leading role when we were all gathered, it was funny if you thought about it. "**We need someone to get out to Lucy and Acnologia and assist them any way they can. We also need someone to chase after Shi Kōhai. And then we need some of you to take care of all these humans, so they won't get hurt in whatever is going to happen now.**" She said and looked around at all of us, making sure we were listening to what she was saying. "**I want Skyadrum, Weisslogia, Deamunas and 464 to hunt Shi down. Follow Skyadrum and 464's lead, they know what to do. I want Sacheba, Simakan and Amelane to help me get these human mages scattered around town in a safe place. You will all gather them here and keep them safe. Then I want Metallicana, Igneel, Glanasile and Alodiculis to find Acnologia and Lucy and hear what the situation is like right now, Shi told them something in the end that the Lacrima couldn't catch.**" She told us.

I looked at her with a grin. That was good old Dravola for you, she always thought of everything. It was many Dragons to find one human, but there was something that told me something was wrong with that guy. I was just glad I was put in the group that would surely run into several battles. She couldn't have chosen better. It was funny how she always made it seem like we were on some kind of secret mission, though.

The old Earth Dragon turned her head to the last, little Chaos Dragon. "**Basuril.**" She called out to him. The kid whipped around and looked up at Dravola with wide eyes, probably confused with what the Earth Dragon could possibly want from him. "**I want you to fly back to Grandine and Silvia as fast as you can and bring those two as well as Kurama here. I believe they were just out of the Raven's reach. That way we can protect Kurama and Grandine can heal all these humans and mages, so they wake up and can be told of the situation.**" She told him.

Basuril nodded and took off as quickly as he could towards where we stayed. That guy could seriously fly fast. He wasn't big of his age, but that only made that speed all the more great. And I didn't even know how he handled his magic either, he always stayed a bit back and let the big guys do the dirty work. Maybe he was smarter than he looked.

I returned to the conversation, where Dravola once again was about to speak to all of us. "**The time has come for us Dragons to be reintroduced to Earthland. It is too late to go back now. All of Fiore is watching this at home on their Lacrima televisions.**" She told us, looking around. Hm.. It'd been a while since I lived here… "**But as it would seem, the human bodies have completely forgotten how our magical pressures felt, alas they passed out. You will be careful from today not to let out too much magic, especially when in Dragon form, around the mages.**" She told us and indirectly told us there was nothing to do today.

When she waved off, I couldn't help grinning, looking forward to kicking some ass, whichever kind it was. I took off from the arena, followed by the Fire Idiot, the Blizzard and Alodiculis, to find the Squirt and the Brat.

**With Simakan~**

**Simakan's P.O.V**

Honestly. Why did I have to do this? It was such a drag. This whole ordeal probably had nothing to do with me anyway, I might as well just lie down and sleep right next to Kurama, it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

But, as usual, whatever Dravola said was law, so whether I liked it or not - which I didn't - I had to do it. Jeez, picking these unconscious humans up all over the place. Why couldn't they just stay awake? Yeah, sure, my magic was rolling off of me right now and I knew it did with all the other Dragons too, but even so, these humans were weak.

I'd heard time and time again about how the humans back when the 'Great War', or whatever I should call it, went on easily could fight it out, even when two Head Dragons fought with full power right next to them. Times sure had changed since then. But I guess it was about time that was changed. It would have to be, anyway.

I looked down, suddenly getting the feeling I'd reached my destination, and of course I had. I descended, so I flew in level with the big cathedral-like building in front of me.

I looked inside, where two black-haired guys lay. I breathed out exasperatedly. If I _had_ to pick up humans, why couldn't it be some pretty ladies instead? This was such a disappointment. And one of them was especially ugly, with studs all over his face, which looked frighteningly much like Metallicana's.

I grunted. That was obviously Metallicana's son. I looked at the other one. But who the heck was this idiot then? Probably just some random guy.

I tried to figure out a way to get them up on my back. The place was already trashed by these two, they'd really been going at it. But it also seemed they had been stopped in the middle of it all.

But the damage the two of them had done to this place, made it easy for me to just stick my tail in between the columns and pick them up one at a time and place them on my back. It felt weird. Wrapping my tail around something like a human and making sure not to crush it in the meantime. I hadn't even picked Lucy up back when she still didn't have her Dragon form.

I awkwardly got my tail wiggled under the first of them, the one with the shortest hair, and carefully curled my tail around him the way I remembered seeing Acnologia do it to Lucy. How could that guy stand doing this so much? They were so fragile just squeezing them a little would break every bone in their bodies.

With much difficulty, I managed to bring the guy above my back, but still in my tail. Now I had to figure out how to place him on my back without him sliding off or something.

It was a drag, but after several tries, I managed to place him in a way that made sure he wouldn't fall off. Just like I did the first, I also got my tail under and around the other one and put him on my back so he lay in a similar way as the first.

Great. Now all I had to do was bring them back to the arena, then I'd be done. I slowly ascended higher up again, being careful not to drop these two humans, before I began flying forward again. Of course I didn't fly as fast as I could, but I didn't fly so slow it was a bother either.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the GMG-building. Dravola was already down there, talking with Amelane, both having been out collecting humans, judging by the limp bodies hanging over their backs. Dravola was carrying two small girls and Amelane two guys and a blue-haired girl.

The part of the crowd that was still awake, the part without any magic, was just standing by silently, as if afraid that if they twitched just a single muscle, the two Dragons would dispose of them instantly.

I landed on the ground a little behind them, listening in on the last of their conversation. "**… How many are there left?**" Amelane asked the Earth Dragon.

Dravola furrowed her eyebrows and looked straight at Amelane as she thought. "**With five here..**" She trailed off as she counted in her head. "**That's 27 still yet to be picked up and gotten here.**" Dravola told Amelane.

Why did they have to be so many? I sighed and trudged towards the two, amazed they hadn't noticed me yet. "**25 to be more accurate.**" I told them, drawing their attention to me.

Amelane smiled at me and nodded. "**You actually went and got two? Good job Simakan!**" She told me cheerfully.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "**I would appreciate it if you stopped patronizing me.**" I told her as I came to a stop next to them. Amelane just giggled with a smile.

I sighed and grabbed the closer of the two on my back with my tail and getting ready to put them on the ground so I could go get the rest of them and get myself some sleep, when I was stopped by Dravola. "**Simakan.**" She simply said, making me look up at her from what I was doing. "**You can't just put them on the ground.**" She told me.

I looked at her questioningly. "**Then what am I supposed to do with them? Carry them around until Grandine arrives here?**" I asked her sarcastically.

Amelane just continued smiling. "**Káo (no), we'll get them up to the other humans.**" She said enthusiastically. While I looked at her with what would have been two raised eyebrows, she turned around and beamed at the statues once called humans. "**You'll help, right?**" She asked them sweetly.

Every human in the direction she was looking began sweating bullets and nodded a forced nod. Dravola sighed and walked closer to them slowly, knowing that they were more than frightened of us. When she stood with her side to one of the outer walls, she reached behind her with her head, carefully picking one of the girls up with her mouth, latching onto her clothes.

She gently lifted the girl up, making sure her clothes didn't tear off and not to accidentally bite her. She lifted her head over the edge, once again making sure the girl didn't hit the stone wall. She stopped her head and looked down at the humans, who weren't moving an inch to try to help out, paralyzed with fear.

Dravola sighed and looked straight at one human, gesturing with her wing for him to come closer. He quickly obeyed, looking right into her green eyes. The Earth Dragon slowly lowered the kid down into the arms of the human. He gently held the unconscious girl, looking up at Dravola with a wary and confused face. Well, that was a step forward, he wasn't afraid, as it would seem.

Dravola and that guy held eye contact for a second longer, before the guy decided to trust the Dragon for now, turning around and telling the other two humans next to his seat to move a little, so the little girl could lie down on the seats. The two quickly obliged and moved, helping the first guy to get Wendy down on the seat.

Dravola turned to Amelane and me and gestured for us to do the same thing she had just done. I grunted and moved to the closest wall, where the humans there were looking at me with frightened eyes. Yet not as much as they had been before. I guess I didn't have an as cute face as those two girls.

I did as the Earth Dragon, stood with my side to the wall, and grabbed the biggest guy's clothes carefully, as to not tear it, and carefully lifted him. I stretched my neck out and moved my head in over the stone wall. Three men, seeing that this one was a bit bigger than the girls being handed over on the other side, got to their feet as the first and stood right under my head, ready to take this human.

I slowly lowered my head as much as I could, making sure the humans actually had a good grip on the guy before letting go and pulling back as the humans took care of getting him to lie down on the seat.

While I dove down to get the other one as well, I could hear the muttering of the humans. "Wooahh… He looks so scary." Some little girl said, as what I guessed was her mother shushed her, telling her she was being rude.

I pulled the next guy up and over the wall, where many humans were now waiting, despite this one being easier than the other. After coming over the shock of the sudden crowd of humans, I carefully let the guy over to the humans, watching as they eagerly wanted to help.

I watched as the masses of humans helped transport the guy over to the row behind the one where the first guy lay. Well, that was a change of attitude I liked. They cooperated so well just as soon as they got used to us, it would seem.

My thoughts were broken by the voice of the little girl from before. "Mr. Dragon!" She yelled at me. I looked down, meeting her radiating beam and gleaming eyes. "Can I pleeease fly with you?!" She asked me eagerly and happily.

I widened my eyes and just stared at the little girl in shock. I had never expected them to become _so_ friendly with me. Was it because this one was a kid?

While I just stared speechlessly at the little girl, her mother came from behind and looked at the girl with an angry expression, sending me wary glances when she thought I didn't notice. "Lily! Don't bother the Dragon!" She scolded the little girl, whose eyes began brimming with tears. It reminded me of when Lucy was crying back in Hargeon… The lady looked up at me with a little bit wary, but mainly apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry." She told me quickly.

I shook my head. "**It's alright.**" I told her and looked at the little girl. Those big, wet eyes.. Well, basically they had the same effect as Basuril. I stuck my head a little closer, making sure not to frighten her. "**Do you really want to fly with me?**" I asked the little girl, Lily, apparently.

Lily's tearful eyes looked right into mine for a second, then she began beaming at maximum volume again. Seriously, that kid's face was like a sun. "Yes, yes, yes!" She said happily, running to hug my way too big snout. She looked back at her mother. "Can I, can I, can I?!" She asked her mother hopefully.

The mother looked alternately at me and her daughter, debating whether to do it or not. Then she hesitantly nodded, her gaze ending at me. "Please be careful." She told me, worry shining in her eyes.

I knew I shouldn't attempt to smile, it just didn't work for me, so I nodded with the most relaxed face I could. "**Of course.**" I reassured her and looked at the little girl in front of me. "**Are you sure you're ready?**" I asked her. "**Just so you know, I'll get you back here if you pee your pants.**" I told her in a joking manner. Although, I really would.

The girl laughed at me and nodded. "Yes! I'm ready!" She said excitedly, jumping a little up and down. I nodded and gently picked her up by the collar as gently as Dragonly possible. She squealed when I moved her to my back.

When I felt her feet flat on my back, I slowly opened my mouth, letting her stand on her own. "**Just crawl all the way up to my neck and grab a pair of scales to hold on to.**" I instructed the girl. She immediately began running up my back, not at all fearing she would fall off - contradictory to what I felt - and placed herself with a leg hanging down from either side of my neck, grabbing a pair of scales.

While she squealed like a fangirl, I began walking out to the middle of the field, so I could take off and go look for unconscious humans. Well, that was until Amelane interrupted me. "**Oh? So you **_**do**_** have a soft side, huh Simakan?**" She teased me.

I glared back at her and grunted. "**Oh, shut up.**" I growled at her and looked back at Lily with a softer expression. I hoped. "**Hold on tight.**" I told her as I spread my wings and with careful flaps of my wings got into the air, flying off to find these humans. With a little girl on my back.

I prayed to Mavis that Water Dragon wouldn't tell anyone about this.

Glanasile passed by me in a hurry, also with two unconscious humans on his back. I looked confused back at him. Wasn't he supposed to be with Lucy and Acnologia?

**With Basuril~**

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I hurried off towards where I knew Grandine and the two other Dragons were. The city quickly passed by under me and it didn't take long before I could actually see the three Dragons. Although they were in Human forms.

I gave it a last sprint, reaching them in an instant, and stopped myself by digging my feet into the ground. Grandine looked at me with a surprised expression. "Basuril? What are you doing here?" She asked me confusedly and got to her feet.

I looked at her with a determined expression. "**Grandine, we need to hurry to Crocus. I'll explain on the way.**" I told her hurriedly. I glanced at the two people behind her, Silvia now sitting up and looking at me with a blank face. "**Those two will probably need to come with us too.**" I told her.

Silvia got to her feet, shaking her head. "I'll fly over there myself." Silvia told us, looking alternately at Grandine and me. "I get the feeling this is quite important, bringing a third person would just slow you down." She argued.

Grandine turned and looked at Silvia with worry shining in her eyes. "Are you sure, Silvia? Do you feel up for it?" She asked the Peace Dragon. I looked at Silvia. She really looked tired, with dark bags under her eyes.

Silvia nodded. "I'll just ask around when I get there." She told us. Without giving us the chance to say any more, she let her silver magic surround her and transform her to a Dragon. She quickly took off towards Crocus.

Grandine watched as the silver Dragon flew away, while I made my way to my uncle. I looked down at his sleeping face. He looked much better than he had back when Lucy, Acnologia and the other only just brought him back, but still a little thin.

I turned to Grandine. "**Grandine, will you help me get him up?**" I asked the Sky Dragon, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts, watching Silvia.

She jolted at my voice, looked at me and then nodded. "Yes, of course." She said and together we quickly managed to get Kurama up on my back. "I'll turn into my Dragon form and then-" She began, before being cut off.

I shook my head. "**No.**" I told her firmly, feeling weird going against what a Head Dragon was saying. "**It'll be faster if I fly with both of you.**" I told her, looking into her eyes determinedly. That was what Dravola indirectly had told me back there. If there was any Dragon I didn't want to disobey, it was that Earth Dragon.

Grandine, probably realizing it was orders from Dravola, nodded her head and crawled up on my back, right behind the unconscious Kurama. She gently patted my side, telling me she was ready for takeoff. So of course I quickly followed Silvia into the air.

When we had flown a little, Grandine finally decided to speak. "So what is going on, Basuril?" She asked me as I shot through the air as fast as I dared with the extra passengers.

I glanced back at her from the corner of my eye. "**Basically, someone from Raven Tail had magic, which forced out Dragon forms out. Be happy you guys weren't within the radius of that magic, by the way.**" I explained and looked forward again. "**But not only that, it also made our magic run wild, which I'm sure you have noticed by now.**" I told her. "**Apparently all the mages couldn't handle the enormous magical pressure dropped on them and they all passed out.**" I explained to her.

She sighed. "I see. So I am going to heal all these humans, so they will wake up, right?" She asked me, having already figured out what was going on. I expected nothing less from the Head of the Sky Clan.

I nodded, focusing on getting to the arena. "**Ae (yes), that was Dravola's plan.**" I said and looked back at her again. "**We don't know much more, but for now we're gathering all these mages at the arena. You'll have to get the rest from Dravola herself.**" I told her and once again looked at the now rapidly approaching arena, which Glanasile was flying away from as fast as he could.

I didn't take the time to wonder what that could mean as I quickly landed in the middle of it all, drawing a lot of attention. Grandine quickly jumped down and went over to Dravola, the two beginning to talk about what was going on.

I began looking around, wondering what I should be doing with Kurama, when Amelane called out to me. "**Basuril! Come over here, I'll help you.**" She told me and I quickly made my way towards her, wondering what she had in mind. When I stood in front of her, she gestured for me to turn around, so I did. She looked up at the humans, who were looking down from the stone walls. "**Okay, this is the last one.** **Please be gentle with him**." She told them, making me wonder what had happened while I was getting Grandine.

The humans nodded eagerly. Well… The men anyway. "Yes, Amelane-chan!" The males said in unison, while Amelane basked in their attention. I just sweat dropped and watched as Amelane stuck her head down to Kurama and grabbed him by the back of his shirt with her teeth.

I watched in amazement as the cooperation between the Water Dragon and the humans unfolded right before my eyes. I though these guys were afraid of us?

Dravola told all of us to step out to the sides, so Grandine would have some space. The Sky Dragon was now in her Dragon form, standing with her eyes closed and focusing on her magic, as it would seem. I could feel how her magic was building in her, getting stronger and stronger with each passing second.

"Amelane-chan?" One of the humans behind us asked. We both turned out heads and looked at the guy hanging over the edge. "What is that Dragon doing?" He asked her.

Amelane smiled at him and looked at Grandine. "**That is the strongest Sky Dragon alive. She has the same magic as Wendy Marvell of Fairy Tail, both of them with the extra ability to heal people**." Amelane explained to the human and looked back up at him again. "**She's attempting to send her healing magic out to all the mages here at the stadium at once.**" She added, looking back at her friend again as she worked her magic.

Grandine stood completely motionless for a few second longer, as he magic just continued flying up. I widened my eyes when I felt it spike at its highest. So… This was the power of Head Dragons? I had never felt anything like this before, it even claimed victorious over all the Head Dragons present. It was amazing, to say it mildly.

In a quick movement, Grandine spread her feathery wings out as she sent a powerful wave of healing magic out of her. It literally pushed the wind with it, maybe she just unconsciously added that to the mix.

Opposite of what it had with the Raven guy, the waves came faster and faster out of Grandine as she spread her wings to their fullest and looked upwards into the sky, even though she still had closed eyes. How that helped her, I wouldn't ever find out.

But instead of those horrible waves we'd just felt from the Raven, Grandine's were quite comfortable and nice. The kind you actually couldn't get enough of.

Gradually, the mages woke up all around, I could hear it with their groggy "Where am I"s. The humans quickly replied to them and helped them to their feet, so they could see down, only to almost faint again.

Suddenly, the powerful waves Grandine had been sending dulled and in the end stopped completely as the Sky Dragon fell to her knees, having overexerted herself. I quickly rushed to Grandine. "**You don't have to do any more, Grandine! They're all awake!**" I reassured her, looking to see if they all really were awake. Of course, they were. I expected nothing less from the Sky Dragon.

"M-mom?" A tiny voice I'd come to know and love broke through the many human voices either cheering or being worried for Grandine. Wait… What? Love? Right, as a friend, yeah. What was I thinking of?

Grandine's head whipped up, following the sound of the voice. "Wendy.." She muttered, as if she didn't actually believe it herself.

A little thump was heard on the other side of the arena and then running footsteps. "MOM!" Wendy yelled loudly, tears streaming down her face as she caught Grandine with a hug around the Dragon's snout.

I saw from the corner of my eye Grandine also let a tear slip from her eyes. "**Wendy**." She said and looked at her daughter. "**You've become such a beautiful girl.**" She told the girl. I slowly edged away, feeling like I was intruding in their special moment.

"**Mages of Fiore.**" Dravola's voice rang out loud and clear. "**Due to certain circumstances, our identty has been revealed.**" She continued, drawing everyone's attention. "**We are in need of your help, for the sake of saving out fellow Dragons and guild mates, Lucy and Acnologia.**" She said. What? Their help? For what? But I decided against asking, it would definitely be revealed. Besides, my voice couldn't cut through the raging voices of the many guilds, who were surprised by this new info. "**Please listen to what I have to say…**" Dravola began explaining the current events and some of what lead up to it.

**With Lucy and Acnologia~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The torture of being forced to change forms over the duration of so long was horrible. Not Second Origin-horrible, but not too far from it either. The only thing that filled my mind was that indescribable pain, which blocked all of my senses. I could only hear myself, my pained panting and the whimpers that escaped me.

While I changed forms, I suddenly remembered Sting was right behind us. And so was Natsu. If we weren't careful, we would step on them and… Well that'd be the end. I shook my head, which was now draconic rather than human. I knew from experience that the tail was the last things to grow, but that was what I needed before I had fully changed into a Dragon.

So as I was a gigantic human gradually changing into a Dragon, which would smash the Dragon Slayers completely, I willed my tail to grow out before it was actually time. And it did, it grew out at my command. But it hurt. It hurt so much, I had to roar it out in order to be able to stand it. And that was exactly what I did.

The searing pain I felt going up all of my back, I had never felt a pain quite like it before. It more than rivaled Second Origin, it was basically the same as it, but in a different way. But I didn't stop. Even though it hurt the more I forced the tail out, I knew I couldn't stop if I wanted to save the guy I had only just dubbed as my brother and one of Fairy Tail's favorite members. One of my family. There was no way around it, I had to grow that tail in order to save them.

In one last push, the tail grew out in full length, with scales too. I quickly moved down to pick Sting up, even though it felt a little off to use my tail, I easily found him just behind what was gradually changing to my hind leg. It was only in the nick of time I managed to get him away from there, but I did pick him up with my tail as gently as I could.

I knew my tail also would be long enough to reach Natsu too, so I quickly, although uncomfortably, reached my tail out to where I remembered seeing Natsu lying. When I found him, I put Sting down next to him and proceeded to pick them both up again.

When I had both of them in the hold of my tail, I had already transformed fully to a Dragon. I moved my tail back, so I could place the both of them on my back, but cringed halfway, closing my eyes in an attempt to endure the pain shooting from my back and rump, all the way out to the tip of my tail. This pain probably wouldn't disappear before I went back to my Human form again, which most likely wouldn't be anytime soon.

I ignored the pain to the best of my ability, gently placing Sting and Natsu on my back and then letting my tail fall back limply to the ground as the Peace magic around me disappeared.

I looked around at where Shi had been just moment go. Of course, he was now gone now. But apparently, in his stead, the remaining three of Raven Tail had appeared. Surprisingly, they hadn't passed out just as Sting had.

They should have. Their human bodies shouldn't at all be able to stay awake with the pressure of my and Acnologia's magic running wild, they should be lying on the ground unconsciously. Just like how I could feel everyone else, who had participated in the Games, were.

When the four tried attacking, Acnologia simply smashed them into the nearest walls with a single sweep of his tail. Then he began sniffing the air, his head whipping to me. "**Lucy! Where are you bleeding?!**" He asked me, his eyes looking like they were going into panic.

I looked at him a confused expression. "**Bleeding?**" I asked him confusedly. I wasn't bleeding anywhere. Not that I knew of, anyway. "**I'm not bleeding.**" I reassured him. Acnologia ignored my words and followed whatever he could smell. He went back to stand a little behind me, staring at my rump. **"Listen, if it was just an excuse to look at my butt-**" I started, but was cut off.

Acnologia looked at me with worry in his eyes, yet understanding and love in them too. "**You forced your tail out for those two, right?**" He asked me solemnly, referring to the two Dragon Slayers lying on my back.

I averted my gaze and nodded. "**Yeah, I did…**" I trailed off, not knowing what to say and confused by the feeling of shame bubbling in my chest.

I heard Acnologia's heavy footsteps approaching and felt like the closer he got, the more scared I was of the outburst to come. But I was happily surprised when he instead nuzzled his head to mine. "**It must hurt.**" He simply stated. I nodded, taking a step closer to him, lapping at the comfort his presence gave me. He sighed, a smile playing at his mouth. "**And that is exactly why I love you.**" He told me, chuckling lowly.

I giggled and nibbled at the scales right behind the fan-things. I still hadn't figured out what to call them. "**Mmh~ I love you too.**" I told him lovingly.

We didn't get the chance to continue on, as we heard four sets of Dragon wings. We looked up, where we saw Igneel, Metallicana, Glanasile and Alodiculis came into our view, landing on the pavement right in front of us.

Acnologia and I looked at them, probably with confused expressions. "**What are you four doing here?**" Acnologia finally asked them, looking around at all of them.

Igneel grinned at us. "**Dravola sent us to come help you out with whatever you need us for.**" He told us proudly. What in the world there was to be proud of, I would never know.

Alodiculis sniffed the air, much like Acnologia just had, with furrowed, nonexistent eyebrows. "**Lucy, why is the air smelling of your blood?**" he questioned me, as the other three Dragons also looked at me, Igneel with an uncharacteristic serious expression.

I looked around at all of them and sweat dropped. "**Well, I had to save Sting and Natsu before they were squashed under either Acnologia's or my feet.**" I told them hesitantly.

"**So..?**" Metallicana asked me with a 'come on, out with it already' - expression, gesturing for me to get on with the explanation.

I sighed and averted my gaze again. "_**So**_**… I kind of forced my tail to grow out before it was supposed to.**" I explained, feeling their eyes on me.

They all stayed silent for what felt like eternity, but finally Glanasile said something. Although not what I had expected. "**Let me take those humans off your back for you, Lucy.**" He offered, coming closer to me.

I looked at him and everyone with confused expression as the Ice Dragon continued to take the Dragon Slayers from my back to his. "**Wh-what? Are you not going to say anything else?**" I asked them incredulously. I remembered Metallicana telling me I shouldn't disrupt the natural flow of changing, which my body had, it would hurt like a bitch and maybe even leave a permanent pain at my behind.

But the very same Iron Dragon just sighed and shook his head. "**Nah, there's nothing to say. You always put others before yourself, that's just who you are.**" He told me as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. I smiled at him, happy that that was what he thought of me. Wasn't the worst you could be called, right?

Right then, Glanasile finished moving Natsu and Sting from my back to his own. He turned his head and looked at me. "**Is there anything I should tell Dravola?**" He asked me, spreading his wings as a signal that he was about to take off.

I thought about it for a moment, but when I was about to say something, Acnologia cut me to it. "**Ae (yes), there is.**" He confirmed. We all turned our gazes to him. He had a really serious expression, one I was a little bit worried about. "**Raven Tail has Dragons on their side.**" He finished off.

**Couldn't find a better place to end it off~ ^_^**

**So, a lotta shit has happened in this chapter, huh? The secret is finally revealed too and it seems Raven Tail has some strong allies. What are our heroes going to do about it? Find out next time! *Feels like a narrator***

**Anyway. As for the points, they've now grown quite a bit, for Fairy Tail B:  
Fairy Tail B: 79  
Raven Tail: 52  
Sabertooth: 47  
Mermaid Heel: 44  
Fairy Tail A: 34  
Blue Pegasus: 34  
Lamia Scale: 26  
Quatro Puppy: 15**

**So there we go. Fairy Tail B is definitely winning this one. The sudden spike in numbers there is because of everyone and everything passing out. All those points go right to Team B's pockets XD **

**Thank you Aira0906, Nicole (Guest), BecauseIamSoBored, StrongGuy159, All-american rejects, BANKAIZEN, Decadence-21, Xx21KatieKat12xX, animelover (Guest), Moonlight Starlove, khira47, Heavenofmaiden (Guest), Haninix092 (Guest), firequeen101, AnimeOnCookie, Elysia Cosmo, FireIce Kitsune Kayla, PuddyKatz, trick997, powerbond, Kanata Uchiha, Seren Luna, HyouRyuu, The Dark Dragon Emperor, 94, SnIpErZxElItE99, Chazarok, tvman24, Clara-Ragno, 14Fairy14 (Guest), Epidantrix and all of you out there reading this! - Or should I say gracias? **

**~Line464d**


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

**So, stuff happened last chapter, stuff will happen again today. XD**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: *Grabs binoculars* He's right over there! He's relaxing on one of those loungers, do you see him? He has a drink on a table right next to him and he seems to be drawing something. Don't you see him? For Mavis' sake! He's the little, pink thing with sunglasses, lying in the sun, how can you miss him?! Now, commence mission: Get Fairy Tail from Slowpoke!**

**With Lucy, Acnologia and the others~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I looked around at all of them, as their eyes continued to widen at that information. Even Lucy's. I thought she'd heard that. Finally, their roars broke the silence. "**WHAT?!**" The Iron Idiot roared into my face. "**How?!**" He asked me, sticking his ugly face right up to mine.

Igneel also quickly invaded my personal space. "**Who would do that?!**" He asked me furiously, probably thinking about what kind of Dragons would join Raven Tail in their plan - whatever it was.

While those two idiots were yelling at me, Alodiculis went to Lucy and talked with her, probably asking if she was okay and all. Checking out the blood that slowly dripped from her behind.

I furrowed my nonexistent eyebrows as I looked at yet another drop fall. I had never heard of anyone who changed the rhythm of that transformation, I had always thought it to be impossible. More like I didn't ever consider it could be altered, but here she went and did it anyway. She was always like that, making sure everyone else were safe and good before worrying about herself. That was a part of her I loved more than anything else, but at the same time, I also wanted her to take care of herself a little more.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Glanasile began beating his wings, rising into the air. "**I'll deliver this information to Dravola and then return here.**" He told us and flew off with the two humans on his back.

I watched him as he flew away, wondering what Dravola had in mind and what they were doing right now. I looked at Alodiculis, ignoring the Iron and Fire Dragon for now, and about to ask the Peace Dragon what was going on, but Lucy cut me to it. "**Say Alodiculis, what exactly is Dravola doing?**" She asked her kind-of-foster-father-yet-not-really.

The silver Dragon looked down at her, then at me, knowing I'd like to hear it as well. "**Well, she's sent some of us out to help you and Acnologia, that was the four of us. Then she sent Skyadrum, 464, Weisslogia and Deamunas after Shi. The remaining are flying around, gathering humans and collecting them in the arena, where they are to be protected.**" He told us. It sounded like humans were just toys to them, the way he put that out. "**Also, Basuril is getting Silvia, Kurama and Grandine over to the arena as well. So Grandine can awaken all the sleeping mages.**" He added in the last second.

I nodded, understanding what Dravola was trying to do with the mages. She probably knew that it was likely that Raven Tail would send out mages of their own, which was why she wanted to awaken the mages. But not only that, she also wanted to be the first to speak to them, so they would be on our side, rather than on Raven Tail's, making them see our point of view as the first.

That and she would probably start out with mentioning Lucy, which was sure to draw their attention and increase the already high chances of them going on our side.

But to do that, she had to act like she really wanted to help the humans and be on good terms with them, which she did. She did that by first collecting all the mages at the same place, telling the Heads they should protect them, if anything comes up. Then she's getting Grandine, the best healer in the Sky Clan, and tells her to awaken all these mages and heal their wounds. Way to go Dravola!

I looked around at my fellow Dragons, having broken away from the line of thoughts I'd been going down. "**We need to find out where Raven Tail has their Headquarters, that's probably also where they plan to complete whatever plan they have.**" I told them all.

The old Iron Idiot nodded. "**Brat's got a point.**" He admitted, obviously struggling with admitting I was right for once. "**But how do we go about doing that?**" He asked, just as a wave of calm washed over us, accompanied by a gentle breeze.

I looked behind me, where I felt the wave coming from. That was definitely Grandine's magic, there was no doubt about it. Just how much magic was she using if it reached all the way out here?

I heard Lucy gasp and quickly whipped my head in her direction, wondering if her tail was hurting, which wouldn't be a surprise. But I think I hit off the mark on that one. Lucy looked back at her tail, which she was swinging from side to side, in amazement and lightly wide eyes. "**It doesn't hurt…!**" She muttered, probably mostly to herself, even though all of us were watching her. Then she looked towards the GMG building's general area with a soft smile. "**Grandine…**" She whispered gratefully.

I also smiled in the direction of where the Sky Dragon was with a smile, silently thanking her a billion times over for healing my mate's tail. Thankful I didn't have to think about being careful around her tail and knowing she wouldn't be hurting constantly because of it.

The waves continued coming, completely erasing any kind of injury I might have gotten in the fight with Natsu as well as the one on Lucy's Dragon butt. But soon, they also died out again. I could only imagine the amount of magic that Dragon had used to make this possible. The strength of a Head, I guess.

But we didn't get a single peaceful moment, as sudden roars from Dragons filled the otherwise empty city. It was roars from Dragon of which we did not know. And judging by the sound of them, they didn't seem particularly happy. More like they were angry and eager to fight.

But those weren't what reached us first, it was a gigantic mass of mages of all kinds. They all came running at us, releasing loud battle-cries as soon as their eyes landed at us.

While they charged at us like madmen, I found myself surprised Raven Tail had so many members. Maybe it was just Fairy Tail, which was a smaller guild, I wouldn't know. But they all seemed to have the crazy fight-loving expressions. That went in tow with being a Dark Guild, I could understand.

Lucy took a step forward drawing our attention from the many mages. "**Remember not to give it your all, we don't want anyone dead.**" She reminded us. I breathed out exasperatedly. That was true, humans were fragile, we couldn't put much into this. Damn it all, it was going to be tough.

But right then, the powerful beat of Dragon wings was heard behind us, and we all whipped around, getting ready to attack the enemy Dragon, as it would be much more dangerous. "**Haupa Tarakona's Haruru**." (Ice Dragon's Roar) A calm voice said, as Ice spewed up, landing in the space between us and the mob, quickly creating a thick wall between the buildings, barring the way for the humans. Glanasile stopped up in the air, hovering above us. "**Leave the humans there to the mages, they should already be on their way. Take care of the Dragons instead.**" He told us as he proceeded to chase the Dragon roars, to go keep them busy.

I nodded to the rest of us here, and we all followed the Ice Dragon to the battlefield. This would without a doubt be the toughest battle I'd ever face.

**At the arena~**

**Gray's P.O.V**

What. The. Hell. Was. Going. On. HERE?! When in the world did Dragons suddenly appear, talking to us as if they already knew us?! And weren't those things supposed to be extinct!? But noooo, here were simply six of them walking around as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

And that Dragon in the middle, the brown one, which was explaining all kinds of things… Well, I couldn't quite understand what it said. It just kind of went into one ear and out through the other. I was just too shocked to hear anything. Not only that, the presence of those things, it was so heavy it was hard to sit up straight.

"**So we, the Dragons, ask you for your assistance to put down Raven Tail and make sure they don't complete their plans.**" The brown Dragon asked of us, finally bringing me back.

Okay, so it was a little bit of a lie when I said I hadn't listened completely to what it said. It was apparently something about Raven Tail threatening them or something. I just couldn't see how it had anything to do with us.

But just then the Dragon continued its speech. "**We don't know what they're planning to do, all we **_**do**_** know is that Lucy and Acnologia are somehow involved. And are required to be at full power.**" She told us. This snapped me out of everything that had been dividing my attention. What? Lucy was involved?! How in the hell was she involved in this?

But, of course, I wasn't the first one to ask. It was the idiot of a Flame Brain, who was sadly a part of my team. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN LUCE IS INVOLVED?! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!" He roared at the Dragons, not at all caring who was looking or listening.

The yellow Dragon sighed exasperatedly. "**Like father, like son…**" It grumbled and looked right into the eyes of Chapati and the three, who were in the commentators' box, its head being at the same level as them. "**Can you make the Lacrima screens follow Lucy and Acnologia?**" It asked of them, while Flame Brain doubted he'd actually heard what the yellow Dragon had called him. He probably couldn't figure out what the Dragon said, but I did, and I dropped my jaw.

Suddenly, big screens of Lacrima appeared all around, half of them showing the picture of a silver Dragon flying through the air. And the other half… Of the Dragon which attacked us at Tenrou.

I could say without a doubt, every single Fairy Tail members' eyes popped out of their skulls at the sight of that Dragon. Acnologia… I had hoped I would never have to see that Dragon ever again. But there it was.

When I looked closer, though, it looked so much different than it did back then. This time.. Well, it actually seemed nice rather than bloodthirsty. But the whole way it carried itself just screamed it'd been in battles and was ready to get into another one. The way in which it flew was also rough, I didn't really have any other ways to describe it.

I tore my gaze away from that Dragon and looked at the screen showing the silver Dragon. It was like the polar opposite of Acnologia. Once again, I only had one way to describe the way I flew; gracefully. It was a very beautiful Dragon, if I had to say anything, it's features… Well, they almost seemed feminine. It didn't look battle-ready like Acnologia, but it had a determined look in its eyes.

I looked alternately at the two, the information the Dragons had given me not quite fitting in my mind. Basically, what they had said was that one of my best friends - no, scratch that, she was like a little sister to me - was actually not even human. It was just too much to take in right there.

"BRATS!" I heard a familiar, old voice. I looked towards where I knew the rest of Fairy Tail stood and saw Makarov stand on the railing, looking out at all of the arena. One of the Lacrima screen changed to show his face, as the others continued showing those Dragons flying around. "I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but those two are indeed Acnologia and Lucy from our guild." He told us loud and clear, his voice easily cutting through the silence as if it was butter.

A ferocious mumbling broke out in the arena between the mages present, especially for the Fairy Tail mages. Many were yelling how it was impossible that the two were Dragons, and especially that the human Acnologia we knew was the same Dragon as the one on the screen, which had attempted to kill us seven years back. Others were just dropping their jaws to the floor.

And I had to agree with them. Lucy… A Dragon? It just seemed so, so wrong. She was human. She had always been human. She would have told us if she was a Dragon… Right?

The brown Dragon made one powerful beat with its wings, easily silencing all of us. It looked up at our little guild master with its green eyes. "**I take it you are Makarov Dreyar, Master of Fairy tail?**" She asked the old man.

Makarov nodded at her, not even a fragment of his usual smile at his face, showing just how grave this situation could turn out to be. "Yes, that is me." He confirmed. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?" He asked the Dragon.

I just silently watched the conversation between the two, wondering how our Guild Master could be so calm about this. He was talking to a Dragon. A DRAGON.

The brown Dragon nodded. "**Of course, I am Dravola Oene, Head Dragon of the Earth Clan.**" She told him and bowed her head in a respectful greeting. That seriously made my eyes widen to the size of plates. A Dragon, one which looked like it had tons of experience in life, bowed its head in respect to a human. That was not a sight I ever expected to see in my living days.

Makarov nodded slowly as the words infiltrated his mind. Then his eyes widened too. "Wait… Don't tell me…" He trailed off, but then picked himself up again and finished the sentence. "You're the strongest of the Earth Dragons, aren't you?" He asked the Dragon outright.

I whipped my head back to the Earth Dragon - as it apparently turned out to be. The _strongest_ Earth Dragon? What the… Why would it even bother with us humans?

Dravola, the Dragon's name, nodded. "**That is correct. I am currently the 'strongest' Earth Dragon and also the oldest of the Head Dragons.**" She said, to which Master just replied with a silent nod. Dravola sighed a little and looked around at all of us. "**I know that it might be impossible for you to take in for a start, getting the information of a member, once thought to be human, actually being a Dragon.**" She said in an almost apologetic tone. "**But there is no time for this.**" She told us. "**Raven Tail has Dragons on their side, which we, the Dragons, will take care of. Although I do ask you mages, that you will lend us a hand with the human mages.**" She asked of us again.

I furrowed my eyebrows. If they could take of the Dragons, why couldn't they the humans? And with the enormous magical pressure too, it should be a cake walk for them. Wait, maybe… Maybe that was exactly why. They were too strong and they would have a hard time not killing humans if they went at them at this level.

Makarov nodded his head without hesitation. "Fairy Tail will help." He told her. He once again looked out at all of us. "Brats. Lucy and Acnologia might be in danger. They're out precious nakama, nothing can change it, not even the fact that they're Dragons." He told us, holding one of that kind of speeches.

All of Fairy Tail immediately raised their hand in the 'L' symbol. "FAIRY TAIL!" We all yelled at once. The old man had a point. Even though those two might be Dragons, they were still Lucy and Acnologia. They were my Nakama, and no damn one came in between me and my nakama without permission!

The rest of the guilds all agreed to help the Dragons out too. Then, with a last shout from Master, we all set out to fight some Raven-bastards.

But right as I was about to make my way off my seat and follow the rest of my guild mates out to fight, I was stopped. "**Gray Fullbuster, can I borrow you for a moment?**" I heard a soft voice ask. I looked to the right and jumped back in surprise, as I met the head of the blue Dragon, which was staring right at me. It smiled widely. "**Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.**" It told me, giggling. "**I'm Amelane by the way.**" It introduced itself.

After calming my heart again, I looked into its purple eyes and nodded. "S-sure, what do you need me for?" I asked it hesitantly. Seriously though, what in the world would a Dragon need me for?

Amelane smiled. "**Oh no, you're the one who needs me, not the other way around.**" It told me secretively, making me wonder what it could mean with that. "**Just get on my snout, I'll get you down here.**" It said.

I looked into its eyes for a moment longer, wondering if it was shitting me or actually meant it. In the end, I decided to go for it and crawled up on its snout. When it suddenly began moving its head, I quickly latched onto one of the scales around its nose, in fear of tipping off and breaking something.

But that wasn't at all necessary, the Dragon's movements were very gentle and careful. I was sure not to fall off. But it _did_ laugh at me though, making me feel a little embarrassed.

It gently moved its head to the ground, so I could jump down, which I immediately did. Amelane only pulled its head away a little, so it didn't get too far away from me. "**Sorry about the secrecy, Gray, it's simply I feel some intruding magic floating around in you.**" It explained with an apologetic smile.

I looked up at it with furrowed eyebrows. "Intruding magic?" I asked it. What did it mean with that? Was it telling me the magic of someone else was inside me? But how was that possible?

It nodded with that same smile. "**Yes, it seems someone has used some kind of lasting spell on you.**" It said. Before I could ask why it told me this, it explained for itself. "**You see, I'm a Water Dragon, I can purify you of the magic. I don't know the nature of it, but it can be a lot of things. Lucy experienced that one blocked her Dragon magic once, maybe this is similar to that.**" It suggested. It shook its head, breaking itself off the road of thoughts it was about to embark on, and thumped the ground with its tail. "**Please lie down.**" It asked of me.

I hesitantly did, still not entirely sure of what it planned to do to me, other than pulling this stranger's magic out of me. "Right.." I mumbled and lay down on the ground.

It was kind of obvious that these Dragons were on our side, but it still felt very intimidating when Amelane looked down at me, where I lay defenseless.

It had a very kind smile though. "**You don't need to be afraid, Gray. It doesn't hurt at all.**" It promised me as an even more intimidating foot came to hover over me. Seriously, that foot was at least twice the size of Jura.

Water suddenly fell out of its foot and landed on me. I closed my eyes, ready to get soaked, but that never happened. While I could feel the Water magic touch me, I didn't get wet at all, which made me crack open an eyes and look at it weirdly. What kind of water didn't make you wet?

This kind apparently, I stated in my mind, as the Water magic this Dragon let fall on me slowly crawled up and around me, encasing me in a bubble, which followed my contours but in a softer way. If you could even explain it like that. You probably couldn't.

Suddenly, I felt a little tug from it and knew whatever process it went through had started. Something black quickly caught my eyes, and I saw some it expand above my head, gradually coloring the Water bubble black. I realized that that black whatever-it-was came from my head.

I found myself actually being a little afraid of it. What in the world was it? Why was it there? And what did it do to me? Right now, I didn't feel any changes at all, it all felt the same as it did before.

After what felt like a minute, but was actually only about ten seconds, later Amelane pulled its foot back from me, drawing the bubble with it, as if it was magnetically attracted to each other. The bubble, which had gotten a dull shade of gray, easily released me and followed the Dragon's foot.

He Dragon seemed to study the bubbled for a moment, before absorbing the Water again, the black vanishing as it did so.

It smiled down at me. "**The magic doesn't seem to have done anything with your magic, it…**" It trailed off, probably wondering how it should say whatever it had on mind. "**Well, it's more complicated than that. It had infiltrated you mind and-**" I didn't let it speak any more.

I whipped up in a sitting position as I cut it off. "It took my memories!" I exclaimed, mostly to myself. I remembered… After that battle against the Sabers, I'd gotten down in some kind of cave, which had some kind of big ass cannon-thing. And Raven Tail was down there! I looked up at the Dragon with lightly widened eyes. "I remember!" I told her.

I sprang to my feet, beginning to run towards the exit of this damn arena. I had to find Lucy! It _had_ to have something to do with whatever Raven Tail was planning! Before I could even get past the Water Dragon, which was between me and the exit, it called out to me. "**Gray, where are you going?**" It asked me, confusion evident in its voice.

I turned my head around and looked up at it as I continued to run the other way. "I need to find Lucy! It's important!" I yelled at it and turned around, only to crash right into another Dragon.

I landed on my butt right in front of it and slowly tilted my head up to see what had happened. This one was much smaller than Amelane though. And, well… It was cute.

The little Dragon looked at me with a rather serious expression, which somehow just didn't fit its face. "**Gray! I'll take you!**" It told me.

I widened my eyes as I looked into its bright yellow eyes. Something about that voice was familiar. "B-Basuril..?" I asked carefully, not wanting to offend it in any way if it wasn't. "Is that you?" I continue.

It rolled its eyes and nodded. "**Yes, yes, I'm a Dragon. What did you expect? I'm Acnologia's cousin!**" He reminded me. It actually made a lot of sense… "**Now get on my back!**" He ordered me.

I quickly nodded and did what I was told. He was fortunately not as big as the others, so I could actually, with my weak human legs, jump up and get on his back. Although I was sure it wasn't as graceful as it could have been.

Basuril, without asking me, quickly spread his wings and took off into the air, while I grabbed the two closest scales as hard as I could. I guessed he had felt on me that it really was very urgent. And he certainly wasn't gentle with the speed. I doubted I had ever, on any occasion, gone from one place to another so fast. He was like a little rocket.

I leaned a little forward, getting used to the Dragon's speed. "Basuril!" I yelled at him. He turned his head a little and one yellow eye met mine. "How do you know where they are?!" I yelled at him. I had tried pointing their magical pressures out myself, but I got too overwhelmed with all the gigantic magical pressures floating around in the air.

He turned his head forward again before he answered me. "**I can smell them, the wind is carrying their scents.**" He told me as he sped off towards them, I assumed anyway. And apparently, he really could smell those two, because not long after, the silver and black/blue Dragon we'd seen on the screens came into view. Although with the added bonus of another silver Dragon, a red Dragon and a dark gray Dragon. And then a sixth, white one flying a little in front of them all. "**Lucy-nee!**" Basuril called out to the silver Dragon.

All of them reacted though, stopping up in the air and looking towards us. Even though I was sure they could only see Basuril.

Before anyone could say anything else, Basuril was at the smallest, silver Dragon's side and had put me on its back, speeding off again. The big, black and blue Dragon, which frightened me just with its presence, even though I hated to admit it, looked down at me from Lucy's back. "**Gray?**" It asked with the voice of my guild-mate.

**Somewhere in Crocus~**

**464's P.O.V**

Skyadrum-sama was guiding our little group after Shi and she was doing so expertly. Following his magical pressure, the trail of his scent and when he stepped in any shadow at all, she truly was magnificent at this kind of thing. It was easy to see why she had the position she did.

I, as well as Deamunas and Weisslogia-sama, dutifully followed her along, believing in her experienced abilities with this kind of thing. Even though I knew my skills weren't at amateur-level, they couldn't hold a candle next to Skyadrum-sama's.

Abruptly, the other Shadow stopped up, looking to the right, and making the three of us scramble to stop up. "**464, can you feel them too?**" She asked me.

I widened my eyes, then quickly turned to the right and tried finding what she did. And yes, not too far away, I could feel about five Dragons approaching us. They were different from us, but I had no idea what kind they could be.

I nodded my head. "**Yes, Skyadrum-sama, I feel five Dragons.**" I said and looked at her, waiting to see what her reaction would be.

She nodded at me with a little smile. "**Yes, that's right.**" She agreed and looked into the distance, where five small dots were appearing. "**And they're going too fast for us to be able to avoid a battle.**" She added.

I nodded, it certainly seemed like we'd have to engage in battle here. Even if we tried to hide, these Dragons would easily find us, tracking our magical pressures.

Weisslogia-sama began descending towards the ground. "**In that case, it would be wisest for us to stay on the ground.**" He commented. The rest of us followed him quickly, agreeing with his tactic. On the ground, both Skyadrum-sama and I could use the shadows made by the buildings to our advantage, and Weisslogia-sama the sun. Not only that, we wouldn't have to think about staying in the air either. Not that that was the hardest task, but it made it that easier.

When I had landed, I looked towards where I knew the Raven Dragons to be approaching us. But they weren't just dots in the distance anymore, they were just a few meters away now.

And they were snarling angrily at us for whatever reason. I couldn't quite associate them with a Clan I knew of, they didn't look much like any I knew of. They were completely black, all of them, and their eyes were an angry red. They had no pupils or whites, their eyes were just red. They looked… Mad. Crazy. Whichever term you preferred.

They were glaring down at us, their teeth showing as they snarled, to which we responded by growling back. When they were almost overhead, they dove down towards us, two going at Deamunas, as he was the biggest.

I readied myself as I looked right into the eye of the one charging down at me, its mouth agape and releasing a crazed roar. What was with these Dragon? They weren't… Normal.

I met it head on, not giving an inch to it. It was charging at me, head first, most likely aiming to sink its teeth into my long neck. I narrowed my eyes at it, a growl slipping between my clenched teeth.

I jumped to the side, evading its teeth and instead sank my own into its neck, tasting its metallic blood, when it flew past me, on its way to crash into the ground. Of course, my sinking my teeth into it wouldn't stop it, but it aided me in tearing its flesh off of it.

The stones from the pavement flew to all sides when the Dragon crashed down, destroying the closest buildings with the far reach of its wings. It was only barely these streets allowed our big Dragon forms to move about. Maybe it would have been easier in the air?

I didn't get the chance to react upon my thoughts, as the Dragon quickly got to its feet, seemingly not at all minding that I'd just torn its flesh off.

It lunged at me again, its ferocious roar mingling with the others'. Some kind of black magic began swirling around one of its feet, as it slashed my back, before I could make a move to evade it.

I roared out in anguish. This magic… It was like nothing I'd ever seen or felt before. It felt as if it was seeping through the open wounds on my back and into me. Like it was alive.

I spun around, facing the Dragon in front of me. I couldn't let many of this kind of hits land on me, they had a powerful kind of magic, whatever it was.

I began inhaling the air around me, mixing it with my magic, and then released it in one blast. "**Atarangi Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Shadow Dragon's Roar) I roared as the Shadow magic welled out of my mouth and at the Dragon in front of me.

It quickly swallowed the Dragon up. I heard the opponent roar angrily from in there, and suddenly a head appeared right in front of me, breaking the surface of my Haruru (Roar). It was charging right at me, and I didn't have the time to evade it, as I felt and saw its front claws slash the front of my head.

It seemed that it hadn't used its magic this time, but that didn't change the fact that its claws had easily broken through my scales and made three diagonal scars on the front of my head, blood seeping out of them.

I jumped back in surprise and a sliver of fear. These Dragons were nothing like us. They didn't feel pain at all and all they were here to do was kill. That was what those completely red eyes told me anyway. Their way of behavior was solely based on their primal instincts, which was survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. Just what had happened to them?

I slid into the shadows, going for another approach to the Dragon. I looked around, snorting, as it tried to find me, but with no luck. I carefully snuck up to its own shadow, then leapt out of it, locking my fangs around the soft spot on its hind leg.

It roared in fury at my surprise attack and suddenly, apparently without having to inhale or anything, spewed a Haruru (Roar) of that coal-black magic at me.

I saw it coming and in the last second, I narrowly managed to escape it, by taking off in the air. What I hadn't anticipated was that the Dragon pushed off the ground and followed me up there. I rammed right into me, making me lose my balance in the air.

I beat my wings a pair of times to get my balance back, while dodging the snaps of its teeth as well as I could. Unfortunately, it suddenly jabbed its head out at a speed much greater than before and sank its teeth into the shoulder of my front leg.

I roared in pain, especially when it suddenly pulled back, ripping off a part of me. I looked down at it, ready to give again, when I suddenly saw it being swung around by its tail and into the surrounding buildings. By Skyadrum-sama.

The way the Shadow Dragon had a tight grip on the black Dragon's tail and swung it around, was in an elegant, fluid motion, the likes of which I could never hope to achieve. Finally, she released the Dragon, after getting enough force behind the swinging, she sent it flying into several buildings and rolling around, over them.

But still, it got to its feet and roared, blood making its black scales glisten in the sun. The roar was so twisted and high pitched it was sent in sound-waves right into my brain.

Skyadrum-sama looked up at me with a rather serious expression. "**464! Hurry! Run and find Shi!**" She ordered me. I looked down at her confusedly. But… Why did _I_ have to go? Wouldn't it be better if it was a Head Dragon. They were much, _much_ stronger than I was. She just kept looking at me. "**Go! I believe in you!**" She told me.

I stared wide-eyed down at her. She… Believed in me? I furrowed my brows in determination and nodded. "**Yes, Skyadrum-sama!**" I said and dove right into the shadows underneath. I fled the battle going on behind me into the general direction of where we had been going before the Dragons attacked.

I focused on Shi's scent, which was radiating clearly from the ground, on which he had been walking. It was almost too obvious… "Ahh, A Dragon." I heard a tiny human voice comment. I stilled in the shadows, looking around me to find this human. When I looked down a long street of houses, I saw Shi stand there with crossed arms and looking in my direction. "You can crawl out of the shadows now, Dragon. I know you're there." He told me calmly, with shining green eyes.

I glanced behind me, just to be sure that it really was me he was talking about. There was no one. How could he find me in my Shadow form? No one could do that, only Skyadrum-sama herself.

I slowly rose from the shadows, deciding I'd find out sooner or later, and stood towering over the tiny human being. He just grinned up at me. "Not a Head Dragon? I'm disappointed." He told me, his eyes changing to a bright blue. He sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Well, I guess you'll just have to do for now." He said as he suddenly began charging his magic again.

But for some reason, there was a hint of something unfamiliar mixed into it. A third magic?

**Somewhere else~**

**Romeo's P.O.V**

Damn. These mages were strong. And they were in hundreds. How the hell had Raven Tail grown so big? And the bigger question, how had they become a legal guild?

While these questions scrambled around in my brain, I was suddenly sucker-punched at my jaw and sent skidding on the ground. I looked up at the bastard who had delivered that punch. It was a grown, ugly-ass man.

And he was howling in laughter. "What the hell is a little kid like you doing on the battlefield? Go back to mama and let real men do the fighting!" He said amusedly.

I glared at him. Who the hell was he calling a little kid? "Tch." I grunted as I collected my magic around my hand. "Blue Fire!" I said loudly as the cold, almost neon-blue flame lit up around my hand.

I charged at the full-grown man, fist held high, and roaring a battle cry. I'd show this a-hole who should be with his 'mama'! I jumped a little into the air, giving me that extra force when I barreled down toward the man, my flaming fist aimed at the ugly thing he called a face.

I stretched my arm out and it hit his face perfectly, just between the eyes. I grinned to myself. That would teach him to never look down on 'kids' again.

But my dreams were crushed, when the guy began chuckling, which evolved to a full-blown laugh as I jumped back again, looking at the man, shock written all over my face. How had he not taken _any_ damage from that? I put my whole weight into that hit!

The man just continued laughing. "Didn't you listen at all kid? You should have gone home when you had the chance!" He told me, his face morphing into a sadistic smirk. "Because it's too late now!" He told me.

Flames appeared around his hands with a pop, except they weren't red, blue, yellow, orange or purple. They were coal-black. I narrowed my eyes at the guy. He was a dark mage, a dark fire mage. It didn't surprise me that kind of guys were a part of Raven Tail.

The man mocked me by mimicking my movements of jumping into the air and using the force of his own weight to land a powerful hit. Despite being a move I'd used myself just a minute ago, I couldn't evade this guy's attack or block against it, and he landed a clear hit the same place I had at him.

And as he was a full-grown man, he had much more strength than a 'kid' like me, so obviously I would be sent flying for a second time. This time though, I actually flew in the air for about a pair of meters before landing on the ground with my back and sliding an extra one.

I grunted in pain. I had banged my head into the ground pretty bad when I had landed on it and was too dizzy to move to my feet.

I blinked my eyes a few times to clear my vision and saw the man's grinning, ugly face above me. "See? I told ya." He reminded me. I just proceeded to glare at him, still not giving in, even though I had clearly lost this fight. "Now I'll put an end to this, ain't I nice, brat?" He asked me, lifting a food above my head, getting ready to stomp me.

Before he could do that, he was interrupted. "ROMEO!" A tiny, yet powerful voice called out. Before I could turn my head and see who it was, a horizontal tornado hit the man and sent him twisting around with it. "SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!" I heard that same voice yell.

I sighed, figuring out who it was, and looked at Wendy, who was blasting away at my opponent with a determined expression. She was the last person I wanted to see me lying on the ground so pathetically.

It was no secret I was crushing hard on the Sky Dragon Slayer. She was just too cute not to. I loved her, I was glad she would give me her help, no doubt about that. But… I had to be the strong one of the two of us. The man was supposed to protect the woman, that was how it had always been and it was supposed to stay that way.

But she was a Dragon Slayer. She would continue to grow in strength at a speed I wouldn't be able to match. As it was, I was already watching her running back, giving all that I had just to keep up. I was running out of energy, but she wasn't. She would continue to run, faster and faster, far into the future and to places where I simply wasn't strong enough to follow.

Her beautiful chocolate eyes looked down at me with worry shining in them as she ran towards me as fast as she could, after having blasted that man, and all the others unfortunate enough to be in the way of that Roar, far away. She quickly ran to me, where I was still lying on the ground like an idiot. "Romeo! Are you okay?" She asked me as she came running.

I fought back the tears stinging at the back of my eyes at my painful realization and nodded slowly. "Yes…" I muttered as the girl fell on her knees beside me, starting to heal me too. I just couldn't get more pathetic than that.

**A little earlier~**

**Wendy's P.O.V**

I had no idea Lucy was fighting against Raven Tail at this level at all. She and Acnologia had really hidden that fact well.

And not only that, what had surprised me even more that they had kept secret, was the fact that my mom was still alive. And that they were so close friends with her as well as the other foster-parent-Dragons we knew of. It stung a little to know they had kept it secret, but I understood why. If she'd told either me or Gajeel, we would have demanded to meet them and that would probably mess up a lot of things. Their conscience for one thing. Guilt would be gnawing at them for not letting Natsu, Sting and Rogue know.

I knew that, but still it stung a little. In the end though, I was just happy mother was okay and not dead. And to think she was one of Lucy's friends! It was amazing.

I had wanted to stay with her in the arena, since she seemed to be quite drained with the extensive healing she had been doing, but she refused, telling me I was more needed in the battle against Raven Tail. She told me she'd be fine, she could take care of herself and then she told me to help my friends.

I had run out of there with tears streaming down my face. For several reasons too. Joyous tears and those of sorrow. Joy because I had finally met my mother again and sorrow because I had to leave her again, without knowing if I'd see her again. But she would certainly survive this, she was the strongest Sky magic user I knew. And she was a Dragon. Dragons didn't just die.

With those thoughts in mind, I had run to the battlefield, filled with hundreds of Raven Tail mages. We were severely outnumbered. But that was if you just counted the numbers, in strength they were far outnumbered. I had already taken ten down.

Well, of course that was leaving the Dragons out. I had no idea how strong either front was, but being Dragons, they could only be strong. I just hoped with all my heart that our front turned out to be the strongest of the two.

While I had been lost in my thoughts, I had been surrounded by several disgusting men. They were all looking at me with pervy smirks, which sent chills running up my spine.

I shook myself out of it, getting ready to attack all of them. I quickly sent my magic to both my arms, raising them above my head as I did so. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" I chanted as I whipped those very same arms down again, making powerful waves of wind hit them and send them flying backwards and away.

I looked at them with an apology in my eyes. I really hated to bring pain to others, who were just following orders from their Master, but there was no way around it.

I heard the thump of a human body land on the ground not too far away and whipped my head in that direction. It then turned out that what I had heard wasn't as close as I had thought. Dragon Slayer's hearing was really sharp, but sometimes also a little misguiding.

The person I had seen landing on the ground was Romeo. I saw an evil-looking man making his way towards my guild mate and holding a foot above his face, ready to drop it on him.

I widened my eyes. "ROMEO!" I yelled, frightened for his well-being. I quickly inhaled air and magic and just as quickly released it again at the Raven. "SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!" I yelled and easily blew the man away.

I cut the spell of and began running towards Romeo, who was still lying on the ground. Had he been hurt somewhere? He had to since he was lying on the ground like that!

That only spurred me on to run faster towards him. "Romeo! Are you okay?" I asked semi-loudly as I ran towards my fallen nakama.

When I reached him, I instantly kneeled down beside him, beginning to heal him, he nodded. "Yes…" He muttered. I looked into his blue eyes, where a myriad of emotions seemed to pass through in seconds, before he turned his head to the ground, closing them.

I focused on my healing again, but felt he had only been a little injured, nothing special. I decided I might as well heal him completely now I had already started. When I was finished, I got to my feet and smiled at him. "That's it, you're all healed." I told him.

He cracked one eye open and nodded to me with a blank face. He got to his feet, standing a little taller than me. He gave me a little smile, which didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thank you Wendy." He thanked me and was about to turn around, when his eyes widened exponentially. "W-Wendy…!" He trailed off as he slowly tipped his head upwards.

I furrowed my eyebrows and followed his line of sight, to see a Dragon looming above me. A big clot of saliva fell from its mouth right in front of me. I was kind of too paralyzed to move away as the saliva splatted out everywhere.

This Dragon didn't at all look like the others. It was as black as coal. But that wasn't what was the most terrifying about it. No, that would be the entirely red eyes without whites or pupils or anything.

No. I couldn't be afraid of this. Yes, it may look like the devil himself and yes, it may be a hundred times bigger than me, but I was a Dragon Slayer. I was born specifically to slay Dragons. I could do this.

I turned to Romeo with a determined expression. "Romeo, run for it. I'll take care of him." I promised him, then turned my attention back to the Dragon as I slowly backed away, drawing its attention.

I could see Romeo looking at me from the corner of my eye. "B-but Wendy! It's a _Dragon_! Didn't you feel the power rolling off those back at the arena?! You can't fight that, even if you are a Dragon Slayer!" He tried convincing me.

I nodded. "Yes, I know." I admitted without looking at him. "But if I don't do it, then who does?" I asked him. I knew he had no answer to that, since the Dragons on our side clearly weren't around here right now. I glanced at Romeo again, seeing his terrified expression, as he looked up at the intimidating Dragon. "Run, Romeo! Now!" I ordered him with my best imitation of Erza's voice.

I could see him look alternately between me and the Dragon, before finally giving me a nod. "Okay…" He trailed off and began running. He turned around quickly as he ran. "Stay alive! I won't forgive you if you don't!" He yelled at me as he disappeared.

I sighed internally, knowing I could not promise him that. The Dragon began following Romeo, ready to hunt its fleeing prey. I quickly waved my arms above my head, drawing its attention. "I'M YOU PREY!" I yelled at it. "You big loaf…" I added in the end, mostly for my own amusement.

Which was quickly quenched when the Dragon wholly turned its attention back to me, growling angrily at me. Without any warning, it lunged forward, aiming to bite my head off.

I quickly pushed off the ground, helping the process with a push of my Sky magic. I flew backwards, in a way that was out of my control. I landed on the ground a little away, stumbling backwards and landing on my butt on the pavement.

I heard a growling above me, and saw the Dragon drooling right overhead. There was no escape for me… I'm sorry Romeo, but this is beyond my abilities. I would surely die here… I hoped Fairy Tail would forgive me for not being able to beat a Dragon even though I was a Dragon Slayer.

I… I hoped Basuril-san would forgive me… All the funny times I'd had with that guy flashed through my mind the way memories were said to do just before you die. If I remembered who I was on 'the other side' he would be the one I'd miss the most.

He was completely clueless, much like Natsu, but he had a heart of gold. And a cute face. I giggled a little to myself as a tear fell from my eye. I shut my eyes closed, a tiny smile playing at my lips. I see, it all made sense now, I…

"**WENDY!**" I heard Basuril yell at me, although with a much deeper and more powerful voice. I didn't dare look up, knowing I wouldn't be as lucky as to have Basuril save me just before I died. There was just no way.

… Loved him.

The sound of a ferocious and animalistic growl swallowed up the sound of the other Dragon's growl and then suddenly the sound of two crashing together, levelling buildings with the ground all around them.

I felt the rumble of the ground and whipped my head up to see two Dragon's fighting each other, both snarling at each other. One was the Dragon from before, the intimidating one, but the other one…

It was a little smaller than the other, almost completely black, but with blue swirls on its scales and a blue belly. The skin of its wings was also that same blue color. And its angry eyes… They were a bright yellow.

My eyes widened. No.. It couldn't be. "B-Basuril?" I asked carefully, not sure if it was actually him. The look in his eyes, the way he growled and snarled at the other Dragon as he snapped at it, it wasn't the Basuril I knew… This was Basuril, the Dragon.

**Phew, a chapter. A lot of things happened huh? **

**I feel really bad for Romeo now… I really hate myself for what I'd done to him, but on the other hand, BaWe (Basuril X Wendy) is running wild! Wendy confessed! - to herself, yeah, but she did!**

**Also, just for information to those of you who want it, I plan on ending the story at chapter 65. That's five chapters from now. Sooooo….. Things are going to escalate quickly, as I have stated about a million times already. Now, I'm just looking forward to seeing who'll actually be reading this. ^_^ **

**Thank you Aira0906, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), Karitori-Ki, Xx21KatieKat12xX, Darkverger1, mjb379, , stranger-in-my-eyes, Guest, StrongGuy159, pyro-giraffe, BlizzardPhoenix222, DeathKitsune666, xXLunarRayneXx, Moonlight Starlove, OtakuLover43, MoonStar1312, Sasapopo (Guest), Marmaid-polipola (Guest), draco1221, Ani (Guest), Dan34623, cellum95 (Guest), PuddyKatz, Alaina Kuski, Acnologia Prime, Cleo9427, Anki, The Great Dragon Emperor, lovelyhanna, bexi2010, Technofairy, mydumbo321, AztecBrat, hgm2002, BlueAngel316, NekoLoliKing, Xenohawk, FairyTailNaluFan, NightingGale189, pinkNina101 and all you other wonderful readers, reviewers, followers and favoriters out there! Wasn't this one longer than usual…? I think it is ^_^ **

**~Line464d**


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

**Well, more action in this chapter. These next chapters will be action-loaded (not just in battle, but plot-wise too!), so be prepared!**

**Also, did you guys read the newest chapter of the Fairy Tail manga? JESUS, THE REVELATIONS! That's just plain crazy O.o**

**Early chapter, I know, but it's my lil' bro's birthday, so of course! Why not?**

**AND WE HIT 1300 REVIEWS AND 600 FOLLOWERS! AWESOME YOU GUYS! I'm afraid I forgot who was the 600th follower, but the 1300th reviewer was The X a guest, who took his/her wonderful time off to read the story all over again AND review to each and every one of them - almost. Thank you SO much! **

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke's always saying he's taking his beauty-sleep when I try to ask him about Fairy Tail. It's frustrating!**

**In Crocus~**

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I had no idea what came over me, but when I saw Wendy-chan in trouble, something deep inside me literally roared for me to protect her. So of course I tore that ugly Dragon away, all too aware of the scent of fear emanating from the Sky Dragon Slayer.

I snarled at the Dragon in front of me. I would tear him to pieces, put him together and then break him again. No one hurt Wendy-chan under my watch!

The black Dragon with glowing, red eyes growled right back at me, drool falling from its mouth. I had never seen Dragons like these before, they were very different from any kind of Dragon I knew. Much more feral.

But that wouldn't stop me from beating it for what it had done. I launched forward, pushing my wings down for added speed, and roared at the Dragon as I charged at it. I snapped my teeth at it, aiming to intimidate it at first.

The Dragon stared at me unresponsively and then released a twisted roar as it instead lunged for me. I quickly figured it was targeting my shoulder and jumped out of its reach. While it still had its neck stretched out to where I had been just a second ago, I swiftly sank my teeth down and into the exposed neck.

The Dragon roared again, but not in pain as it should have been. It roared in fury. It quickly pulled its neck back, letting me tear a chunk of its neck off, although little.

I spat the flesh and scales out, keeping an eye on the Dragon. Just what was this thing? Didn't it care about its own life?

Blood as red as its glowing eyes flowed out from its newly made wound and splattered onto the ground as if it had tons of it inside it. Of course, it didn't pay it any mind as it once again pounced at me with a fierce growl.

Its head flew at me like a bullet and I managed to evade it in the nick of time, ducking under it. I quickly inhaled the air, creating a light Haruru (Roar) "**Tehepo Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Chaos Dragon's Roar) I yelled as I released the whirl of black and dark blue magic at the Dragon's chest.

It connected cleanly with the intended target, but it didn't seem to affect it in the least, as it continued to push itself forward with the help of its wings. It lifted its whole body over the ground as it quickly covered the small distance between us. I had no way of defending myself when the Dragon dug its claws into my back, picking me off the ground.

I didn't have time to react, before the Dragon had flown a little higher into the air, swinging its whole body to throw me into a row of houses, standing vertically in the air.

The buildings I hit crumbled to pieces under my size, but it also made it impossible for me to land on my feet, having no way to get my balance.

As I slowly made it to my four feet, glaring at the Dragon - which was roaring triumphantly in the air - I felt the blood beginning to appear from the wounds on my back. A certain voice interrupted me from making another move immediately. "Basuril!" The sweet voice said, sending a comfortable tingle through me.

I looked down at the blue-haired girl, whose chocolate-brown eyes were looking up at me worriedly. I shook my head at her. "**Stay out of this, Wendy-chan. That Dragon is too dangerous for you to handle.**" I told her, not even a fraction of my usual smile on my face as I beat my wings once, taking off from the ground.

I pulled my lips back from my teeth, growling at the black Dragon in front of me. Now it'd gone and made me say something horrible to Wendy-chan. Even though it was true, this thing was too dangerous, it was a mean thing to say.

I quickly charged at my enemy, moving much faster than what was actually necessary. Quite frankly, I was too mad to hold back right at the moment.

I reached it in an instant, grabbing it at the shoulders with my front claws and around its chest with my hind claws. When I figured I had a decent grip on it, I jabbed my head forward, attacking the point where its head connected with its torso.

The Dragon released another angry roar, before it too attacked me. It dug its teeth down, into my neck, just like I had to it earlier. The pain it sent through me, forced me to let go of where I had my teeth in its skin.

I pulled my head back in a jolt and roared in pain. Just how could it not have felt any pain when I did that? It felt like it was killing me!

I figured to quickly make it release me, I had to do what it had to me. Attack it. I gathered my magic around my front claws. "**Tehepo Tarakona's Maikuku!**" (Chaos Dragon's Claw) I yelled at it as my claws became covered with my black and blue magic. I slashed down with it, making four big rifts appear on the Dragon's chest, oozing with magic.

The Dragon released me with another roar. Didn't it know how to do anything else? Couldn't it speak? It didn't matter to me, it didn't change the fact that it was going to die.

I pushed the Dragon back with all my strength, making both it and myself fall a little backwards in the air, creating much needed distance between us.

It hadn't used any magic yet. Did it simply not have any or didn't it think it was necessary? I gritted my teeth at the thought. Didn't it think I was strong enough to fight with all it'd got? In that case I'd just take advantage of that Dragon underestimating my abilities and win this thing.

This time it was the Dragon, which made the first move. It swiftly made a backwards loop, gaining a little extra speed, which it used to charge at me with.

Me, being the quickest one of us, easily evaded the Dragon and turned around to face it, only to see it was charging at me again, just in the nick of time, I dodged the Dragon, so it didn't crash into me. Well, the midsection of it anyway. Its tail was whipped towards me and landed on my side.

As it turned out, the scales on the tail worked as barbs, jutting out and tore open the scales at my side, creating a long gash from the beginning of my torso, to the root of my tail. I felt the red liquid inside me beginning to ooze out of the wound.

I grunted lowly in pain, doing my best to mask the pain. I wouldn't let that thing see me weak, that would only mean an almost certain defeat.

Before I had completely regained my balance from the hit, I felt something sharp and considerably long puncturing the scales on my right shoulder and sinking down into the flesh underneath.

I couldn't keep back the loud whimper I released at the pain as I looked down to see he Dragon with its teeth buried in my shoulder. They were buried so deep that if I attempted to pull away, it would only hurt more.

All I could do was wait and see what the Dragon had in mind. I didn't have to wait long either, as the black creature whipped its head to the side, tearing off the flesh it'd had in its mouth.

The pain was blinding me, making me see red. I could feel all the pain, which had gone through me seconds ago, disappearing completely as all my sense of pain numbed. I could slowly feel my inner Dragon and the animalistic instincts following it pushing their way to the front. And winning.

In the far back of my mind, I realized that what was happening was something frightening, but it was so far away, I didn't give a damn. All the filled my mind were the thoughts of all the ways I could kill this Dragon.

I growled at it angrily. It had made a horrible mistake. The only future it had was death. I lunged at the Dragon at the speed of light. It was unable to follow my speed. I sent my magic to my claws and easily cut through the first of the two wings. The second after I passed it, I also heard the bone snap. Much to my satisfaction.

A grin spread on my lips. I enjoyed this.

I quickly made a U-turn. I flew right back at the Dragon. It was still roaring furiously. As I flew past it, I stuck my teeth deep into the flesh of its hind leg. With the force of my speed, I tore of a big chunk of the Dragon. I reveled in the taste of its metallic blood on my tongue, but spit the flesh to the side.

I gave it no time to recover, charging up my magic in my mouth. I inhaled deeply, initiating a big Haruru (Roar). I mixed magic into the air in my lungs. It didn't take long to mix it together. It was a simple matter breathing it all out at once at the Dragon that was my enemy.

A torrent of black and blue magic, much bigger than ever before, flew at the Dragon. And hit it head on. "**TEHEPO TARAKONA'S HARURU!**" (Chaos Dragon's Roar) I roared with a voice I couldn't recognize.

While my Haruru (Roar) was swallowing up the Dragon, I charged at it once again. It was time to end this. I practically teleported to the Dragon's side. I sank my teeth into its neck for a last time. I continued digging deeper until I found what I was looking for. The windpipe.

I bit down roughly at its throat. Finally, I punctured the pipe. The Dragon released a gurgle of a roar. I felt how it gradually grew limp around me and pulled my teeth out again. As I licked the blood off my fang, I watched the Dragon barrel down towards the ground.

It landed on a set of buildings, making them all crash under its weight. I slowly lowered myself to the ground next to the building.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, the Dragon inside me pulled back, letting the usual me take my place again. I looked up to see the black Dragon lying motionless on top of the building. I felt how my eyes slowly widened more and more.

I took careful, slow steps towards the Dragon which's chest only barely still moved, in ragged motions. I could feel myself grown scared. Had… Had I really…? That Dragon. Had I killed it?

No, that wasn't what scared me most. The thing which scared me the most, was the fact that I had enjoyed it. I had enjoyed taking the life of this Dragon.

I could still taste its blood in my mouth and bile quickly rose in my throat. Just what kind of Dragon was I? Was I really a killer? Was what had just happened the real me? Or was it my instincts?

These questions flew around in my head much faster than I thought possible. All they did was scare me more and more. I was getting scared of myself and what I might do. What if this happened again in the guild? Would I slaughter everything and everyone?

The thought terrified me so much, I fell down right where I stood, my legs too weak to hold me up any longer. What would I do with myself if that happened? If I didn't have Ac-nii-chan, Lucy-nee, Wendy-chan… Everyone, what would I do?

The person I wanted to see me like this the least interrupted my line of thoughts. "BASURIL!" Wendy-chan called behind me. "Are you hurt?!" She asked me, apparently close to panicking.

I didn't even turn my head to see her approaching, I could hear it perfectly fine. Right now, I was too ashamed of myself to meet her eyes anyway. If I did, I could only imagine all the ways I could take her life if this repeated itself.

I felt her steps halt right next to me. "Basuril..?" She asked carefully. I turned my head a little away, putting it on the ground and letting my wings fall down with it.

Any kind of energy I had had before this battle had disappeared completely as if it had never been there in the first place anyway. I could almost feel the girl's hurt from my simple action, but I knew I'd break if I had to see her dying by my own claws.

She stopped trying to talk to me, knowing I probably needed just a little space to think. But the silence between us was broken by a terrified gasp, soon followed up by the comfortable, pulsing feeling of her Sky magic making its way into my system and healing my wounds.

I whipped my head around and stared at her. She was looking down at my side, the one which had the long gash stretching across it, with a determined expression, her hands hovering just above the wound, surrounded in a soft, light-blue glow.

I moved away from her hands. "**No, I'm not deserving of that.**" I told her, before turning my head away again, dropping it to the ground as I felt the onslaught of imagination already charging at my mind.

I could feel her gaze at the back of my head. "What do you mean Basuril?" She asked me with a hurt and confused voice.

I grimaced at myself again. There I went hurting her again, with just my words. I looked up at the Dragon, which was lying limp on top of the buildings. "**It's dead...**" I simply stated with a low voice, bordering a whisper. "**I killed it…**" I continued.

I heard Wendy move around me, to stand in front of me. I looked to the side as a stubborn little child, knowing she was standing right in front of me and not ready to face her yet.

I felt her two small, soft hands on either side of my jaw. I complied with her silent wish to lift my big head up, but still didn't meet her probably warm gaze. If I did, guilt was sure to worm its way up to the front.

Her soft voice broke the silence. "Basuril, please look at me." Her sweet voice said firmly, yet kindly. Just like her mother. That was the kind of voice I couldn't ignore. I hesitantly glanced at her, my eyes meeting hers, which were flooding with warmth. The kind of warmth I didn't deserve after what I did. She looked straight into my eyes, making sure I was looking at her. "What happened, it's not your fault." She told me.

I looked at her surprised and confused. "**How can't it be? I killed it!**" I argued. If it wasn't my fault, then who in the world were to blame?

She shook her head, smiling a little. "No… You see, I kind of accidentally listened in on Lucy and - as it turned out - Grandine's conversation, back after Lucy'd fought DD, remember?" She asked me, searching my eyes as if the answer lay there somehow.

I slowly nodded. "**Yeah…**" I trailed off. Of course I could remember that. It was when her identity had almost been revealed and that we decided to rescue my uncle. But what did it have to do with anything?

Before I could ask that very question, she explained it herself. "Apparently what happened was that Lucy's Dragon had taken over as well as her primal instincts." Wendy-chan explained. So Lucy had gone through this too? But why hadn't I been told? "As it turns out, it is a kind of test you Dragons _have_ to go through." She told me.

I furrowed my nonexistent eyebrows at her. "**A test? What kind of test?**" I asked her. Why would they put us through something as horrible as this?

Wendy-chan nodded, continuing her explanation. "It's to see what kind of Dragon you are. There are only two outcomes." She told me. "One: That you after it subsided enjoyed the power-rush and want to experience it again." She explained. That was _definitely_ not the case for me. "Or two: That you are afraid of what happened and would do anything to prevent it from happening again." She added. "Which side do you belong to?" She then asked me, looking straight into my eyes.

I didn't need any time to consider this one, it was obvious. "**The last one. I don't want to experience that ever again.**" I told her without hesitation. I'd do anything.

Wendy-chan released a heavy exhale and her face brightened into a relieved smile. "I'm so happy you said that." She said and suddenly threw her arms around my snout. "You passed the test." She told me.

I blinked confusedly. Passed? Well that was good, but- "**What happens to those who don't pass?**" I asked her. Right as I finished my sentence, I felt Wendy-chan tense. "**Wendy-chan?**" I asked her confused.

She quickly released my snout and scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously. "Well, you see…" She dragged it out. She sighed defeated before continuing. "I heard Grandine explain that if the Dragon doesn't pass, he would be killed. He would simply be too dangerous to have around." She told me quickly.

I felt my breathing halt for a moment. What? I actually could've been killed by the Heads if I didn't despise that feeling? Just how many Dragons had been killed because of that? In the end though.. It didn't matter how many Dragons it was, they'd be a horrible threat if they walked around freely. Especially if they were stronger than me, which was very likely.

Wendy-chan moved to my side again, holding her hands out towards the slowly drying gash. I watched her every move intently, even as her hand got surrounded in the soft, blue glow. "Now let me heal you." She said to me. She glanced at me from her work, her lips turning upwards. "As a thank you for saving me." She added.

I beamed back at her. "**I'll always save you, Wendy-chan! Just call and I'll come!**" I promised her and watched as her face turned a deep shade of crimson. "**You're doing that again, Wendy-chan. Are you feeling bad?**" I asked her, referring to back in the Ryuzetsu when she did that too.

Wendy shook her head quickly. "BASURIL!" She yelled frustrated as she continued her healing me. Meanwhile, I was just one big question-mark. Why was she yelling at me?

**Underneath the castle~**

**Cobra's P.O.V**

Even through the earth and without my enhanced hearing, I could easily hear all the noise and the roars from the surface. Just what the heck was going on up there? It sounded like a war was going on up there.

If I had doubted the silver haired woman's thoughts before, I didn't now. Those roars coming from up there couldn't possibly be human. But just how many were they? And why did they all sound so twisted?

Which reminded me, her Celestial magic was still coursing around in me. She'd said to wait for the last day of the GMG, hadn't she? So that would be Day 5 and… Today.

Suddenly I heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the stairs and moved to the edge of my prison, wondering if it was actually the devil I'd been thinking of, who'd step out of and into the lights.

Of course, I'd only got disappointed, getting my hopes up too high. The one who stepped down the stairs wasn't the beautiful silver haired woman - and no, I would never actually tell her that. He mate would literally kill me - it was a man.

An ugly one, with an ugly-ass scar filling half of his disgusting face. And then that white cape flailing around his legs, as if he owned it all. Of course, that was just a cover-up. I'd known since long ago. That man was twisted. Almost as twisted as me.

I grinned when I saw him stop in front of my cell. "Oh? To what do I own the pleasure of you presence, councilman?" I asked him mockingly, my one eye locking with his turquoise. "Don't tell me you're here to fuck my mind up again, asshole." I warned him. Yes, I'd been soft with my language around that lady. Something I learned from being around Angel, she hated that kind of language.

The mind-fucker just looked at me with a blank expression. "That's Doranbolt to you, but no, I'm actually not." He told me. Much to my surprise by the way. I was just about to ask him what else he could be doing down here, when he answered for himself. "I'm here to let you out." He told me.

I looked at him with disbelief written all over my face and the eyebrows I lifted. "And what's in it for you then?" I asked him. There was no way he'd just let me go. He'd have the whole Council after him if he did.

He snorted. "Of course you'll slay the Dragons wreaking havoc up on the surface." He told me. Once again, I looked at him with disbelief. So he wanted to release me just so I could slay some Dragons? Not that I was complaining or anything, but just why the hell didn't he ask the Dragon Slayers already running around up there? "They're calling themselves 'Head Dragons'. There should be 12 of them, easily recognizable. Just evade the coal-black ones and the silver and black and blue one, which are sure to fly together." He told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I'd learned through Lucy's memories that these 'Head Dragons' were the good guys. Which made sense since this guy wanted to be rid of them. But those two he mentioned last, they were different for some reason, which was why I wasn't ordered to slay those. The only two coming to mind would be Acnologia and Lucy themselves. It seemed to fit in too.

Anyway, I had no intention of slaying those Dragons. If I did, I'd be killing that Poison Dragon too. And I needed that guy, he needed to teach me things.

But I wouldn't show him I knew of the Dragons I was supposed to slay, so I nodded, with a smirk stretching on my face. "So you're telling me, that if I do this, you'll let me walk away free?" I asked him.

Doranbolt leveled me a glare, telling me if I did something I shouldn't, he'd hunt me down personally. I'd easily take him if he decided to do that. He gave me a curt nod. "Yes, that's what I'm saying." He confirmed.

I grinned widely. It seemed the reunion of Oración Seis wasn't far away any longer after all. "You've got a deal. Anything to avoid seeing your ugly face again." I muttered the last part, but knowingly loud enough for him to hear.

He grunted at the comment and signaled for the two guards standing to attention by the stairs to open the cell and let me out. They quickly obeyed and let me out, sending me nervous glances both as they opened the cell doors and the cuffs around my wrists. Just the way I liked it.

When my wrists were released and the cuff clattered on the ground, I began rubbing the skin where the shackles had been sitting. "Well, that was nice." I admitted. The man glared down at me, where I stood right outside my cell. I sighed exasperatedly at him. "I know, I know, only beat the enemy and all." I said in an exasperated mockery. He had no idea what kind of hell he'd let loose.

He nodded at me with a levelling gaze. "Good. I trust you know the way out yourself, I have no intention of guiding you out." He said, turned around and began walking towards the stairs. Just before he went on the first step, he turned around and looked at me. "And remember not to get caught." He reminded me as he began ascending the stairs.

I shook my head at him and snorted. Dumbass. Was he seriously leaving a criminal to find out by himself? Didn't he consider I had a whole guild - yes, it may be small, but still - that I'd free and take with me _before_ leaving? He should've, because that was exactly what I was going to do.

And I also knew where the first of them were. I turned on my heels, looking at one of the cells a little further down. "Did ya hear that, Midnight?" I asked loudly, knowing the guy to be caught just a little away.

I heard a grunt and the rustle of clothes. "Just let me out, Cobra." He ordered me with a bored voice. I snorted at the fact that his usual personality hadn't changed the least during his prison.

I went to his cell and looked down at where he was sitting cross-legged on the ground with closed eyes. I sent my Poison magic to cover my fist as I slammed it into the bars of the prison, at the cell-door, aiming to corrode the bars with it or something.

Unfortunately, that was not what happened. Much to my surprise, nothing at all happened when I hit the bars. I pulled my fist back, staring at it while it was flaming in my almost crimson red Poison magic. "What the hell?" I asked rhetorically.

Midnight sighed and cracked one eye open to look up at me. "Use the girl's magic. Yours is dirty." He told me exasperatedly.

I glared at him. "Just what the hell do you mean it's _dirty_?!" I yelled at him, annoyed that he'd call my superior magic dirty. It was awesome, not dirty.

He opened the other eye as well and looked blankly up at me. "It's not pure like hers. It's a mix of human and Dragon. Hers is pure Celestial magic." He told me in a way similar to how you would explain something to a child. "Now get to it." He demanded.

I huffed at him, already getting annoyed with him. Maybe I should just leave him here to rot? Nah, it'd probably backfire. Without saying anything in response, I got hold of the Celestial magic that was still left inside me. I took only a little, realizing that I didn't need any more than that. The added strength this magic gave was incredible, to be all honest.

But that was what she had said too, right? To protect and strengthen, that was the purposes of this magic. Other than summoning Spirits. Angel needed to learn this shit. And quickly too.

I shook the thoughts away and did the same I had earlier, aimed my fist at the bars, and when it connected the bar easily broke. I chose to ignore the fact that her magic broke what mine couldn't and went through the same process with the shackles around Midnight's wrists as well.

The raven-haired mage got to his feet next to me, cracking his neck to each side. "Well then, let's go get the others." He said and we both walked together towards the place where the rest of our guild was imprisoned.

**Somewhere else in Crocus~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Well, that was a surprise. Basuril just suddenly dropping Gray off on my back and then flying off again in a rush. I wondered what he could be so busy with.

I saved that thought for later and looked down at my passenger again, whose eyes had grown to the size of plates. "L-Lucy, is that really you?" He asked me hesitantly, stuttering as he looked into my eyes.

I slowly nodded. Hadn't Dravola already told them that both I and Acnologia were Dragons? Or was it just the shock of actually seeing it? "**Yeah, that's me.**" I reassured him with a little smile.

I saw him glance in Acnologia's direction, paling just a little as he recognized the Dragon from Tenrou. I heard my mate sigh, beating his wings exasperatedly. "**Yes Gray, I'm the Acnologia you fought back at Tenrou. No, I'm not doing it again.**" He told the poor Ice Make mage with an annoyed voice. Really he was only trying to hide his regret for doing it. It was kinda sweet.

I nodded to the black haired stripper, who of course was bare-chested. "**So why are you here, Gray?**" I asked to change the topic. For both of their sakes.

Gray refocused at me and nodded. "I remembered something that might be important…" He told me hesitantly, as if still wondering if it was actually as important after all.

I smiled at him, trying not to be intimidating. Even though I didn't look as intimidating as my mate - for example - I was still a Dragon. My sheer size was intimidating in itself, I knew from firsthand experience. "**Please tell me, Gray.**" I told him kindly.

His gaze locked with mine and he nodded solemnly. "It was back when we fought the Sabers, Natsu and I." He started off. "When I was sent down with that wagon underground, what did I tell you?" He asked me.

I furrowed my nonexistent eyebrows. Didn't he remember? "**You told us that it suddenly crashed to a stop and sent you flying into a cave. Somehow you found your way out of the mountain and ended at the streets of Crocus.**" I reminded him, looking at him confusedly. "**Why?**" I asked him.

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, as it turns out, someone has been playing with my memories." He told me. Before I - or anyone else for that matter - could ask him any questions, he continued. "It's true that I crashed into the ground of a cave because of a sudden stop of movement." He told me. Suddenly he got a faraway look, as if he was reliving the moment. "But in front of me was this big room _inside_ the mountain. There was some weird kind of machine or something, and it was big. First I thought it was Etherion, but then realized it'd be a too exposed place for it to be hidden, and figured it had to be something else." He told us.

Metallicana flew back to be hovering in the air next to me, looking down at the mage on my back. "**What has that got to do with anything, Runt?**" He asked the Ice Make mage, who was pulled out of whatever trance he was in and was staring at Metallicana with wide, terrified eyes.

I sighed and glared at the Iron Dragon. "**Would you at least **_**try**_** to be a little less intimidating, Metallicana?**" I asked him, gesturing to the frightened mage on my back with a nod of my head.

Metallicana just looked at me as if I was stupid. "**Squirt, be realistic. There's not a moment in time I'm **_**not**_** intimidating. I'm an **_**Iron**_** Dragon. We just do that kind of thing.**" He told me proudly. I honestly couldn't see what part of it there was to be proud of, but I'd leave him to that.

I sighed and heard Gray stuttering behind me, turning my head around to him again. "I-is that really…?" He trailed off.

My face lit up in realization of what he was trying to say and nodded with a smile. "**Oh yes, I forgot to introduce you to each other.**" I said, already getting a little excited. "**Gray meet Metallicana, Igneel, Alodiculis and Glanasile, Iron, Fire, Peace and Ice Dragons.**" I told him and gestured to each Dragon, when they were mentioned. "**Old men, this is Gray Fullbuster of Team Natsu.**" I introduced him to them.

Glanasile's ice blue eyes met mine. "**Lucy, I'd appreciate it if you didn't refer to me as 'old'. I'm actually quite young.**" He told me.

While I giggled, Igneel snorted at him. "**Yeah sure, keep telling yourself that Ice Cube.**" The Fire Dragon told the Ice Dragon before looking at Gray with a wide grin. "**So you're my son's rival-friend?**" He asked him, beginning to laugh.

Gray quickly shook his head. "No, no, no! Calling us friends would be exaggerating it!" He tried to convince the Fire Dragon, but quickly realized he was talking to deaf ears. He looked back up at me with confused eyes. "Lucy, have these Dragons been your friends all this time?" He asked me.

I nodded with a smile. "**Yes, they have.**" I confirmed. "**Now, please explain to me why this has anything to do with anything.**" I asked him. I was curious about what he had seen, yes, but I couldn't see how it connected with our current situation. Unless…

He nodded and continued. "Yeah, of course that isn't anything too special in itself. Kinda." He admitted. "What's important about it right now is the fact that it seems to be the headquarters of Raven Tail." He told me, looking at me with a solemn expression. "And they have Doranbolt, a Magic Council member, on their side. He was the one who changed my memories." He explained.

While I let that information sink in, I slowly dropped my jaw in realization at what he was saying. Basically he'd reached the place where Raven Tail were probably going to complete their plans. And he revealed that they actually had connections all over the place. If they'd managed to infiltrate the Council, where couldn't they be?

But I wasn't the first to react at the new information, it was the other Peace Dragon. "**Can you show us the way, Gray?**" He asked the Ice Make mage. Exactly what I would've asked him.

Gray looked behind me to Alodiculis and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that." He said and turned around to the arena, which was on top of a mountain. To think their headquarters had been right under our noses all this time. Quite literally. "The entrance is on the other side of the mountain." He told us.

I nodded to the other Dragons around me. "**Well, what are we waiting for then?**" I asked them. We all made a quick U-turn and sped towards the GMG arena. The faster we could end this, the better. I looked back at Gray, who had fallen on his butt. "**Make yourself comfortable and grab a scale or two. Just in case.**" I told him.

I sped up just a little, already enjoying the feel of the wind rushing past me. Unfortunately, the distance between where we were and the arena was way too small and gave me just about no chance to actually enjoy the flight.

"It's down there!" I heard Gray call out to me from my back. I glanced back at him, looking at where he was pointing, which was almost directly underneath us. I nodded and quickly began descending towards the ground. I tried not to smash any buildings, landing in the middle of a street, but my efforts were doomed to failure even before I began.

Especially because after me came the other Dragons, who didn't give a damn about which buildings they smashed.

I looked at the mountain, trying to find the entrance Gray had been pointing to. It wasn't hard to find the entrance he'd been talking about, it was big enough to fit a pair of Dragons. Although not if they were Metallicana or Deamunas' size.

I heard Gray breathe out quickly on my back. "Lucy." He said, drawing my attention. "Promise me you'll give me another ride once this is all over." He asked me expectantly. The first one to answer was Acnologia, which was a growl. Gray looked up at the big Dragon and quickly shook his head. "Not that kind of ride!" He promised the Dragon quickly.

I burst out laughing at both of them. "**I thought you were smarter than that Acnologia.**" I told him, still giggling as I nuzzled my head into his. When I pulled back, I looked at Gray with a big smile. "**Of course, I'd love to!**" I told him. I grinned when I remembered back when Basuril had given me a rollercoaster of a ride back in the Dragon Realm. "**But Basuril will give you a much better ride, just so you know.**" I told him.

He nodded. "I can imagine." He agreed. If there were anyone here who could give awesome rides, it was definitely Basuril. And he'd love to do it as much as his passenger too.

Glanasile stepped forward, towards the entrance, peering inside. "**Are you coming with us, boy?**" He asked Gray, not even bothering to look at him.

Gray stayed silent on my back, weighing his decision. He could join us if he wanted, but it'd be tough for him. Probably. Maybe. I didn't even know.

When Glanasile finally looked at him, awaiting his answer, he managed to stutter something out. "I-I believe I'd only get in your way if I followed you." He admitted. "I'd be of more use out here." He added.

I smiled at him. It took quite the man to admit something like that. Especially for Fairy Tail's men. But I guess the circumstances were a bit over the usual. A bit more extreme, so to say.

Acnologia nodded, also sending the mage a smile. "**It's your choice Gray. If you feel that, then go help your guild mates bring down all the other Raven Tail members.**" He told the Ice Make mage.

I quickly got an idea. "**Wait! Before you go, Gray.**" I told him, as he jumped down from my back, looking up at me curiously. I closed my eyes shut. This would seriously need some concentrating, if I wanted it to work out for me.

I completely locked out all the sounds, smells and tasted all around me, the world I'd entered being nothing but a dark abyss. It wasn't like when I went to open one of my Spirits' Gates, this place was different. It was much darker and more silent, even though that seemed impossible.

I sent all the love I had for my Spirits out in one gigantic burst. In my Dragon form, I couldn't touch the keys and thereby making this connection that much easier, I had to do it the hard way. Which was why I needed to concentrate.

I continued sending my love out to all of them, going through each and every memory I had of them, feeling the love and adoration I kept for them inside those memories. Gradually the Gates popped up inside my head, glowing a bright golden, almost like small suns on a black night - even though that had never actually happened before. They didn't light anything up, but they were beautiful.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the last Gate appeared. I was ashamed to say it, but it was Ceterum's Gate. I could only blame it on the fact that I still didn't have many memories with him yet. But I did have more than just that single battle against Kurohebi and Shi, I'd gotten a few on top of that when I opened his Gate in my mind.

Now they were all standing mightily in front of me, all I needed to do was open them. Which I did with another burst of my feelings.

Gradually and simultaneously, the Gates slowly creaked open, all keeping blindingly white light behind them, which almost made my eyes water. But that was probably also with the addition of all the feelings I'd just exhaled as well, they were still coursing around in my head.

I opened my eyes to the real world, to see that all around me was a ring of golden lights, some with added elements, others without.

All of my Spirits appeared all around me, greeting me in their own special way. Or not. Some of them actually gave me a fairly ordinary greeting. While others - ahem, Virgo, Loke and Fenix - didn't.

I looked around at all of them, already feeling the tears building up in my eyes. I really, _really_ loved these Spirits. With everything I was. "**I'm sure you all have an idea of what is going on.**" I told them. "**We're waging war against Raven Tail, you can hear it all around us.**" I told them, letting them listen to the battle cries erupting from the people and Dragons fighting in all of Crocus. "**I need you to go help the guild mages defeating the Ravens. Use all the magic you'd like, I am not able to use my Celestial magic in this form, so it's free for you to use.**" I reassured them.

Gray looked all around in awe, at all of the Spirits gathered around him and me. "Lucy… Amazing… How can you…?" He asked, cutting himself off. "How is this possible?" He finally asked me.

I smiled at him. "**Oh, right, you don't know**." I remembered. "**Calling them out doesn't cost me any magic, it's when they begin using magic that they draw from me.**" I explained. I turned to my Spirits again, smiling just as brightly at them. "**Please assist me in this battle.**"

They all released a collection roar of affirmation before scattering like the wind. Loke being the only one who stayed behind, as I had expected. He looked up at me with a smile. "Take care of yourself, Princess." He ordered me. I gave him a bright smile and a nod, telling him all that I couldn't with words. My Lion Spirit turned to his previously best friend and smiled. "I'm sorry about beating you up seven years ago." He told the Ice Make mage.

Gray looked at Loke confusedly, before realization dawned on him. He quickly shook his head. "Oh no! I deserved that!" He reassured the Lion.

Loke chuckled. "I guess you did." He said and swung his arm around the other guy's shoulder. "So how about we catch up on lost time, fighting side by side?" He suggested, already beginning to pull Gray towards the battlefield.

Gray nodded and laughed loudly. "Sounds great to me, oversized cat." He laughed and began running towards Crocus' center, where all the battling took place.

Loke laughed as well and ran after him. "Watch yourself, Ice Queen!" He yelled after him as he chased him down, the two beginning a race to see who reached the destination first. If I heard correctly, I believe they were also putting bets on who could defeat most mages.

I was touched by that reunion. Could it be any sweeter? But I also found out there was no time for that, when Metallicana's voice broke the moment. "**While this is wonderful and all, it seems we've been spotted.**" The Iron Dragon warned us.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, then followed his gaze to somewhere in the sky. I could see a bunch of small, black dots approaching. I didn't even know how many of them there was, but it was definitely more than seven.

I turned around, getting ready for battle. "**Well then, let's take care of these before we take down the boss!**" I said, glaring right at the approaching Dragons. Six Dragons, four of those being Heads. Of course we could take these down, even though they may be double-teaming all of us.

I saw Alodiculis moving next to me from the corner of my eye. "**Káo (No) Lucy, you and Acnologia will continue on.**" He demanded, taking a step forward in emphasis.

I looked at him confusedly, but before I could protest, Acnologia had already responded. "**Fine. But don't come crying if things get rough.**" He told them as he turned around, beginning the journey into the mountain.

I looked alternately at all of the Dragons around me, trying to figure out what was going on. But I couldn't figure it out from their determined gazes that were all fixated on the Dragons, which weren't far away.

I sighed in defeat before hurrying after my mate into the mountain. I quickly caught up to him and the two of us walk-ran forward next to each other, since the cave let us.

I looked up at the Chaos Dragon, knowing he knew what had just happened back there and was just about to ask him, when I saw his expression. He clenched his teeth together, staring forward with a conflicted gaze.

I realized he was battling against himself. He actually really wanted to turn around and help the four back there, but knew he had to continue. I smiled up at him. That was one of many reasons I loved him. "**I'm sure they'll be fine.**" I reassured him, breaking the silence there'd been lying between us.

Acnologia broke away from his thoughts and sent me a smile. "**Of course, they have two brutes out there and two intellects.**" He added, to which I giggled. He'd hit spot on with that one.

I didn't get to respond, when the archway we'd been travelling on suddenly ended, revealing a big room. It had perfectly rounded walls, which could never have been done by nature, and some sort of machine filled the center of this big cave. I recognized the thing to be the same as the one Gray had been describing. That meant..

"So you finally came." Someone said way underneath us. A human? And it was a voice I seemed to recognize from somewhere, I just couldn't place it.

I looked down at the man, instantly recognizing him. It was the guy who'd appeared right as we'd rescued Kurama. "**You…**" I muttered at lack of better words.

He nodded exasperatedly. "Yes, yes, I' the one pulling the strings." He admitted and looked to the right. "Ivan please make you men put these to sleep." He told the man standing a little away.

As my eyes flickered in the direction, where I saw another man, this one black haired, bow to the first. "Yes, Master Sahyragino." He said and called for one of his men.

Sahyragino? Ohh… I'd heard that name once before. Sahyragino, Sahyragino, Sahyragino… That's right! I remembered! He's-

I felt my eyelids getting heavy and blinked in an attempt to stay awake, but slowly failed. I didn't even register it when my legs buckled under me and I fell to the ground. "**A-Acnologia…**" I muttered drowsily, hoping he'd hear me.

I felt something touching my wings faintly. "**I'm here… Lucy…**" He told me just as sleepily. I could barely even see anything with my blurry sight, which only got more hazy with ever second and blink.

The man spoke again. "Silvia! Please help me getting these two locked up!" He ordered. Silvia…? Surely it couldn't be _that_ Silvia.

I opened my eyes a little again, when I heard something heavy approaching. All I could see was the four silver legs of a Peace Dragon. "**Yes, father.**" I heard a voice I recognized as Silvia's say just as everything went black.

**Jesus Christ almighty! Whatever happened to trust and loyalty, huh? Well, I guess it's a sort of loyalty that she stuck with her father, but seriously?**

**And our Grand Master of all things Mysterious has been revealed to be none other than Sahyragino, Layla and Silvia's dad, as well as Lucy's grandfather. Makes you wonder what kind of things he could be plotting, huh? **

**Also, was I the only one who absolutely loved the scene with Basuril and Wendy just as the battle had ended? **

**Our favorite - and only - Poison Dragon Slayer has now been set free as well. What will he decide to do once collecting his whole team?**

**And most importantly, what will happen to Lucy and Acnologia? What is that machine in the middle of that room, under the arena? And why is it placed there of all places?**

**I can't promise all of the questions will be answered next week, but they will in due time~  
Until next time!**

**Thank you Aira0906, Guest, Egichuu (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, Nicole (Guest), BecauseIamSoBored, All-american rejects, mjb379, StrongGuy159, ThunderWolf395, fanfiction4dreams, DeathKitsune666, Anki, booklover21567, ThatOneTroubleMaker, clumzybeans, Guest, Acnologia Prime, Sayzuuka (Guest), Guest, Darkverger1, TheMoonElf, Moonlight Starlove, The X (Guest) (About 60 times too), Moon Star Heart, YoruichiYukiko, lillicat12, Guest, GajeelIronSteel, Sing97, ChaosDancer12, PuddyKatz, Zelga Lim Li, proverbsrus, kittyninjaxox14, Tcwhite and all you other readers! I LOVE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE UNIVERSE AND BACK!**

**Okay… Sorry, but I didn't have time to proofread it properly, so please don't burn me with a matchstick XD**

**Also, shall we see if we can hit 1400 reviews before I end this story? Would be awesome ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

**So, you guys'll hate me ^_^ **

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Jesus Slowpoke is persistent. Or ignorant. Or whatever. Anyway, as it stands, he has no intentions of handing Fairy Tail over to anyone. **

**With Shi and 464~**

**464'd P.O.V**

I wasn't surprised he already knew of the Heads, but what surprised me was that he had actually expected and, dare I say, wished for one. Did he really think himself strong enough to could stand against someone like Skyadrum-sama? He'd easily been beaten by Lucy, when she let her Dragon out, and Acnologia had been holding back that whole match. Surely he knew that.

Anyhow, it was of no consequence to me. I'd be sure to show him exactly how strong Dragons were, Head or not. Also even though I was injured from the earlier battle.

I glared right into his green eyes, trying to gauge what magic he'd be starting off with, but it was easier said than done. He constantly switched between his two known magic, as if he couldn't decide which to start off with, and then with that third, unknown magic lurking behind it all.

His first two, which seemed to be the ones he was about to use, were Gravity and Crash. As he'd learned battling Lucy, his Crash magic had little to no effect on our 'pure' magic, so he would certainly not use it for defense. He'd most likely only use that whenever he engaged in close combat of any sort, that was the only time it'd have any effect. Then there was his Gravity magic. It wasn't exactly efficient when it came to attacking, unless it was slamming someone down to the ground from great heights, so that magic would most likely be used for defensive purposes.

But then what was his third magic? Both defense and attack were covered with his two other magic, for what purpose did he have that last one?

While I was still considering this, being caught in my own world, Shi exploited this momentary lack of attention and came charging while I had my guard down.

He submerged his hand in his white Crash magic. As he ran, he pulled his hand behind his head, preparing to strike it down when he came close enough.

I didn't have time to both snap out of my thoughts and move out of the human's range, so he landed a clear hit at the base of my neck. I grunted at the immediate pain spreading in my body like cold water, but it wasn't so painful that it changed anything. Even though this was only a mere human, he was strong to could inflict pain on a Dragon, no matter how much it was.

Before he could jump back again, I whipped my head around and grabbed the back of his clothes with my teeth, slamming him into the nearest house's wall. Dravola-sama had after all told us we should go easy on the humans, I figured that this one was included as well.

I looked down at the human, not bothering to move my head down in his height. "**You're overestimating your own abilities, human.**" I warned him, while he was getting back to his feet. "**I may not be a Head, but that does by no means mean I am weak.**" I reassured him. Not after having trained under Skyadrum-sama and Noriaki-sama.

The human grinned up at me, not fazed the least. "Did I ever say you were?" He asked me. His eyes flashed to blue. "And who told you I'd shown you all I've got?" He questioned me, amusement flickering in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at him. That third magic of his was obviously his ace in the sleeve. I was quite certain he wasn't going to pull that out until he felt it was his last card, whenever that was. And whatever it was.

I grunted at him. Even so, he _was_ still a human. Simply the size difference between the two of us, gave me a huge advantage. Add to that the fact that my magic was currently at its best, this human didn't stand a chance. It hardly even mattered if his third magic was Dragon Slaying magic.

This time I chose to be the one taking the initiative, as I lashed out at Shi with one of my wings, which also functioned as a front leg. But he'd seen it coming and jumped, not over it, but _on_ it. He continued to climb my wing, much to my surprise, once again lighting his hand up with his Crash magic.

I quickly snapped out of it and defended myself. I swiftly swung my tail up and over my back and wing, hitting Shi's stomach and sending him flying yet again. He landed on the ground on his a little away and skidded to a stop.

He only gave me another exhilarated grin before pushing off the ground again, shooting at me. I reared back on my hind legs with a growl and beat my wings once, sending a powerful wind right at him. But it was as if a force-field protected him, as the wind only reflected the wind, like it would a missile.

I quickly abandoned that plan and as I landed on the ground, I sent a little laser of Shadow magic at him. This one he couldn't block the same way, so it hit his head perfectly. This brought him out of balance and left a wound burning with Shadows on his forehead.

He stumbled to a stop, putting a hand up to touch the wound. When he pulled it back again, his fingers had wiped some of those Shadows off. He just got to see them, before they disappeared completely.

He grinned up at me again. "Interesting." He simply stated as he shot off the ground again in the same manner as before.

I growled at him and narrowed my eyes. Why didn't he just stop already and give up? He had no chance at winning this. Yet he kept coming.

When I knew he was inside my range, I stretched my head out and caught his foot gently between my teeth from the side, already tasting the blood dripping from where my sharp fangs penetrated his skin.

I heard his hiss in pain when I threw him up in the air like a little ragdoll. I'd put as much force into that throw as I could, only being able to gently bite down at him, but even so, he still flew quite high. When he'd reached the maximum height my throw could offer and began falling down again, all the while saying nothing, I prepared my tail.

He'd fallen about halfway down, when I whipped my tail at him, hitting him straight across the back. He proceeded to fly off with a roar, this time with a much greater speed. I'd angled my tail perfectly, so he didn't land too far away. As a matter of fact, he landed on the same street as the one I was currently filling.

I turned myself around to the human lying face down on the paved street. "**Do you understand now human? Magic like yours stands no chance against a Dragon, even if it is not a Head Dragon.**" I told him. No, I was not arrogant, I was simply telling him the truth.

Silence lay heavily between us for a moment, before he suddenly began laughing. Gradually the volume increased, starting off as something barely a whisper, to ending out in full-blown laughter.

As his laughter increased, he slowly and what seemed to be painfully crawled up to all fours. "Yes, I can see that you are no pushover." He agreed, while panting lightly for air, not even a flicker of the amusement, which had been so obvious before, existed in his voice. He somehow managed to stand on his two feet without falling, but with his back to me. "It seems Gravity and Crash aren't enough to beat you, that much is clear." He admitted. He turned around almost all the way, looking up at me with bright, red eyes. "It seems I have no choice, but to use _that_." He told me.

I lowered my head a little and growled as I felt his magic spike. Not with Gravity and not with Crash, but with this third magic. His whole body suddenly turned completely black, only his two red eyes visible in the dark. It was the kind of black, which swallowed all light, it seemed to have no end.

Gradually, his whole form grew in size. It started out at a slow pace, but it quickly grew faster and faster. After only a moment, Shi was at my size, if not even a little taller. He still had a considerably human figure, although as he grew, it seemed his muscles also had increased.

But his transformation hadn't ended yet. Two long… Well it looked like quite thick sticks, grew on his back. Suddenly the two jolted out in their true length and revealed themselves to be a pair of gigantic wings. He slowly pulled them in again, but only so much they were still fully visible behind his gigantic arms. They were at least the size of Dragons' and reached from about his knee, maybe a little lower, to a meter or two above his head as well.

The blackness vanished quickly, revealing him fully and making me drop my jaw. First of all, I began doubting he was actually a human. There was not even a sign of the human he'd just been before.

Now his whole body just looked like a bundle of muscles packed in human skin. And there were a lot of them. They undoubtedly grew more than his size had. That and his clothes had disappeared too. Whether they had exploded from the sudden growth spurt or something else was unknown. But in this form he didn't seem to have a gender, not having any form of genitalia.

His mouth had also changed, to say the least. It had grown to stretch farther around his head, maybe that was just because his lips had disappeared it seemed like that, but nonetheless, it stretched further back. It was only big, white teeth. It kind of reminded me of how a human skull looked, if it hadn't been for the last few teeth on either side having been lifted up, so the bottom line of teeth came up on the level of the top line.

The only thing actually remaining from his human self was his hair. It was still up there at the top of his head. But even that had been changed, it was much longer now, swishing around at his jaw.

This… This I hadn't expected. All I could do was standing and staring at him dumbfounded. What exactly was this?

His menacing, glowing, red eyes stared directly into my blue ones. "**Dark Titan form… I really hate it.**" He told me. "**None of my usual handsomeness can be seen in it.**" He sighed exasperatedly. "**Well, whatever. Time to turn the tables.**" He said.

Just as he finished speaking, he launched off the ground towards me, while I was still too stunned to even consider moving. With a roar, he smashed his now gigantic fist into my face. For once, it wasn't him flying. The incredible power he could pack in a simple hit like that sent me flying backwards, crashing into a row of houses.

The pain that presently originated from my head and out into the rest of me broke me out of my trance and made me refocus on what was happening.

Now the human - if he even could be called that - stood a good chance of winning, I couldn't just stand by idly and let him beat me.

I quickly got back up to my feet, glaring right into his glowing, red eyes. I growled at him. He may be strong, but I wouldn't go down so easily.

I leaped into the air, spreading my wings and flying above him. I charged my magic in my mouth as I inhaled sharply, pulling as much air as I could into my lungs. When I reached approximately the maximum amount of air I could store in my lungs, I began charging down at him, opening my mouth widely. "**Atarangi Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Shadow Dragon's Roar) I roared at him as I released all the Shadow magic I'd stored in the air in my lungs.

As I continued spouting my magic at him, I also charged down, following my Haruru (Roar). I quickly reached him and cut of my magic when I was right in front of him. I grabbed his thigh and waist with my two hind claws, cut then in deeply among the muscles, and sank my teeth into the base of his neck, my wings spread out wide behind me. Where either my teeth or claws connected with him, I could feel my scales burn slightly with the heat he was oozing of. I might as well have fought Igneel-sama.

He roared, much like a Dragon, in anger and let it drive him. He used one hand to pull my fangs out of his skin and the other to give me a hit in the stomach, pushing out whatever air I had left in my lungs. The hit tore my claws out of his thigh and waist and made me land on the ground in front of him.

Before I could do anything else I was kicked roughly at my side, sending me crashing through several houses. The only warning I got that he was closing in on me was a sizzling sound, similar to that of burning flesh, and the powerful beat of his wings, before I felt a heavy foot land on my head. Although not heavy enough to crush my skull.

I looked up past the human titan-sized foot and up at my opponent, who was glaring down at me. On the way, I noticed the sizzling sound came from the wounds he'd had from my claws, as they were quickly healing up. I guessed it was the same with where I had buried my fangs.

I snarled at him. "**What are you?**" I asked him, glaring as fiercely at him as I could under the foot. "**And why are you doing this?**" I continued to ask.

The Dark Titan laughed. "**Oh, I'm still human, I just got my hands on this fine, Dark magic you see.**" He reassured me. "**As for the other question-**" He muttered as he leaned in closer to me. "**You won't be around to find out.**" He told me and began laughing manically and began pressing his foot down on my head.

I had no idea how much more pressure my head could take without it being crushed. Was I really going to die here? And I hadn't even gotten around to giving it my all yet… But even if I had, would it have made any difference? But regardless of whether I had given it my all or not, this was how it had turned out.

All I had left to do, was to resign myself to the inevitable death that was my fate.

**Outside the castle~**

**Cobra's P.O.V**

"Ahh! Fresh air is fucking delicious!" I commented as I stretched my arms, letting the sunlight finally touch my skin again after seven years of imprisonment.

Yep, you guessed it, I'd freed my guild from that prison, all thanks to that Dragon girl and her Celestial magic. We'd even been by the assholes keeping our clothes, for whatever reason, and taken that back. Those idiots never even saw us coming.

Angel put her hands on her hips next to me. "Cobra! I thought I told you to hold your tongue!" She told me, already back to her original personality. "Besides, I'd have thought you'd be used to the taste by now."

Racer nodded, standing crouched and with one hand touching the ground. "Freedom really is a wonderful thing." He commented. He couldn't be more right.

Hoteye also smiled his stupid smile. "Our love has reached you!" He proclaimed. "Somehow…" He added muttering at the end. If that was what he'd like to believe, so be it.

While Midnight remained silent, his father took the word, standing a little in the back. "You've done it, Cobra." He told me. "I never would have expected you to be so diplomatic." He praised me. I looked at him over my shoulder and laughed a little. Interesting thought, old man, seems you're out of training. Brain spread his arms out wide, about to hold some grand speech. "Here, Oración Seis will be rebor-" He didn't get to say anymore, as I tore a hand through the side of his stomach, Poison magic engulfing my hand.

I still stood with my back to my remaining four team mates, as Brain fell to the ground, dead. "Midnight, you don't have a problem with that, do ya?" I asked him, turning around and glaring down at our fallen Guild Master. "This guy isn't out father. He thought of us as nothing more than pawns." I told him. "I heard it from him." I added, knowing that would be what tipped the scale in case he was uncertain.

Midnight shook his head and looked up with a non-caring expression. "Ah.. Well I guess if you heard it, then it must be true." He said. That's right, when I heard something, it could never be a lie. Sure, I _could_ twist the words, but in this certain case, I didn't need to.

While Racer, Angel and Hoteye discussed what to do now, I cut in, stopping them all. "Hold it." I told them all, effectively making them all shut up, while Midnight said his last goodbyes to his father. "I promised the girl I'd help her out." I told them, twisting Lucy's words just a little.

Angel looked at me confusedly. "What girl?" She asked me suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "And with what?" She continued, the rest of them looking at me with that same expression.

I sighed under my breath. Why did I have to spell every single detail out? "The one who's been down rescuing someone from the prison, I'm sure you noticed too Midnight." I said, glancing at him. My gaze quickly moved to Angel again. "She's the reason we're all standing out here now." I told her. Then my smirk went on full again. "And she's the one who beat you and stole your keys." I reminded her.

While Angel continued to fume over this information, Midnight reappeared with the rest of us. "Yes, I noticed. What is it you have in mind helping her with?" He asked me.

I looked at him with a raised brow. "Don't tell me you guys didn't notice the war going on around here." I asked them incredulously. The roars and battle cries rang so loudly in my head, I could barely even bear it. "_That's_ what I'm helping her out with. It's up to you whether you're in for it or not." I told them.

Racer looked at me with a raised brow. "What? So you want us to waste our freedom on battling on the good guys' side?" He asked me incredulously. "Just who the hell have you become?" He asked me, muttering something about how a woman could change my mind.

I grinned at him. "Oh, but she isn't just any woman, Racer." I told him, much to his confusion. I turned around, still grinning and began running down a street. "You'll see!" I told him, charging right at where all the noise of the war was coming from.

I didn't have to run far, before a big, purple Dragon with a green belly flew overhead, shocking my three team mates and at the same time telling me they were following along. Midnight had of course probably figured out that Dragons existed with the conversations Lucy and I had had, so he wasn't as surprised. But generally, he just wasn't a surprised kind of person.

I found myself having a smirk stretched across my face when I recognized the Dragon. Exactly the one I'd hoped to see. Guess this was my lucky day.

I quickly followed the Dragon the best I could. I saw it land a little away and engage in battle with some kind of black Dragon, which gave me the perfect opportunity to catch up to it. I didn't give a damn about the yells of my guild mates as I continued running.

I took a shortcut between two houses and ended up on the street the Dragons were at. Maybe _streets_ was more appropriate, as they had smashed all the houses around them as they continued to fight fiercely.

I continued running to the purple Dragon, up its tail and on its back just in time. I quickly inhaled the air around me. "POSION DRAGON'S ROAR!" I yelled as I released the beam of Poison magic at another approaching Dragon.

I heard a crack from the opponent Dragon, and then felt the purple Dragon's chest expand. "**Paihana Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Poison Dragon's Roar) The Dragon roared, and shot off a sea of Poison, several times bigger than mine and easily overwhelming the Dragon in the air, making it crash to the ground, smoke appearing on its scales from where our Poison was seeping into it.

I turned to the big Dragon I was standing on, grinning wider than I remembered doing before. "Old man!" I called, drawing the Dragon's attention. "You're Sacheba, right? A Poison Dragon." I asked him.

The Dragon grinned, its two longer, snake-like fangs glinting with the blood of the Dragon it had just slain. "**Yesss, I am Sssacheba.**" He confirmed. So the girl wasn't lying, eh? "**Who are you, boy?**" He asked me.

Something told me he already knew, though. "I'm Cobra, the one and only and a Poison Dragon Slayer." I told him.

**Back with Shi and 464~**

**464's P.O.V**

"**Prepare to die, Dragon.**" I heard the Dark Titan mutter somewhere far away as the pressure on my head kept increasing. How long could he continue to do this before he cracked my skull? It already felt like forever had passed. I closed my eyes in hopes of it going faster that way.

Just when I felt the incredible pain beginning to cloud my mind, the weight was suddenly lifted completely from my head. All I could see was the dark. Had I died? Was I on the crossroads to Heaven and Hell?

"**464! Get up!**" Someone yelled at me. What? Get up? From what? Wasn't I dead? Wasn't it being decided where I'd live my after life? I felt a little nudge at my side. "**For Mavis' sake, you're not dead, you know.**" The voice continued.

That voice, I recognized it. I fluttered my eyes open, looking around me. I lifted my head a little, looking in the direction of the nudge. As I had expected, I saw the black and red Chaos Dragon standing next to me, staring at something going on in the air.

I rolled around and looked at him, first now realizing just how big that guy was. Seriously, I only went to the base of his neck. "**Deamunas? What's going on?**" I asked him confusedly.

"**Look up.**" A masculine voice I recognized as Weisslogia-sama's told me. I did as he told and widened my eyes at the sight. "**Skyadrum saved your life. Watch this match and learn from it.**" He ordered me, semi-kindly. He was never known to be kind, to be all honest.

And of course, as he had said, Skyadrum-sama and Shi were indeed locked in an intense airborne battle. I sat down, looking up at the match expectantly, learning everything I could from it.

**In the air~**

**Skyadrum's P.O.V**

Damn this guy was strong. For a human, this was way out of what he was supposed to could even manage to do. I narrowed my eyes at him. "**This is dark magic, isn't it?**" I asked him.

The Titan with glowing, red eyes only nodded, probably grinning if he'd been able to. "**What else could it be?**" He asked me with a deep voice, with absolutely no humor in it. Okay, so maybe he was not grinning. "**This is way out of human boundaries.**" He reminded me.

I nodded. "**Yes, I'm aware of that.**" I told him. Since it was dark, I couldn't only count on the fact he had grown in both muscle and size. The possibility of him having magic as well was quite high. I had to watch out with coming too close to this guy, it could end out being ugly if I did.

I grunted. This one was difficult, whether I wanted to admit it or not. But he was still a human and he did still use dark magic. Which meant he had a weak spot somewhere, all I had to do was figure out where that spot was. Not that that was going to be easy.

I quickly sent my magic out to my wings, covering them in Shadow magic. "**Atarangi Tarakona's Parirau Huaki!**" (Shadow Dragon's Wing Attack) I roared as I shot at Shi with a much greater speed than he had thought I could.

As I flew the short distance between us, my wings were set on fire with Shadows. I reached the Dark Titan in less than a second and slashed deeply into his side with my wing, cutting it clean through. I flew on a little, then made a sharp U-turn and charged right at the other side again, cutting through that as well, as if it was purely butter.

I heard a sizzling sound coming from my opponent and whipped my head around, seeing that the two deep gashes I'd made on either side of him were healing up again, covering the two wound, which had both reached to about his navel, up perfectly.

I squinted my eyes and growled. He was literally just a bundle of muscles. Of course, I'd already figured that from the start, otherwise I wouldn't have cut so deeply. His big body didn't have any organs or bones to break, how he could even move was a mystery to me. The doing of dark magic, I guess.

That meant he would probably grow a new leg or arm if I cut one off… So basically, the _only_ way of defeating him was finding this weak point. Everyone could be defeated, especially those using dark magic. It always came with a price.

Now where could that spot be…? It had to be somewhere which weren't the easiest spot to get to, a little hidden, and something he could easily protect.

While I stood still in the air, trying to figure that out, Shi saw his chance to take advantage of my lack of attention. He beat his wings roughly, getting some power under each beat, crashing the unfortunate houses underneath him just by beating his wings.

One of his fists got covered in a black, perfectly rounded orb. He rushed at me, roaring a battle cry. "**Dark Titan Fist!**" He yelled, swiftly striking down with his fist when I was within his range.

I easily evaded it, flying to the side. I quickly maneuvered my way behind him and did a frontal flip, slamming my tail into his back, reaching from his neck to the middle of his back, making him change his course to the ground. I heard him cry out in pain just as I hit him.

"**I see…**" I muttered to myself, watching as the titan-sized plop of muscles quickly got up again and took off again. He was glaring menacingly at me, letting me know _just_ how angry he was.

There was something I had to test. To do that, I immediately angled my body downwards, falling towards the ground with my wings pulled tightly into myself, making that speed even greater. I fell directly towards the ground at a speed much greater than anyone could react in. But just as I fell past a confused Shi, I quickly straightened my flight, following the rooftops of the houses for a second, before twirling myself around and going upward again, in a straight line.

Now I was flying at the same pace as Shi behind him, giving me the perfect opportunity to test my theory out. I quickly inhaled, while he was still trying to figure out what was going on. "**Atarangi Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Shadow Dragon's Roar) I yelled as I sent the smaller beam at my target. Right at the base of his neck.

It hit cleanly where I had wanted to, as Shi, not having seen it coming, couldn't have defended himself in anyway. The big Titan howled in pain and lost his balance in the air, once again crashing to the ground, where he landed flatly on his stomach.

I stopped midair, gazing down at my opponent, watching out for any movement from him. After ten seconds - which is a lot longer than it sounds - the guy still hadn't moved an inch, so I decided I had beaten him.

I slowly lowered myself to the ground, landing softly on the rubble right next to him. He was lying on his stomach with his arms and legs spread out and with his eyes wide open, as if he was some sort of statue.

I lifted my front leg to poke to the base of his neck with my claw. He grunted in pain when I touched him. I grinned to myself, he hadn't been so hard to figure out after all. But why weren't he changing back to his human form already?

While I considered this, I looked down at the place I had just been touching with my claw. There was a little, red mark, just about human size. I widened my eyes in realization. Maybe, just maybe..

I reached out with my claw again, touching that red mark with all of my claws. I glanced at his big face, before slowly digging my claws into his skin and down into his back. It felt disgusting, like I was sticking my front claws into a big mass of spider's web, much stronger than the usual and in big clumps.

But still, I pressed on, digging my hand further and down into the neck of this Titan. Suddenly, when I had my claws dug much deeper than what I felt comfortable with, I felt something cramp around one of my fingers. It didn't feel like one of those muscles, it was much… Different.

While I was still troubling myself over what it could be, I felt two small nudges at that finger, as if a human was…

I quickly began pulling hand up again, not so fast whatever was clamping onto my hand would fall off, but faster than when I went the other. In a matter of seconds, I easily pulled my hand over the surface of the Titan's body. But I didn't stop there, I continued to pull that front limb up and lowered my head at the same time, looking at what had stuck to my finger.

And there I saw exactly what I had thought it'd be, Shi Kōhai. He had locked his arms tightly around my finger, just above the claw, and was panting heavily as if the devil had just been chasing him for miles.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, which only rose even further, when suddenly the Titan body burst into flames, disappearing completely, leaving only the remaining ash as the sole proof of its existence.

I turned my head back to the human, turning my hand around so he could sit in it instead, which he also did, right in the middle of it and leaning a little back with his hands steadying him. "**Care to explain what just happened, human?**" I asked him, as I heard the other three Dragons approaching as well.

Shi lifted a finger, telling me to wait a moment, as he calmed his breath with long exhales. He nodded. "Yes, sorry." He told me. Now I was just plain confused. Did my enemy just apologize to me? His now dark green, border-lining black, eyes looked into my ivory ones. "You see, that happens sometimes. I have a bit of trouble getting out of that form and need the help of, preferably, a Dragon. Pretty much just like how you did it." He told me and glanced back at the ashes. "It hurts like a bitch, but what can you do?" He asked me.

He was seriously taking this too lightly. That pain he'd felt, I got the feeling it wasn't little. Did he have an incredible pain threshold or was he just not letting it show? Either way, he was plain crazy.

I grunted at him, drawing his attention back to me. "**What is the price of using your Dark Titan?**" I asked him. Both because I was curious to know _and_ because it might - somehow - come in handy.

He looked up at me confusedly for a moment, then realized what I was asking and nodded again. "Well, you know. Just a few years of my life, depending on how much I use it." He told me as if it wasn't anything special.

I just sighed and kept silent, wondering if there was anything else I should know about, but I didn't get to ask anything, as my mate interrupted me. "**Why are you on the side of Raven Tail?**" He asked the human. "**And what are your plans?**" He added.

Shi turned his head to look up at the white Dragon and grinned. "Okay, so we're starting with my story, I guess." He said and put his hands behind his head as he fell back in my hand, making himself comfortable. Cheeky human. "You see, when I met my Master-"

**Several years back~**

**Shi's P.O.V**

_I looked around the streets nervously, wondering if anyone had seen me. I had just escaped, I didn't want to be discovered already. It was the third time this month, this time I had to succeed. _

_I quickly turned the corner and ran down, hiding behind the wall of a house, down an alley. My muscles were almost frozen with the cold rain, which poured down from above. But I ignored it as I once again, I looked to see if there were any of the Rune Knights around. Luckily there weren't, so I was about to continue down. I wasn't far from the city exit either, if I could just flee from Hargeon…_

_But I stopped dead in my tracks, when I heard a voice behind me. "Well, well, well… Now what do we have here?" Someone masculine asked behind me. I slowly turned my head, already knowing what was to come, when I saw the two Rune Knights smirking widely down at me. "Trying to escape again, kid?" The same one, the one on the left, asked me. _

_I looked up at the two in fright. Why was I so stupid? I knew to check everywhere! Even these alleys! There was only one thing I could do at this point. And the possibility of it failing was much higher than I wanted it to be. _

_I quickly spun around and then dashed towards the exit of the city, realizing that if I reached the forest on the other side, I could lose them. But first I had to run much faster than them. And in a straight line, no less. _

_I heard their heavy and noise footsteps pursuing me. "Hey! Kid! Get back here! NOW!" One of the Knights yelled furiously as he and his friend continued to chase me. _

_I didn't dare looking back, knowing that if I did, it would no doubt slow me down. Instead I squinted my eyes as I sped up through the stinging rain. My bare feet pounded into the ground, hurting more and more with each step. _

_Suddenly an immense pain shot up through my one foot and I fell on my knees on the ground, grabbing my leg and holding it close as I did what I could to not cry. Crying was weak, and I wouldn't let these ass-hats see any of my weaknesses. _

_I looked down at the ground in front of me, seeing that a rose had somehow landed on the ground there. My eyes travelled down the stalk of it, seeing the sharp thorns going down it. My gaze moved to my now injured foot, which was bleeding. The rose had torn a long gash open in my skin, in an almost diagonal line under my foot. Slowly, blood was slowly building up in small drops and then, when those got too big, they quickly fell down, dropping onto the ground, and making a red line down my foot. _

_Suddenly a big, metal-coated foot landed on the rose-stalk, snapping it in two. I looked up, seeing the Rune Knights' laughing faces. "You sure can run fast for a kid." One of them told me, the one stepping on the rose. He leaned forward, towards me. "I think you need to be put in place, the good, old-fashioned way." He commented, smirking at me, as he cracked his knuckles._

_My eyes widened, recognizing those movements. That was what they all did. Cracked their knuckles, just before they would strike me. Usually, I would have to be brought to a hospital of some sort afterwards. They didn't go easy on me. _

_I quickly shook my head at him, looking up at him with fear written all over my face. Not again, please not again. I felt something unfamiliar, yet comforting build inside me, guiding my body. I stretched my arm out - the one which weren't clutching the leg as tightly - towards the Rune Knight. "NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. _

_Whatever had been building inside me burst out in an invisible stream, and suddenly the Rune Knight began floating in the air, above the ground. _

_He tumbled around there, asking his comrade for help, as he suddenly turned upside down. The other Rune Knight glared down at me, unsheathing the sword he'd been carrying around by his waist. "Put him down or you won't be waking up tomorrow!" He threatened me. _

_I just stared up at him with widened eyes. One: I was too terrified to actually move to do something, two: I had no idea what I had done to make the other guy float, and I knew just as little about getting him down again. _

_The Rune Knight grew impatient and lifted his sword over his head. He probably figured that if he killed me, whatever I had done to the other one would be reversed. _

_He had only moved it an inch down towards me, when he was suddenly stopped, a stranger standing with his index finger on the sword, easily stopping it, and standing between me and the two Rune Knights. He had silver hair, pulled back, but in a little messy way. All I could see him wearing was a black cape of some sort. _

_He looked straight at the Rune Knight with brown eyes. "Don't you think that's a little much? And then against a child." The man asked with a deep voice. The Rune Knight was so stunned he couldn't even manage to say a single word in his own defense. The stranger sighed. "It's always like this with you humans." He muttered to himself. Humans? Why use that word?_

_I didn't get to follow my line of questions, when suddenly the strange, silver-haired man proceeded to beat the two armored Rune Knights up with more than ease. It didn't seem to be any problem to him in the least. And the way he used his just as silver magic too, it was amazing. And had me awestruck. This was the first time I had ever seen a mage. _

_The mage turned around and looked down at me. I didn't know how I should react to him. He had just saved me, that was true, but who knew what he was going to do now?_

_Contradictory to what I expected, the man suddenly knelt in front of me, tearing off a part of his cape. He looked at me with a smile. "You don't mind if I wrap that foot up, do you?" He asked me. I slowly shook my head, still wondering about what I should do. The mage nodded and quickly wrapped the torn off cloth around my foot. When he was done, he gently patted my leg. "There, good as new." He told me. Yeah, in a few weeks' time, maybe. He didn't rise to his feet, but kept kneeling as he turned his warm gaze towards me. "Who are you, kid?" He asked me. His 'kid' was much different than the two unconscious Rune Knights', it wasn't mocking in any way._

_I looked up at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows in worry. Could I really trust this man? Was he just playing nice - like all the others - only to betray that trust later on? _

_I gave up trying to figure it out and wished with my whole, little being that he didn't mean me any harm. "I'm Shi. Shi Kōhai." I introduced myself, looking into his eyes again. It almost felt like those eyes were trapping me, holding me down with no chance of escape._

_The man smiled at me and reached out to me with his hands. "I'm Sahyragino Mau'Te Rongo." He introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Shi." He greeted me, his hand still hovering in the air in front of me. _

_I glanced down at the hand. It was big and rough, looked like it had been through countless battles and experiences. I looked up at Sahyragino again and slowly put my hand in his, giving him a handshake. "Yeah… You too." I told him slowly. "Thanks for saving me…" I added muttering. _

_The mage burst out laughing. "That's nothing to thank me for, kid, it's natural." He told me, a big grin spreading from one side to the other across his face. "Besides, that magic you possess can get very strong under the right guidance." He told me. He turned his back to me, his hand behind him, palms facing upwards. "Get on, I'll teach you everything you need to know." He told me._

_A piggyback? Well I guess I couldn't jump on one foot all the way. I crawled towards him and then threw my arms around his neck, pulling myself a little up. His arms locked around me, keeping me at his back, when he began walking off again, now with me on his back. _

**Back to reality~**

**Skyadrum's P.O.V**

"Such a beautiful story, right?" Shi asked us, brushing a fake tear away from his eye. "I personally think I was cute." He then told us proudly.

To be quite honest, I hadn't heard much after the name 'Sahyragino Mau'Te Rongo' was mentioned. Layla and Silvia's father… How could he be here? Why? What was going on? And most of all, just what the heck did he want from Lucy?!

I whipped my gaze down at the human again, ready to ask some questions, but 464 came before me. "**What is it you were running from?**" She asked the human. "**Other than the Rune Knights.**" She added in the end. What the heck kinda question was that?! When Sahyragino was mentioned, of course he should be the one she was asking about!

Oh wait… She probably didn't know much about him… She was still under training back then and was pretty much locked off from the world, so she wouldn't know…

Shi looked up at the dark gray Shadow Dragon, his usual smile completely gone. "Well…" He trailed off, looking back at the sky with a faraway look in his now coal-black eyes. "I have no idea who my parents were, they just left me when I was little, I guess." He told us, still looking like he was trapped in the past. "Since then, I moved from one family to another, but none of them really cared for me, so of course I tried to escape." He told us matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But almost every time, the Rune Knights would catch me, except that one time." He told us, finally returning back to our time, grinning widely. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

I looked down at the human, some kind of sympathy bubbling up from within me. He'd had it hard, obviously he had. I didn't know exactly it had been with those families he'd been living with, but to be all honest it didn't sound pleasant. He knew those terrible families, the evil Rune Knights, and then this strange mage, who was the only one who seemed to have done something good and helpful for him. It was obvious he'd choose to go with him rather than staying back with those families. It was obvious he would think everything that man said was true without a second thought. It all made too much sense.

My mate nodded, his teal eyes glaring right down at the human. "**Yes, there is one more question.**" He stated. I wondered what he had in mind. "**What does **_**Sahyragino**_** plan to do with Lucy and Acnologia?**" He asked the human firmly, demanding an answer and promising hell if he didn't get one. He'd come to like Lucy in his own way, by all the times she'd been with me, when he trained with her, and all the times I mentioned her back in our cave. There was just no way he couldn't have.

I turned my attention back to the human again, also looking down at him expectantly at him. Shi looked around at all of us, then sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess it won't make a difference anymore." He breathed out. I was momentarily confused about what he could mean with that, but pushed it back when I saw he was about to continue. "His plan is to-"

**Ahh, yes. I told you from the beginning you would hate me, and here is the proof ^_^ You'll get the plan told next time, so don't worry 'bout it, it won't be a thousand (buzz) light years. **

**Anyway, a Guest has been reviewing to me a lot (every single chapter he/she reads) and has repeatedly asked me why in the world my story's an 'M'. And… Well… You know, he/she's not the first to ask that.  
My story's on an 'M', because I'd rather be safe than sorry. Yes, there aren't any lemons and yes, it isn't especially gory, only a lil' bit violent. I know that. But I'm just afraid that if I put it on a 'T', then FanFiction will swoop down and delete it, or whatever they do. And I'm not about to risk that. So, honestly, just deal with it, please. I'm not about to lose everything I've been doing here. **

**So yup, now you know. **

…**.. I think I'm afraid. Of you guys. And how you might be pulling you murder-weapons up, ready to go hunting in tiny Denmark. No, sorry, I love you guys and I don't believe you do things like that, but's I'm really being a dick here, so everything's possible XD**

**As usual, thank you Xx21KatieKat12xX, booklover21567, clumzybeans, ANG3ELBL00M, Konan15, Nilnna, Nicole (Guest), Anki, Darkverger1, Aira0906, StrongGuy159, Hiina, Moonlight Starlove, TheMoonElf, MistySweetness, hi (Guest), The X (Guest), Yolbert, PuddyKatz, nelea001, Alaina Kuski, crazyman1up1, aristofthemind, mjb379, ManirageD, Lucifer's Call, Animaniac100, Yashe, jabark02, InsanityReplay and everyone else in da whole world! No? Okay… Still, thank you.**

**Is it just me, or is there surprisingly many people here, considering the chapter hasn't even been up an entire week? I think you guys are many**

**~ Line464d**


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

**Not far till the end now, eh? Two more besides this one. I'm amazed you guys have put up with me so far, with my awful cliffhangers and all XD **

**Anyway, this is probably going to be a **_**really**_** long chapter. Like, really, **_**REALLY**_** long. Lotta things are going to be explained, I tell ya. That's the kind of long I meant. Not in length, but in weight. You're getting information pumped into your heads like never before, so be prepared XD**

**1400 REVIEWS! WOOO! The lucky winner's Acnologia Prime! THANK YOU!**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke remains ignorant to my pleas of a shared story. He's icy cold. Or too slow to realize, one of the two.**

**Underneath the GMG arena~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I slowly blinked my eyes open, my sight blurry. Damn that was a bad sleep, whatever this bed was made of, it was not anything good. But still, it hadn't been this cold and hard the other days. And what were those things around my wrists, legs and neck? They were uncomfortable. And why the hell was I so tired? It was ridiculous!

I could barely open my eyes enough for the blurriness to go away, but when I did, I quickly awakened completely.

This wasn't the bed back at the inn. This wasn't even the inn. How could I forget all that had happened up until now in that moment? Something so important, how could I forget it?

Lucy and I, we'd been walking into the mountain, when suddenly we both blacked out, just as we heard the names Silvia and Sahyragino. I widened my eyes. LUCY! I looked around frantically, looking for my mate, not able to move anything my wings and tail. I could only move my neck a very little, but it was exactly enough for me to could turn my head towards the silver Dragon lying on the other side of some… Well I didn't even know what it was. 'Savior V2' was written at the side of it.

I didn't give a damn as I stared at my mate already feeling dread pooling at the bottom of stomach. She didn't seem to be moving at all, lying motionlessly on the ground with her eyes closed and her wings lying flatly on the ground around her. She looked… No I wouldn't even dare believe it. She was stronger than that! I knew she was!

Right when I was about to call out to her, to wake her up, two human feet stepped into my line of sight, accompanied by the body of an old, human man. I growled fiercely at him, already having figured out who he was.

It was Sahyragino, obviously. "**What did you do to Lucy, bastard?!**" I snarled fiercely at him, starting to thrash around my cuffs, as I had figured out they were, to get loose and snap that man in two.

The human focused his gaze on me. "Oh, the same I did to you, Acnologia." He told me. "Whether that's good or bad, is up to you." He told me with a sickly smirk.

I growled at him in return, thrashing even more wildly in my chains. I knew it was no use, these things were reinforced with something, but still I had to try something. "**If you do anything to her, I swear-**" I snarled at him, but was cut off.

The man rolled his eyes. "Ae, Ae (yes, yes), you'll snap me in two. I know." He said in a bored manner. He refocused his gaze at me, the smirk back in place. "Besides, that thrashing will do you no good. Those cuffs are reinforced with your dad's magic, you won't break through those anytime soon." He told me.

I snarled at him and opened my mouth, to ready a Haruru (Roar), aimed right at the man. I didn't give a damn whether he was Lucy's grandfather or not, taking both me _and_ Lucy captive like this, I couldn't forgive him no matter who he was.

Unfortunately, as I found out, I couldn't get any of my magic running in me, it only served to tire me out even more than I already was. "**What the hell did you do to me?!**" I growled at him, my already tiny patience wearing even thinner.

Sahyragino was just about to turn around and say something, when he was cut off. "**A-Acnologia…?**" A drowsy, female voice asked carefully, as if afraid she was mistaken.

I whipped my head to the side, to where my mate was lying. She was blinking her tired, brown orbs confusedly and trying to clear her probably also blurry sight, like mine had been.

Despite the situation, I smiled a relieved smile, knowing she was okay. "**Ae (yes), Lucy, I'm here.**" I reassured her. Right at that moment, there was nothing I wished more in the world than to touch her perfect, scaly form one way or another. Both to reassure her I was really there and for my own comfort. But it was impossible, we were too far apart.

Lucy turned her head and looked at me with a smile only she could smile and was probably about to say something else, but was cut off. Sahyragino turned to my mate looking directly at my mate. "So it was really true you looked exceptionally much like your mother. Even that smile…" He trailed off as my mate's brown eyes travelled to the man. "Only she could manage that smile." He told her, with what I would call a melancholic smile. He quickly turned around, letting her watch his back. "Well, I would wish we could have a more happy reunion than this, however this is how things turned out." He commented.

Lucy snarled at him angrily. "**That's entirely your own fault, **_**grandfather**_**.**" She mocked him angrily. "**Just what the hell do you even think you're doing?! Release us!**" She told him, fury playing at the bottom of her voice.

Sahyragino only laughed. "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy." He kept repeating my mate's name in an amused tone. "Have some patience, will you? I was just about to explain to you what my plan is and how you're involved." He told us, laughing.

I glared at him. "**I don't get how you find it appropriate to laugh, you must be mad.**" I commented. He really did look like he was, especially in the dull light of the machine. "**Now tell us what the hell you're doing to us!**" I demanded, thrashing once again in my restraints, just for emphasis.

The man turned to me, amusement written all over his face. "Well, I guess that's a good place to start." He said, probably mainly to himself. "Why do you think you aren't able to use magic?" He asked us, already having tons of fun trying to have us figure out what was going on ourselves.

I snapped at him, growling like the Dragon I was. "**Just tell us already!**" I snarled at him, not at all having the patience to play this guy's games.

Sahyragino looked at me. "You're no fun Acnologia." He told me, with a fake hurt expression. I just gave him a bored look, telling him to continue. "All right, then, I'll tell you." He said exasperatedly. "It's the restrains around your feet and neck." He told us.

I looked back - as well as I could anyway - at the cuffs around my back legs, as they were the only ones I could actually see. Dark black and blue covered it and traveled a little up the chain, which connected with 'Savior V2'. Don't tell me this thing..

I didn't get to think the sentence to an end, as Sahyragino ended that sentence for me. "As I believe you've figured out, those restraints are absorbing your magic." He told us. That was exactly as I thought.

We both looked at him, but I wasn't the first to say something. "**What are you planning to do with it, Sahyragino?**" Lucy asked him, sounding astoundingly calm. I glanced at her, seeing she was looking firmly up at the man. So, she figured there was no use fighting against the restraints for now, eh? She's waiting it out, getting as much information out of Sahyragino before attacking. I smiled, obviously she was the level-headed of the two of us, because I still felt like trying to break out of these chains.

Sahyragino looked at Lucy with another fake hurt expression. "Not going to call me your grandfather anymore?" He asked her. She just looked at him as if he was the biggest idiot in the world, as the only reply he'd get. He just sighed. "Well, it's all getting transferred to that machine you see in the middle." He told us. Yeeess… We already knew that, get on with the story. "Actually it's a cannon, not a machine." He then added.

I furrowed my eyebrows at this. Ae (yes), Gray had mentioned something similar, hadn't he? He also said it reminded him of a cannon of some sort. Just what was Sahyragino planning to blow up? The Heartfilia Konzern? But what in the world could he gain from that, which was so precious, that he would go to these lengths? Surely it wasn't just for revenge.

Sahyragino continued his explanation. "I've named it 'Savior V2', Savior Version 2. The first version didn't turn out so well, but let's not talk about that." He rambled on about unnecessary things. "That's because this is going to save us, the Dragons." He told us. Save us? Just what was he planning to save _us_ from? I didn't even get to ask, as he answered that question himself. "I am saving the Dragons from their cage, that is the Dragon Realm!" He exclaimed happily, spreading his arm out wide, laughing a little at his own genius.

I was just stunned into speechlessness. Save us from the Dragon Realm? It wasn't a cage, it was our home, exactly what about it did he need to save us from? "**What are you talking about, old man?**" I asked him, not about to try to understand what was going on in his head.

The Dragon disguised as a human just stood and admired his cannon, 'Savior V2'. "I guess you wouldn't get it, Acnologia." He said and turned his gaze towards me again. "You haven't had anyone to tell you how we Dragons thrived back when we lived on Earthland." He said with the most annoying this ever lying in his voice, pity. Although it was faint, it was still there, and it pissed me off. Sahyragino turned his gaze back to the cannon. "We were much stronger back then, we lived in the wild and often fought with each other to test our skills." He told me, still not even bothering to look at me as he spoke. "We ruled Earthland, no one were stronger than us, and the humans were afraid, none of them ever had a chance of fighting against us even for a second." He continued his explanation.

Lucy looked up at him confusedly. "**How is that much different from now?**" She asked him, actually drawing his attention. "**As it is, we rule the Dragon Realm, we can choose whether we want to live in the 'wild' or not and we can fight each other to test our skills.**" She reminded him. "**There is still no one stronger than us, the humans still don't stand a chance. And they're also still afraid of us.**" She commented. I nodded. All she had said there was true.

Sahyragino looked at her with another of his pitying gazes. "You wouldn't understand, you didn't live in it back then." He told her, once again admiring his cannon. "Things we're different back then, we much more free." He told us.

That was right, I had forgotten this Dragon was old enough to have lived through that war and up till now. It wasn't much more than 400 years ago that war was fought out, so this was quite the veteran we had gotten our hands on. He lived during it, maybe he even fought in it. The question was, on which side…

The silver-haired Dragon-man sighed again and nodded, smiling to himself. "That is why I'm planning on bringing the Dragons back to Earthland." He explained, finally revealing the goal of the plan.

I looked at him confusedly. "**How long has it been since you were in the Dragon Realm, you bastard? We can choose ourselves whether we want to go to the Earthland or not, whenever we want.**" I told him. This guy was crazy. Every Dragon knew they could choose themselves when they wanted to go to Earthland, what exactly was he trying to accomplish with all this?

He shook his head. "Káo (no), we can _visit_ Earthland, but we can't _be_ here, as in _live_ here." He said. "That is what I wish. For the Dragons to live here once again." He told us, clasping his hand behind his back as he turned around and walked a little away, for whatever reason. "This is _our _land, it is _our_ territory and now we're simply taking back what is rightfully _ours_." He said.

Lucy growled a little under her breath. Was her patience about to snap? She had always had that urge to protect everything and everyone and what Sahyragino over there was suggesting, was quite threatening towards the humans. Or it was supposed to be anyway.

Lucy glared right at him. "**What are you planning, Sahyragino?**" She asked her grandfather. She seemed to have pushed the growling and anger down for now, but I had a feeling that what was to come would break that control she had over herself..

Sahyragino looked at Lucy over his shoulder. "Glad you asked, Lucy." He said, sending her a disgusting grin. "Actually, I'm going to fire this canon at the Dragon Realm, fired up with your magic, and make that world disappear in an instant." He told us, smiling like it was no big deal.

I glared at him, barely holding in the growl that threatened to spill out of my mouth. "**And just what do you think will happen to the Dragons caught on the Dragon Realm, then? Those were the ones you wanted to 'save', so why the **_**hell**_** are you KILLING them?!**" I asked him, feeling the rage build up with every word I said. Just what kind of logic did this moron have?

Sahyragino shook his head. "Tsk, just how stupid do you think I am, Acnologia?" He asked me, sounding genuinely annoyed at the thought. "Of course I won't sacrifice all those Dragons, they're the ones I want to help me reconquer Earthland." He said and shook his head. "Káo (no), of course I wouldn't. When I finally blast the Dragon Realm with 'Savior V2', all the Dragons there, will instantly be sent through the portal and will land at that field in the middle of nowhere." He told us.

So they'll _all_ appear at that field, right as he's destroyed that Realm? Just what the heck was he thinking? The Dragon Realm was a beautiful and nice place, why did he see the need to blast it out of existence?

Sahyragino began chuckling to himself. "Everything has worked out perfectly. Just as I planned, perfectly." He laughed to himself.

I furrowed my scaly eyebrows at this. Planned? Perfectly? Was he really saying that everything went right as he wanted? That could hardly be true, it'd be near impossible to be that lucky. "**Now what are you saying, Sahyragino?**" I asked him, deciding I might as well get the answer as quick as possible.

Sahyragino turned to me with amusement in his eyes. "What? Are you telling me you thought everything which happened up until now was a coincidence? Káo (no), maybe you think it's actually fate or destiny, which have made things happen the way they has?" He asked me. His grin only widened. "Well, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you on that one, Acnologia." He told me.

I looked at him with a glare. If he was about to tell me what I thought he was, I would kill him once I got out of these restraints. "**You mean that…**" Lucy trailed off with a tiny voice, even though it was still deep, being a Dragon. I glanced at her, seeing a frightened look in her eyes. One I knew I was mirroring.

The man in front of us nodded. "Ae (Yes), that's right. Everything which has happened, has all been planned by me." He said with a smirk and looked at Lucy. "When your guild ignored you after Lisanna's return, your decision to leave, the train you took, going off at Saraj, walking into that forest." He named all the things that turned out not to be coincidences and our own choices, as we'd obviously thought. He looked at me. "The wind that day carrying Lucy's scent, your finding her, bringing her back to your cave and deciding to bring her back home." He told me. He looked alternately at the both of us again. "And then we helped you fall in love as well." He added at the end.

I stared right at him with a glare much angrier than what I could remember being before. So basically what he was telling us was that our love wasn't real?! Was it all just something they'd put in our heads, something fake?!

But still, it just felt so real, there was no way it could be made up like that. They couldn't just make us feel things like that, it wasn't so simple. "**I don't believe you!**" I snarled at him, only growling louder when I heard Lucy trying to keep a whimper to herself.

Sahyragino looked at the two of us alternately with a very annoyed expression. "Honestly, you two are so much trouble." He muttered to himself, before shaking his head. "Of course you two love each other, we just helped you speed it up is all." He explained, letting go of an excessive sigh. He looked at the two of us with furrowed eyebrows. "Did you really think it was natural to fall in love so quickly and the mating and all? Káo (no) it isn't." He told us.

Lucy looked at him, having fought back her whimpers for a start, but when I looked at her, hurt was written all across her face. But apparently not for the reason I had first thought. "**You did all that to all these people, just to get Acnologia and I here?**" She asked him rhetorically, the question pretty much having been answered already. "**How could you do all that?**" She asked, now with a little hint of curiosity hidden behind hurt and anger.

Sahyragino turned his gaze towards her and smiled widely. "Why, with all the mages under me, of course." He said matter-of-factly. "It helped a lot that Ivan obeyed to my every command and had so many mages under him, who has lots of different magic." He told us. So that would at the very least be the wind, he'd gotten help with there. Or did he actually do that himself? Seemed unlikely. "That and one of two humans that I trust has a magic, which can play with memories. Really came in handy when I had to turn Team Natsu against you." He muttered to himself.

Finally, Lucy snapped and growled loudly. "_**You**_** turned Team Natsu against me?!**" She growled at him, trying to thrash around in her restraints.

Sahyragino nodded as if she was stupid. "Well, of course. They were hard nuts to crack, I heard, but in the end Doranbolt got under their skin and turned them against you." He told Lucy, also making me growl. What the heck kind of grandfather was this guy?! "Natsu was by far the hardest, but with him convinced, the others would soon follow." He told us.

Lucy roared in anger. "**How **_**dare**_** you play with my friends' memories!**" She snarled at him, thrashing wildly in her cuffs, seriously trying to break through, in a fit of rage. While I knew I shouldn't be, I was actually genuinely surprised with what she was raging over. Like any other time, it was over her friends rather than herself. "**You're going to pay for what you did!**" She growled at him.

Before anyone could do anything, the temperature dropped dangerously low on Lucy's side, so much that steam materialized in the middle of the air above her. While I couldn't see, I could hear the sound of iron breaking from her direction five times quickly after one another.

I believe I heard her growl a thank you, before glaring at Sahyragino for only a moment, as she leapt at him with a furious growl, aiming to kill, I'd guess, completely ignoring the face she had gotten out of the restraints I couldn't. The man had extremely widened eyes, watching as the Dragon quickly approached him, before calling out to the one person he knew would help him. "SILVIA!" He yelled at his daughter.

The silver Head Dragon jumped out of nowhere, latching on to Lucy's neck as she pushed the other silver Dragon back. Lucy looked at Silvia with fury in her eyes and she slapped the Peace Head across her back, spreading her wings at the same time and pushed the other Dragon away.

The two began circling around each other. I noticed that both of them had tired and sloppy movements. Silvia much more so than Lucy, it looked like she could hardly even fight in the first place. Lucy just seemed a little tired, nothing extremely special. But the difference between them meant Lucy would have an easy win.

Sahyragino gritted his human teeth and quickly went to his 'Savior V2'. "Guess I won't get any more magic." He mumbled to himself. "It doesn't matter either way, if I add the magic I've gotten from Kurama and Silvia, it'll be enough." He commented to himself.

I growled at him again. So that was what had gotten Silvia so tired lately and my dad too, when we found him. He almost didn't have any magic left in him, now it all made sense. Lucy and I simply weren't enough for this madman.

I heard a crack from behind me and felt the temperature at my back drop low, sending a shiver up through my spine. I wish I could turn my head enough to see who or what it was, but settled with another hiss. What the hell was going on?!

My reply was a growl coming from my front foot, as that iron restraint also cracked. "Oh shut up you big Dragon. Don't go around growling at me when I'm releasing you from these restraints." A firm female voice told me.

I found myself confused with this as a white polar-bear suddenly appeared in my view, the front of it disappearing as it approached the one over my neck. "**Who are you?**" I asked it, doing my best not to growl.

I had no idea what the bear did, but I suddenly felt the iron first cool down a lot and then cracking open, once again letting fresh air seep down through my scales.

I lifted my head up again, feeling the freedom of being able to do that and looked down at the bear, which was on its way to the one on my other front foot. "I'm Lucy's new Spirit, Ferre, the user of Ice." It curtly introduced itself, before putting its paw on the iron bar over my foot. "Now keep your mouth shut so I can work." She told me.

I did as I was told, feeling that this bear wasn't one you just went against, kind of like with Dravola, but had a much more cold attitude. I watched as it completely glazed the bar around my foot over with Ice magic, before striking it with her enormous paw, easily breaking it, before moving on to the next one.

"Finally!" Sahyragino said and I whipped my head around to glare at him. I attempted to stand, but quickly found it hard, my last hind leg lying awkwardly on the ground. "It's ready!" The traitor Dragon said with his human arms spread out wide in a triumphant.

Right then, Silvia flew through the room, crashing against a wall and gliding down, only to land on the ground unconscious. I looked back to my mate to see her chest was heaving and she looked tired.

Suddenly a monotone countdown began, originating from the machine. I was frozen at the spot, knowing what that countdown meant, yet couldn't get myself to move.

3

Meanwhile, Sahyragino was laughing maniacally, looking up at his device, glee visible in his eyes. "There's no way of stopping it now!" He laughed triumphantly.

"**WAIT!**" Someone yelled, not Lucy, not me, not Ferre. Or Silvia for that matter, it was another male Dragon. I realized five heavy footsteps stopped up at the opening.

2

There stood The Fire Idiot, the Metal Idiot, Glanasile, Alodiculis and Basuril with Wendy on his back - for whatever reason. Igneel glared right at Sahyragino. "**We heard it all! Stop that cannon now, Sahyragino!**" He roared at the human Dragon.

Sahyragino turned around, continuing his laughing. "Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't be able to!" He said, somehow managing to speak between his laughs. "It's unstoppable now!" He told us.

Metal Face shook his head, growling fiercely at Sahyragino. "**We'll see about that.**" He said as he quickly drew in a harsh breath, his red gaze now locked on the machine behind Sahyragino. "**Haeana Tarakona's Haruru!**" (Iron Dragon's Roar) He roared and released the big Haruru (Roar) at the stalk of the device, which went up through the ceiling of the cave.

1

Sahyragino laughed. "Didn't you think I'd taken that into consideration, Metallicana?" He mocked the Iron Dragon, who just gritted his teeth in response. "It'll be a sure shot at victory now, you can't prevent this from happening." He laughed maniacally, while the rest of us just glared at the cannon, sending it down to hell many times over in our minds.

0

The machine got enveloped in both Peace and Chaos magic at the same time, the two dueling for dominance, as two magic of opposite sides often did. The magic quickly crawled up the big stalk leading to the ceiling, the two magic spinning around each other.

Everyone - including Sahyragino himself - stood completely frozen as the magic pressure the thing let off rose to a Head Dragon's level in an instant, before all the magic disappeared, leaving the room bare again.

I looked at it confused. What the hell? Was that all? Wasn't there going to be some kind of big explosion or something? This was… Kinda lame. At that thought, I sweat dropped.

Sahyragino began laughing his ass off. Once again. "'Savior V2' has been fired! My dreams will come true! Dragons will once again rule this land!" He exclaimed triumphantly.

Glanasile turned to Basuril and Wendy. "**Basuril, get Dravola to that field. Quickly!**" He told my cousin. Basuril nodded and didn't hesitate to quickly get up into the air and speeding out of the cave with the smallest of the Dragon Slayers on his back.

I smelled an intense anger filling the room we were in, originating from my own mate, no less. She was glaring at Sahyragino just as fiercely as she had before and had her lips pulled back in a snarl. "**I'll **_**kill**_** you!**" She snarled at him, before leaping into the air, most likely aiming to bite him in two.

Sahyragino turned to her with a deadpan expression. "No can do, my sweet granddaughter." He said and pointed a finger at her. "It's sad our relationship couldn't be any longer." He commented as he charged him magic.

The silver magic quickly encased his finger. The one he was pointing right at Lucy's forehead. One of the most vulnerable spots on a Dragon. The one which promised an almost instant kill.

I snarled at the Dragon in Human form. I was about to leap at him, but couldn't. My body was too tired after the absorption of my magic. I couldn't move out of the spot!

The silver around the man's finger became too much to have there. It flew out of his finger and towards Lucy in a thin, but accurate laser, moving in slow-motion, like everything else.

My heart was beating painfully in my chest. No. No. NO! This couldn't happen! Not Lucy! Just not… Not my mate. Please, don't. I couldn't live… Not without her.

"**LUCY!**" Someone yelled. A flash of silver appeared and rammed right into Lucy. My mate released a roar of surprise at the sudden push. She crashed right into 'Savior V2'. The machine exploded. But that was not what drew everyone's attention.

Exactly where Lucy had been standing a second before, were the other silver Dragon. Alodiculis. Everything continued in slow-motion. We watched helplessly as the laser quickly approached the Dragon.

Every kind of sound, smell and sensation disappeared in an instant. Everything disappeared from sight and turned black. Except the picture of the laser piercing Alodiculis' head. The laser hit perfectly in between Alodiculis eyes. Where it was supposed to have hit Lucy.

"**NO! ALODICULIS!**" I heard Lucy scream a heartbreaking scream, as everything went back to normal speed. All sound, smell and sensation was sent back to me with a vengeance. Alodiculis eyes closed in the most uncomfortable, slow way, before his body fell lifelessly to the ground. His chest didn't even twitch.

The Dragon was no more.

**You should all know by now, I am the biggest dick of them all. **_**So**_** of course I am going to end it here! ^_^ **

**Anyway, Despite this being a relatively short chapter, much more happened than all throughout those twenty-or-so training chapters I wrote. Plot-wise anyway. I'm proud of myself. **

**Jesus I'm a meanie.. Just ending it off there O.o I'd hate me if I were you. Pull out the shotgun and go hunting. But please don't do that guys, it wouldn't be any fun, now would it?**

**But yeah, hope this chapter touched you one way or another!**

**Thank you Aira0906, ANG3LBL00M (Guest), Nicole (Guest), StrongGuy159, booklover21567, KAT of fanfiction, Xx21KatieKat12xX, PuddyKatz, FairyTailNaluFan, Alaina Kuski, clumzybeans, BrokenPiecesOfHell, TheMoonElf, Moonlight Starlove, Yolbert, The X (Guest), TrakaSapey (Guest), ruinedprincess, ShadowTitan284, SweetAlibi, IvelTheCookie, Guest, Darkverger1, Mintthebrave, Thewolflover24, hyperrhaliee, MoonStar1312, Supernatural anime beth, Acnologia Prime, Cyber Drakonian, Guest, MisfitsAndOutcasts, farafa2, xXxScarletxXxSakuraxXX, D-D Dreamer, Killer07 and all you other people out there reading my story! **

**~Line464d**


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

**I can't believe there's just one more chapter left before this story is done. I'll feel all empty and restless without it XD**

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke has not yet obliged to share his marvelous story with anyone but his pen. This is a true shame. **

**In the cave~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I felt my whole body freeze over in fear. No, no, no, no..! This couldn't be right! A-Alodiculis, h-he couldn't…!

I began trembling when I saw that his chest, where his lungs sat, didn't move an inch. It didn't… It didn't move at all. H-he wasn't breathing.

With shaky Dragon legs, I slowly and unsteadily made my way towards my fallen non-biological dad. He couldn't be dead. Not my dad, not when I finally had found my family.

As I made my way towards him, everything around me disappeared, I completely forgot I was with the enemy, that was my grandfather, and my mate, my friends, everyone seemed so, so far away. The last thing I could hear was the sound of me squashing a bug or something under my foot. All I could focus on was the fact that one of the Dragons most precious to me was no longer breathing.

When I reached him, I looked down at his still head from above. Contrary to what one might think, there was hardly even a wound where the magic had hit him. The laser hadn't been strong and it had been Peace magic, the element Alodiculis owned, but there was only just enough for it to hit that vital spot and do whatever it did to kill him.

I slowly put my head down to his and nudged him. There was no response. Of course there wasn't. I felt a tear slip from my eye and shut them tightly in an attempt at holding the stream I felt raging behind my eyes back there.

Why did I have to lose him? Why the one I considered my dad? Just when I thought everything was going well, that I could somehow balance both my Fairy Tail family and my Dragon family, I'd have to lose one of the strongest threads holding it all together.

I was supposed to be the one, who had been lying there. That laser was meant for me, not for Alodiculis. Why couldn't he have let me take it? Why did he jump in for me? This was too much for me to handle. The grief was too heavy.

I slowly realized I would never see his warm, amber eyes. His fatherly and kind smile when I told him about what I had been doing and what I had experienced. There would be no more sparring Peace magic with him, as we had done now and then after I moved to Earthland. I could never take a calm flight with him, just talking about nonsensical topics. The list was long. But there was one which topped the list, far above all of them.

I would never see my dad again.

That was the one, which hurt the most. The one it felt like I would never completely heal from. The one I would carry around with me everywhere I went and the one I would cry over every time I remembered him.

And I didn't even get to say goodbye to him either. It all happened too fast. I didn't get to say I love him, didn't tell him how much his presence actually meant to me. I didn't get to tell him how much I appreciated him stepping in as my dad, since my biological one wasn't anything to be proud over.

And how I would miss him…

I felt my legs buckle under me, as I felt the gravity of my sorrow hit me like a rock slide. I would miss this Dragon more than I had ever missed anything before. Over these fourteen years - as it had been for me - he had become as important a person to me as Mama had been.

Now he too had died, just like my Mama had, although from different causes. I was once again left alone, without a proper parent. Contrary to when Mama died though, where I was little, I was now big. But that only meant the pain was all that much heavier. Much less merciful than it had been back then, when I most likely didn't understand it completely.

Now I did, now I completely understood that I would not be seeing this Dragon with a pumping heart ever again. All I would see was the lifeless Dragon lying in front of me if I opened my eyes.

But I didn't. I didn't want to remember Alodiculis as the dead Dragon, lying on the ground in a cave. I wanted to remember him as the brave and strong Dragon he was.

I turned my head away and finally opened my eyes, not able to see a single thing through the haze of tears covering my eyes but refusing to drop.

I was about to stand up and turn away, not about to look at the dead Dragon right before me, when a human voice broke the silence. "Oh, I see I missed some things here." Someone I could faintly recognize said.

I whipped my head towards the voice as every other sensation returned, letting me know my Dragon friends were growling fiercely.

The human had somehow appeared in the middle of the cave-room and stood there, absorbing all the attention, in his white cape, the bright, cyan eyes and the big scar at the side of the head.

I quickly joined the others in their growling. This guy was exactly as Gray had described him. White cape from the Council. That was what gave him away. He was the one who could change memories. The one who turned all my friends against me. The one who was complicit in the death of my dad.

My vision basically turned completely red. I quickly leaped at the human. I pinned him down under my big foot. I held one of my long, sharp claws over his little head threateningly. "**Release my friends.**" I growled at him.

I could smell the air filling with his fear. His eyes cyan eyes flickered around in a pathetic attempt for help. At last they finally settled on my snarling face. "W-what are yo-you talk-king ab-about?" He barely stammered out.

I growled at him again, when Sahyragino answered for me. The human Dragon stepped forward next to me. "She wants you to lift the spells you put on her 'friends'" He told the human under my foot and claw.

I slowly moved my raging gaze at the human Dragon. Of all people, _that_ was the guy I wanted to be as far away from me as possible. No, even longer away than that.

Since he wouldn't be moving by himself, I would have to take matters into my own hand. Or tail. I lashed out with my tail at the human, taking him by surprise, and sending him flying into the wall at the back.

I turned my attention undividedly back to the human under my foot. "**Now, release everything you've done over the last seven Earthland years.**" I growled, dropping my claw just a little down over his face.

I could see the sweat building quickly at his forehead. "Y-yes!" He said quickly. I felt his tiny magical pressure rise a little for a short moment, before dying out again. He looked up at me with his frightened eyes again. "I-I did it! They all got their memories back!" He promised me.

I snarled at him, lifting my claw away from his head. "**Good, now get away, human.**" I told him, removing my foot completely. He sent me a nervous glance, before scrambling to get to his feet. When he stood up, with his back to me, about to run off, I quickly flicked him towards the exit.

With other words, where Metallicana, Igneel and Glanasile were. I turned around and away from the human as soon as I saw him lying on the floor in front of three snarling Heads.

Of course the little bit of revenge I'd gotten through that display, was not at all near what I actually wanted. He wasn't my actual target of hate.

I tipped my head up and looked at the human approaching from the other side, seemingly unhurt from crashing into a wall in his Human form. He was simply walking over his shattered cannon, brushing his clothes clean from any dust there might have collected on it. Which was none.

He shook his head, not even bothering to look up from what he was doing. "I might be old, Lucy, but not old enough for that to knock me out." He said, finally actually looking up at me.

I didn't know if he planned to say anything else, but our short conversation was interrupted when a female voice rang in the cave at quite high volumes. "**ALODICULIS!**" Silvia's scream ripped through the air and bounced off the walls. If her scream hadn't already demanded our attention, her quick travel towards the fallen Dragon certainly did. She went to him and also nudged him with her head, much like I had. "**Káo, káo, káo (No, no, no). This isn't right, he can't be…**" She trailed off.

Sahyragino answered her question, starting off with a nod she couldn't see. "Ae (Yes), the Peace Dragon is dead." He confirmed for her, taking a step towards her. "He jumped in for Lucy, it was originally aimed for her." He added at the end.

While I was gritting my teeth at the already sore topic, Silvia also began shaking, standing with her back to both me and her father. Suddenly, she whipped around, glaring at Sahyragino with tears glistening in her eyes. "**Of course he would! He was basically her father!**" She yelled at him, then looked him from bottom to top. "**Much more than you ever were.**" She told him, slowly turning around towards him. "**I remember everything, **_**father. **_**I remember every single thing.**" She told him as she turned around fully. Instead, she slowly approached him, his eyes now quite wide. "**I'm not your slave anymore, father. That human has lifted his spell, I won't be going around spying around for you.**" She told him, flames firing up in her eyes.

Sahyragino's mouth opened and closed a few times, before he finally managed to speak. "S-Silvia, I-I didn't mean to-" He managed to squeak out before being interrupted.

Silvia shook her head. "**I don't even care.**" She told him and turned to me. "**Lucy, first of all, I'm sorry for my behavior towards you, but I was not quite myself.**" She apologized to me, lightly lowering her head.

So… Sahyragino had that human make Silvia act as her father's tool, probably so she could report back about what was going on. But that was not how she really was?

Well, whatever the case, Silvia was apparently not on the bad side after all. I shook my head, lightly closing my eyes. "**It's all right.**" I reassured her and sent her a little smile. "**I'm just glad you aren't with this guy after all.**" I told her.

She nodded and smiled back, also a little one, both of us being a little awkward around one another. "**So am I.**" She told me, sending another hateful glare at her father, before looking back at me again with a lightly panic-stricken expression. "**Now, I really need your help with reviving Alodiculis, Lucy.**" She told me, sorrow and hope playing in her eyes.

I was quite confused with what she was talking about. Revive him, but I couldn't do… Actually! I _could_ do something like that! With my Rangi Ngaro Toi! (Sky Secret Art) I nodded to Silvia. "**Ae! (Yes) Of course!**" I said. I could already feel my own happiness and hope bubbling up inside me at the thought that just maybe I would revive my dad.

I was just about to follow Silvia to where my dad was lying motionlessly on the floor, when I felt something streak my tail. I looked back at the black and blue Dragon which was my mate. "**Lucy…**" Was all he said, his own tail gently touching mine.

I smiled brightly at him and nodded. "**I'm all right Acnologia. I'm all right now.**" I reassured him. I wrapped the tip of my tail around Acnologia's and squeezed it lightly, promising I really was all right.

I slowly unwrapped my tail, looking into his deep, blue eyes all the while, before turning away and following Silvia. On the way, I quickly glanced at where I had left the human, where I saw all the Heads taking turns intimidating him to answer their questions.

I shook my head at them, nothing had changed there, I guessed. With the tiniest of smiles, I went to Silvia's side, where she was looking down at Alodiculis with sad eyes. After a moment of heavy silence, she finally said something. "**He really loved you, you know.**" She told me.

I nodded. "**Ae (Yes) I know…**" I told her. And I loved him back just as much. I looked at his peaceful form. It almost looked like he was sleeping, dreaming about something nice. A little, tiny smile decorated his face.

I hadn't really _seen_ his face before, I wasn't really looking, too lost in my own grief just at that moment, but now I could see. That smile wasn't there just by pure coincidence, he'd been happy that in his last moment, he could save someone precious to him. Although it wouldn't be his last moments.

I looked at his face with determination in my eyes. "**But that's exactly why I need to repay it.**" I told Silvia, making her turn her head towards me. "**I have to repay him for everything.**" I told her. That Dragon had done countless things for me whether he knew it or not.

I could see the Peace Head next to me nod, maybe with a little smile as well. "**I see, let's get to it, then.**" She said, placing he tail on mine and closing her eyes.

I looked at her stunned. "**S-Silvia?**" I stammered, still unsure of why. "**What are you doing?**" I asked her, lifting my tail a little, where hers was lying over mine.

She opened the eye facing me and looked at me. "**Why, helping you of course.**" She said obviously. Something seemed to dawn on her as she turned her head fully towards me. "**You didn't think you could do this by yourself, did you Lucy?**" She asked me.

I almost laughed out loud. That was really what I had thought. But even so, I didn't let that show as I nodded to her. "**Well… Yeah, I did.**" I admitted, already feeling my embarrassment blossoming.

Silvia giggled, it was actually the first time I ever heard that from her. It was just like any other Dragon female's, soft and feminine. "**Of course you did.**" She laughed. I wasn't about to ask her what she meant with that, knowing I might not like the answer too much. She began explaining her reasoning for doing whatever it was she was doing. "**Well, you won't be able to do this by yourself, now that a lot of our magic was sucked out by 'Savior V2', so you'll need some help with that.**" She told me. "**Unfortunately, Layla was the one of the two of us, who learned the other magic linked with being a Peace Dragon, so I will only be able to give you Peace magic.**" She told me apologetically.

I shook my head with a smile. "**No, it's more than enough, I can work with that.**" I promised her. Basically all I had to do was convert it into Sky magic instead, I was pretty sure I could do that.

I nodded to myself, preparing myself for what was sure to be the toughest spell yet. I placed my butt on the ground and moved my front foot to hover over Alodiculis. It took only a moment for me to get my Sky magic down to that foot, so I could heal my Dragon dad.

I sent the magic I'd already collected down into the Dragon and kept it there. Already here I could feel the exhaustion the absorption of my magic had placed on me, it was hard to continue on. But I kept pushing every single drop of magic I owned into the lifeless Dragon under my feet.

If I'd been a human at this point, I'd be sweating an ocean in exhaustion already, but as a Dragon I only panted. But then I also did that a lot. When I felt I had squeezed out the very last drop of magic I had, I knew I would not have enough magic just by myself to revive the big Dragon.

Which was why the relief I got when Silvia finally transferred her Peace magic to me. It came as the wave of calm I desperately needed right at that moment and refilled me with magic again.

Now the hurdle of converting _her_ magic into something it wasn't. Or well, kind of wasn't. What I needed to do was somehow find just a little bit of her own Sky magic, no matter how big it was, pull that up and let it color the rest of the magic I'd gotten to the same thing.

But that really was easier said than done. Finding that little strand of Sky magic was hard enough, pulling it up not so hard, but converting the rest of her magic into Sky magic, _that_ was hard. It just wouldn't change.

I pushed on at it, forcing it to transform into Sky magic and little by little, it actually did. But the pace it was going at was too slow. If I wanted this to be done in less than a day, I'd have to push it even more. So that's what I did.

With all the might I had left, I pushed at Silvia's magic, forcing it to change even faster than it already did. And luckily that kick-started her magic into converting into Sky magic almost automatically and at a quick pace.

While it made everything easy for a moment, I got this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that the magic we had - even together like this - wouldn't be enough. And when I was about to reach the end of what magic we had, I hissed under my breath. We really didn't have enough.

I opened one eye and looked at Silvia. She had her eyes closed in determination and the tension in her body reeked of focus. That and her chest was heaving as much as mine.

I gritted my teeth, she couldn't have much more magic left from the big portion she'd given me if she was still panting from it. But even so… We needed more. I had already squeezed out everything I had and the only reason I could do that, was because I also had my Celestial magic, which wasn't about to empty out anytime soon, as it seemed my Spirits were taking it easy on me and most of them had returned to the Spirit World too.

I finally pulled myself together to tell the other Peace Dragon of the depressing news. "**Silvia..**" I barely managed to whisper out. "**I need… more.. magic.**" I somehow said between pants.

My aunt didn't look at me, she just furrowed her scaly eyebrows. "**I see…**" She said, exhaustion evident in her voice too. "**I'll squeeze… Something.. Out.**" She told me, also panting.

I didn't even get to nod, when I suddenly felt another, much smaller, wave of her Peace magic wash over me. Instead of replying to her, I quickly grabbed it and did the same maneuver I did earlier with her magic and converted her magic into Sky magic as well, this time with much less effort.

I pumped the last of that magic into the limp Dragon body in front of me, finally having enough. "**Rangi Tarakona's Ngaro Toi:**" (Sky Dragon's Secret Art) I said semi-loudly with my exhausted voice. "**KARAIHE ROIMATA O RA!**" (Crystal Tears of Ra) I yelled as loudly as I could.

I could feel both my own and Silvia's magic get to work and swirling around inside Alodiculis. All by itself - almost - it seemed to spread out and cover the entire Dragon. I had no idea what the magic was doing, to be all honest, but suddenly the shockwaves his beating heart sent out into my magic told me he was alive again.

Just then, Silvia collapsed next to me, having used almost all of her magic in this spell. I managed to heal his forehead, where he'd been hit with Sahyragino's Peace magic, just before I also fell, unable to carry my own weight.

But unlike her, I fell back to lean on something soft. "**Is he going to survive?**" The deep, rumbling voice of my mate sounded almost right above me. I closed my eyes and nodded, putting my head down over his feet, too tired to either speak or keeping my eyes open. Acnologia chuckled. "**Get some rest, Lucy, you deserve it.**" He told me, and I quickly obliged with the sound of a battle going on around me.

**A little while back~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I watched as Lucy trailed after Silvia, towards her - currently - dead father. I knew she loved Alodiculis almost as much as her mother and would do anything for him, but I also knew that spell she was about to perform was much more than what her current magic-level could hold. On top of that, I also knew she would push herself to make it work somehow, and that was what I was worried about.

I heard human footsteps echoing a little in the cave. "Tch, not even my own daughter can see the truth…" Sahyragino muttered, drawing my attention. "Well, it does not matter, my goal has been reached, I guess I'll only do her a favor, curing her of her stupidity." He said to himself and pointed another finger at the back of head, while she was talking with Lucy.

I growled at him and smacked him down with my foot. I hit him before he got his magic fired, but it also made me feel just how tired I was from him draining my magic. But it really didn't matter at the moment whether I was tired or not. I was sure both Lucy and Silvia were exhausted too, both of them having also gotten their magic absorbed, but still those two were fighting, so I had to too.

Sahyragino looked back at me with an angry expression. "Just what do you think you're doing, Acnologia?" He asked me. "You can't do anything after having so much of your magic drained." He reminded me.

I gritted my teeth, knowing that what he was saying most certainly held a lot of truth to it, I couldn't do much tired as I was. But surely I could still beat an old man like him. "**That's none of your concern, old man. What you **_**should**_** be worried about is your own daughter!**" I told him, already feeling anger welling up inside me.

Sahyragino looked at me as if I was dumb or something. "Worried? About her?" He asked me incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me, boy. She was nothing more than another of my pawns." He said and then adopted a thoughtful expression. "I admit she was more useful than most, but-"

Sahyragino was cut off there as a loud and high-pitched sound rang through the cave, as if two pieces of metal were rubbing against each other. It was horrible on my Dragon-ears. As soon as it ended, Sahyragino, who had also been hiding himself from the horrid sound, was smacked down with a big, dark gray tail.

The Lump of Rust growled at the Dragon in Human form. "**I don't want to hear more of your crap, Sahyragino. What kind of bullshit are you spewing? It's bugging me.**" He told the human, who easily got to his feet and glared at the Head Dragon in front of him. Metallicana turned to me. "**But this piece of shit has a point though, you can't do a damn thing in your lousy condition. Go sit with the girls.**" He told me as he turned his attention back to the human once again getting back to his feet.

I growled lowly at him, both at the fact he was pissing me off and that he had a point. "**One day, Metal Face, one day I'll beat that ugly smirk off your face.**" I promised him as I slowly made my way towards my mate and her aunt.

Metallicana just released a little huff of laughter, but kept his gaze at the human in front of me. I settled down next to where Silvia and Lucy were now focusing on reviving Alodiculis. It was amazing how they could hold their focus even though Metallicana grinded his two wings together - which I had figured was the reason for the high-pitched sound just now. They were so far away, they probably wouldn't even know if a battle started right here, between these two Dragons.

I looked back at the battle, which was sure to start any time, between the Iron and Peace Dragon. Sahyragino sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Guess I have no choice." He commented - probably mostly to himself - as he let himself get covered in his Peace magic, changing forms.

Outwardly, nothing seemed to be wrong with the perfectly silver magic, but still… I had a feeling something dark was lurking behind it somehow. It wasn't as pure as for example Lucy's, it didn't feel wholly like only Peace Dragon.

In the end it didn't matter whether it was fully Dragon or not, Sahyragino still changed into a Dragon. But now it was also painfully obvious that he'd done _something_ to change himself.

Now, I didn't know how Sahyragino looked before all of this, but I was pretty sure it wasn't like that. Peace Dragons are usually completely white. Yet, before me stood a Peace Dragon, and he wasn't only silver.

Actually, there was nothing but the fewer silver scales he still had which indicated he was actually a Peace Dragons. For starters, all of his scales looked almost like bigger or smaller wisps of fire, all pointing backwards. Which was unusual in itself, him being a Peace Dragon and all. But to top it off, starting from just around his eyes and crawling back to the back of his head and stretching outwards, were coal-black scales, also similar to fire. Even the part which continued beyond his head looked like a long tail of black fire, two a little longer than the others. And those two seemed to represent the horns.

Those small black flames also started from the top of his head and then continued down his back and fading out at the middle of his tail. His wings were pretty normal, being the usual silver Peace Dragon wing, nothing much there.

But then there was his belly. It wasn't silver and it wasn't black. Káo (no), it was a bright, almost neon, blue, not unlike the marks on my otherwise black scales. That and then there were his glowing red eyes. The same eyes as those other Dragons he had fluttering about him outside. The dark Dragons.

On top of that, he was even bigger than Deamunas. And that seriously said something.

I was pulled out of my trance when suddenly I heard someone collapse next to me. I whipped my head in the direction of the sound and saw Silvia lying there on the ground, panting and unable to keep herself up anymore.

Only a second passed before Lucy too began falling. She wasn't as unlucky as Silvia though, as she landed almost right on top of me. I somehow managed to help her to lie on the ground next to me and she instantly dropped her head to the ground, also exhausted from her usage of magic.

"**Is he going to survive?**" I asked her, referring to Alodiculis. She gave me a small smile and nodded. I smiled back, although I knew she wasn't looking. I chuckled at her when her eyes began opening and closing in exhaustion. "**Get some rest, Lucy, you deserve it.**" I reassured her. And that was all she needed as she instantaneously fell asleep.

I sighed, feeling the comfort of having my mate right next to me as I looked up at the giant and the Dragons facing each other - since Igneel and Glanasile had come up, probably feeling the threat of Sahyragino's size - and glaring bullets at each other.

While the three Heads were growling at him, Sahyragino cackled in what I could only describe as a mad way. "**I am the **_**ultimate**_** Dragon!**" He announced loudly and triumphantly. "**I am the ruler of every element!**" He told us. What did he mean by that? "**I am both Chaos and Peace Dragon in one! I shall guide the Dragons - my family - into a new age and rule over them, letting our superiority shine!**" He declared proudly.

I pulled my lips back for a snarl, but knew not to do more than that. So that was his goal all along? All he wanted to be was the ruler of all the Dragons, being the one with all the power and an army of Dragons backing him up.

The Flame-tard took a threatening step forward. "**Like hell I'll let that happen!**" The Fire Dragon growled at Sahyragino. "**I don't even know what it means anyway!**" He then added, making every single of us sweat drop.

Metallicana glared at Igneel. "**How can you be so goddamn stupid?!**" The Iron Dragon snarled at the Fire Dragon.

Sahyragino laughed again. "**Oh but Igneel, it has already happened.**" He told the Flame-tard, completely ignoring Metal Face. "**The Dragons have already landed on Earthland and are approaching as we speak and I have long since mastered all the elements!**" He ended off, cackling like the mad-Dragon he was.

Glanasile furrowed his eyebrows at this remark. "**You mentioned it before, but what exactly do you mean with having 'mastered all the elements'?**" Glanasile finally asked the question we all wanted to know.

Sahyragino turned to the Ice Dragon and grinned widely. "**Oh? Did I forget to mention this?**" He asked rhetorically. He'd know the outcome would be something like this, so he'd purposefully kept this little secret - whatever it was - to himself from the beginning. "**With the help of the earlier model of 'Savior V2', 'Savior', we managed to give me the powers of a Chaos Dragon, while keeping my Peace magic as well.**" He told us.

Glanasile looked at him incredulously. "**So with other words, when you say you 'rule every element', you're basically saying you can use all of the original Clans' magic?**" He asked the Peace Dragon - if he could really be called that now.

Sahyragino nodded with the biggest smile ever. "**Ae! (Yes) It does!**" He exclaimed proudly. "**I am the first of the kind! An Elemental Dragon!**" He told us triumphantly.

An Elemental Dragon? That was just ridiculous! Having all 12 elements at the same time… No one should have that power! It would just do to them what it had to this guy, if he hadn't already been broken before he even had started. He might be the first of his kind, but even though I was in a bad condition, if the three Head for some reason couldn't, then I'd make sure he was the last as well.

The three Heads growled at the Chaos-Peace Dragon. "**Tch! We'll end you!**" Metallicana promised him, getting a confirming nod from the two others.

Igneel and Glanasile jumped out to each side of Sahyragino, surrounding him. He just gave them all a demeaning grin, probably thinking that their attempts would be in vain.

Obviously he hadn't _really_ faced a Head Dragon before. But those three aimed to show him exactly what he had been missing out on as they all leaped at him simultaneously. Sahyragino simply shook his head with a smirk. Suddenly he spread his wings out wide, creating a powerful wind, making the three Head Dragons lose speed.

In a swift movement, Sahyragino twisted around, slamming his tail into Glanasile first, pushing him into Metallicana and at last the Iron Dragon into Igneel. He stopped just as suddenly, letting those three fly off on their own.

Igneel quickly dug his feet into the ground, giving Metallicana enough time to do the same, which then made Glanasile able to land on his feet as well. Without any kind of sign, the three quickly released their respective Harurus (Roars), sending equally big beams of Ice, Fire and Iron magic at the Chaos-Peace Dragon. The three magic swirled around each other, when they finally magically merged.

Sahyragino quickly inhaled as well. "**Timatanga Tarakona's Haruru! Kapura, Wai o Oene!**" (Elemental Dragon's Roar! Fire, Water and Earth!) He roared at the three. Three similarly sized beams of Water, Fire and Earth magic began swirling around each other and merged as well. I had no idea how that was even possible.

The two almost rainbow-ish Harurus (Roars) quickly approached each other. When they met at the middle, everything exploded into rainbows and unicorns. Okay, it didn't, just white. Blinding white actually.

I realized that the intense white didn't have in mind disappearing anytime soon and when I heard the surprised roars of pain from the three. I quickly closed my eyes and decided to feel their magical pressures out instead, just like I had back when I was training with my Dragon.

That training was apparently not lost on me, as I easily found the four Dragons. It was almost like I could see them, simply through their magical pressures. Igneel was the red, flaming Dragon, Metallicana the dark gray, spiky one, Glanasile the icy blue, steaming one. And at last Sahyragino. He was literally a rainbow.

It looked like he'd hit the three Heads with a slash over their back and wings. Metallicana was the first to recover from being hit and quickly jumped at the Dragon, landing on his back. From what I gathered, Metallicana dove his claws into the Chaos-Peace Dragon's back, making it easier for himself by charging them with Iron magic, forcing the big Dragon to roar out in pain.

Sahyragino was about to load another Haruru (Roar), but then Igneel got his payback by slashing Sahyragino's face vertically down, just barely missing his eye. The Chaos-Peace Dragon growled in surprise and turned his attention to Igneel instead.

Then Metallicana got jealous and clamped his teeth down over the right wing. Sahyragino whipped his head around and snarled at the Iron Dragon. He was about to lash out with his tail, to get the enemy off his back, when that very tail was stomped down at the ground.

I figured I could open my eyes now and actually be able to see what was going on and did, to see Glanasile standing with the now Ice-covered tail. The whole floor around the four Dragons was frozen over - except where Igneel stood - and the Ice slowly crawled up Sahyragino's legs.

Sahyragino roared in rage at the three Heads, probably finding them quite annoying, now they were having the upper hand.

Suddenly the Ice under his feet began melting into a puddle, going faster and faster. Metallicana hissed in pain and pulled his claws and teeth out, jumping back from the heat Sahyragino was apparently emanating.

Sahyragino stepped back quickly, looked at them and then nodded to himself. In an instant, Igneel was trapped in a bubble, Metallicana in a rock and Glanasile in a ring of Fire magic.

I heard them all growling, roaring and clawing to come out, but as it turned out, nothing seemed to work for them.

Sahyragino looked proudly around at his work. "**You can try all you want, Head Dragons, but you will never escape these prisons.**" He promised them. He began walking around in that half-circle, studying each of his magic prisons. "**Now which do I start out with… And how?**" He asked himself.

I growled at him, but not loud enough for him to hear it. If I hadn't been so weak, I could help those three! Mavisdammit! Wasn't there anything I could do? Anything at all?

"**Acnologia…**" I heard a soft, feminine whisper. I knew it wasn't Lucy, so I figured it could only be Silvia. I turned my head to the silver Peace Dragon and saw her looking back up at me with tired eyes. "**Use your… Ngaro Toi (Secret Art)…**" She told me weakly.

My eyes widened at this. Surely she couldn't mean _that _Ngaro Toi (Secret Art). "**You don't mean…**" I trailed off, knowing she'd know what I was talking about.

She nodded slowly. "**Your Chaos… Ngaro Toi.**" (Secret Art) She said, her eyes falling closed again as she gave in to sleep.

I kept staring at her sleeping face as I considered what she had said. That was probably one of the most horrible fates out there. I couldn't imagine anything worse than what that Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) could offer.

I looked back to Sahyragino. For her to propose something like that, just what could he have done to bring her hate onto himself like that? Just what did he make her do? And how many… How many did he kill?

I glanced back at Silvia, then at the three prisons Sahyragino had created. Was that really the only way to save those three?

I furrowed my scaly eyebrows. I had decided. I was going to go through with it. If there was anyone who deserved to be hit by a Ngaro Toi (Secret Art) like that, there was no doubt about the fact, that it'd be him. He was by far the worst enemy I'd ever faced. Well.. I only ever had faced Jude as the enemies I could compare him to, but still.

While Sahyragino continued speaking with the Dragons inside his prisons, and probably also poking them with his magic, I began gathering my own, getting ready to use the Ngaro Toi (Secret Art).

Luckily for me, it didn't even take half as much magic as Lucy's revival-spell had, so it was easy gathering it up with the magic I had left.

I glared right at my target, aiming for him, so I would be sure he was the one I hit, and not any of the other Dragons. When he stood still in front of Metallicana's Earth prison, I used it.

I glared right at the back of his head, preparing my already eager magic. "**Tehepo Tarakona's Ngaro Toi: RIRI O LUCIFER!**" (Chaos Dragon's Secret Art: Wrath of Lucifer) I roared at him quickly, not giving him any time to evade or block or anything at all, as I sent my Chaos magic right at him.

I quickly felt it connect and could already see the fear playing in his eyes. Whether it was because he already knew about the spell beforehand or because it was setting in, I didn't know.

But I soon figured out that it was the former of the two, when suddenly he began looking around with a confused expression. He turned around to the three prisons, looking weirdly at them, before widening his eyes. That was when fear made its arrival know.

Sahyragino immediately fell to the floor and put his feet over his eyes, like a scared little puppy, also pulling his wings as close as they could. I could see his form beginning to shake in front of me. He looked more like a child than he did a fearsome Dragon.

When it became obvious that whatever bad memories he had flooded his mind, his focus on those three prisons melted and they all vanished in an instant, leaving three confused Heads, looking down at the shaking Chaos-Peace Dragon. "**LAYLAA!**" The Dragon cried.

I cringed. That would probably be when he was told she would be staying with Jude, I couldn't imagine anything else. The sorrow that painted his voice in that moment made me think it could hardly be anything else.

Finally, Sahyragino entered the last stage of the spell. Now he had been driven insane with fear, through memories flying around in his mind chaotically and the 'fake' fear and confusion given to him, he had no defenses of any kind as the fake physical pain set in. The Dragon began screeching loudly in agony of pain created purely by his mind.

It only took a second, before the Dragon began hurting itself. Having been driven insane, he began biting himself and cut himself, completely ignoring the scales, in hopes of relieving some of the pain - somehow.

I glared up at the three stunned Head Dragons. "**KILL HIM!**" I yelled at them. "**NOW!**" I told them. I couldn't stand any more of this. The sight of the mighty Dragon he'd been, reduced to the shivering puppy he was now, it was more than what I wanted to see. I began doubting it had been the right choice after all…

The first to react was Metallicana, who quickly lunged at the agonizing Dragon, sinking his teeth into its big neck, easily penetrating the scales and all the way down to his goal in a matter of seconds. He'd punctured the windpipe.

The Dragon's red eyes dulled to a dead crimson, but they were still wide open in fear, pain, agony and many more I couldn't even begin to name. The tension in his now dead body also screamed about the agony he'd just been put through. The peaceful face Alodiculis had had was nowhere in Sahyragino's expression and posture.

I felt my conscience gnawing at me and felt the need to avert my gaze away from him and any other Dragon to the rubble of a wall that was left on the other side.

"**Acnologia…**" One of those three Heads said carefully. I shut my eyes closed, not prepared for the hostility I was sure they'd be feeling about me now. "**What did you do to him…?**" Glanasile - as I'd figured out it was - asked me slowly.

I opened my eyes, but kept looking at the wall as a stubborn little child would. "**I used my Tehepo Ngaro Toi (Chaos Secret Art) on him…**" I muttered, knowing all three of them knew what that meant.

I heard one of them approaching me. It was either Metallicana or Igneel, the steps being too heavy to be Glanasile. Suddenly my head was forced to the side with a hard slap to the cheek. I could already feel the stinging pain from where the Dragon's claws had dug into my skin.

I deserved that. For using that spell, I deserved any punishment they decided to dish out with. "**Acnologia! Look at me!**" A voice I recognized as Igneel's demanded. I quickly obliged and looked up at the beyond pissed Dragon, ready to be yelled at. "**What you did Acnologia…**" He trailed off, his face softening a tiny bit. "**Don't blame yourself for what happened.**" He told me.

I looked up at him, shock settling in my head. What the hell?! "**Not blame myself?**" I asked him incredulously. "**Did you see what I did to that Dragon?!**" I asked him furiously.

Igneel looked down at me with a weird expression. What was that? Pity? "**Let me ask you then, why did you decide to do it?**" He asked me.

I looked up at him. When he said decide, it meant the answer wasn't 'because Silvia told me to', it was why I followed her request. "**That's simple enough.**" I told him, not hesitating at all. "**It was to get the three of you out of the prisons.**" I told him.

Igneel nodded with a smile. "**Then what's wrong with it?**" He asked me almost cheerfully. "**You did what you could to protect the people you love - or like, whatever you wanna call it - it can make up for almost anything.**" He told me, now actually cheerful.

I just stared at him confused and stunned in shock. "**Igneel… I killed a man. Sent him on a trip of psychological torture, going through any and all bad memories he had, made his mind believe he was physically hurting and made him afraid of everything.**" I told him. "**How can **_**anything**_** make up for that?**" I asked him incredulously. Nothing could. It was that simple.

The Metal Bucket sighed behind Igneel. "**Ya know what, Brat? Stop Mavisdamn pitying yourself, it's pathetic.**" He told me, letting me hear exactly how annoyed he was through his voice alone. "**You don't even know how many people this guy has tortured either, do you? None of us do. But if your father is anything to go by, it couldn't have been few.**" He commented. "**And he went light on Kurama, being someone he thought useful.**" He said, secretly implying that there was sure to be people he was much harsher with.

I looked down at the ground in front of me. Ae (Yes), I had considered that already. He even forced his own daughter to go through with his ridiculous plans too, even though she may not have agreed to it. And then he bigger question, just what the hell had he done to those black Dragons out there? And what about the humans…?

Maybe - just maybe - it wasn't too bad, what I had done. I'd freed the humans from an evil, the likes they'd hopefully never have to face again. All of Fiore…

"**Oh, I see I came just in time.**" A female voice commented softly from the entrance of the cave. I whipped my head in the direction, but knew already beforehand who it was. "**Now what did I miss here?** **And who should I tend to first?**" Grandine asked, smiling.

**Woooww…. That was it, guys! Well, is it just me or was this an intense chapter? Might just be me. Eh, well.. **

**Can any of you figure out who/what that bug Lucy squashed was? Or didn't you notice?**

**So, what do you think? Did Sahyragino deserve to die or not? Was the battle too short? - that's actually my main concern. This battle just really didn't work out for me at all, it wouldn't cooperate. **

**Anyway, this is the second last chapter, guys. Amazing, isn't it? I'm amazed, to be all honest. To think I'm soon done with this story… It just seems weird, you know?  
So next chapter will show us some ending stuff. It might be long, it might be short, we'll see. But I do have to cover a lot of stuff for the ending, so it might be a longer one. But it won't be as action-packed as the resent chapters have ^_^" **

**So, thank you The King Of Dragons, Aira0906, Nicole (Guest), Nilnna, ButterTARDIS36, KomiHypnotic (Guest), Dragon's power (Guest), clumzybeans, StrongGuy159, ANG3LBL00M, MoonStar1312, delany16, LaurenSmithxox, tributepikachue, Darkverger1, striadarelic, TheMoonElf, Moonlight Starlove, booklover21567, tsubaki77, Guest, Acnologia Prime, BecauseIamSoBored, Xshadowgirl, Hatsune Lover, Flaegor, MafiaPrincipessa, vamplay019, AnimeOnCookie, MisukiAii, Mimilasouris (Guest), Aerl, Ibiki's Lover, Mikan Albarn, PuddyKatz, Undertaker, Yolbert, The A (Guest), Alaina Kuski, FairyTailNaluFan and all you other lovely peeps out there! XD I LOVE YA! - in a completely friendly way, mind you. **

**~Line464d**


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65 - Final**

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY**_**! Today's the story's first birthday!  
I guess I can't come around convincing you guys this was just a coincidence, 'cause it really isn't. Since about chapter 59, I planned to end the story today! That was why you got that random chapter the 20****th**** May XD - although it **_**was**_** my lil' bro's birthday  
And in celebration of it, I also made a new cover to it! **

**Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read &amp; Review!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is ignoring me guys! He won't listen to me! He won't share Fairy Tail!**

**Just outside the Raven Tail HQ~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

After Grandine had showed up and healed all of us, we all went our way out of the mountain and were now all standing outside it. Only Sahyragino was still in there, or his dead body was at least

Speaking of dead, Alodiculis had of course also revived again and was now fully conscious, walking with the rest of us normally - like he should. He didn't have a single scratch on him, none of us did after Grandine had come around to heal us. She really was strong. First she healed the entire city, which nearly made her pass out, next she protected said city from vicious, dark Dragons and at last, she came and healed us.

Were all the Head Dragons this strong?

"**We should blast this place.**" Metallicana suddenly said, when we had all emerged from the mountain. He was looking up at it with an indescribable expression.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "**Why? What are you talking about?**" I asked him confused. What the heck could he be thinking, that Iron Dragon? "**There are Humans-**" That was when I was cut off.

Grandine shook her head. "**Káo (no), we evacuated all the Humans almost as soon as we realized these weren't just ordinary Dragons.**" She told us. "**It was simply too dangerous for ordinary non-magic Humans to stay in that city.**" She reminded us.

True. They had no way of defending themselves. And while the Head Dragons appointed to protect them fought one of these Dark Dragons, one might slip through and then… Well… It wouldn't be pretty.

Acnologia narrowed his eyes a little. "**That might be.**" He commented and looked at Metallicana again. "**But why do you want to blast it?** **What good will that do?**" He asked the Iron Dragon. The question we all wanted to ask, it seemed.

Metallicana grunted. "**Oh come on, I can't be the only one.**" He muttered to himself. "**Of course we should blast it, along with Sahyragino, so no one will find his dead ass body and begin reviving him or something! We don't want a Sahyragino Junior running around, now would we?**" He asked us mockingly.

Glanasile shook his head. "**I hate to admit it, but the brute over there has a point.**" He agreed, completely ignoring the insulted outbursts of the Iron Dragon. "**Some Human or Dragon might find their way into that cave. They might decide to somehow dig through his corpse and copy his magic.**" He explained.

I raised an eyebrow. That sounded kind of hard after the Dragon was dead, but I guess some people could do that if they really wanted to.

Igneel nodded eagerly. "**So let's all hit it with a Haruru (Roar)!**" The Fire Dragon suggested happily, grinning from horn to horn.

I - and the rest of the Dragons - nodded in agreement. That would surely break the mountain here in front of us. I guess they would just have to build a new stadium for next year's GMG then, this one surely wouldn't survive.

We all inhaled deeply, creating one of the bigger Haruru (Roar), and at the same time, we all fired the magic at the mountain before us. Fire, Peace, Chaos, Iron, Sky and Ice all blended together and cooperated in bringing the mountain down quickly, making it crumble right in front of us, before crashing to the ground with a loud bang, burying Sahyragino underneath the rubble.

While I knew the bastard of a grandfather had killed my non-biological, I couldn't help but feel a little tinge of regret for killing him. He was probably too far out to reach, but still… I kind of wanted to know him. He was my grandfather after all.

But I was pulled away from my inner considerations, when suddenly the beat of a pair of familiar wings skidded to a stop behind us, the sound of four feet landing heavily on top of the crushed building heavily.

I - and everyone else - turned around to where Amelane was now standing. She looked around at all of us confused and shocked. "**I-is it really true?!**" She asked frantically.

While the rest of us looked at the Water Dragon with confusion written all over our faces, Glanasile spoke up. "**Of what are you speaking, Amelane?**" He asked her, just as confused as the rest of us.

Her gaze flickered quickly over us, before finally settling with Glanasile. "**Th-the Dragon R-Realm…**" She trailed off, averting her gaze to the ground. She kept silent for a moment, staring at the ground, seemingly fighting to keep her tears to herself, before whipping her head up to us again, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "**Is it really gone?!**" She asked us, panic painting her voice.

I could feel my own dread taking its hold on me. Everything had been so frantic back there I hadn't had the time to really think about it much, but it really was gone now, wasn't it? The place I had been living in for the duration of those fourteen years. The place I'd made so many memories and met my new family.

But now… Now all of it was gone. The beautiful field. Gone. The sparkling river. Gone. The gigantic plants. Gone. The clear, blue sky. Gone. Acnologia's training grounds. Gone. The Socubedo forest. Gone. All of the Clans. Gone. All the Dragons living there. Gone.

But most of all… The cave. The cave Acnologia and I had become mates in, it didn't matter whether it was pushed, it still happened. The cave Acnologia and I had slept together in so often. The cave where we in the mornings would wake up and nuzzle together until we absolutely _had _to get up.

That cave… That precious cave. Gone.

And now all of those Dragons, probably extremely confused about what was going on, were forced to stay here. Their homes no longer existed, they didn't have anywhere to go.

I was jolted out of that depressing trance, when I suddenly felt something gently streaking my tail and shortly after a head nuzzling into my own. I opened my eyes, having not even realized I had closed them in the first place, and saw the black and blue head of my mate.

His deep, blue eyes were locked to mine with a sorrowful expression equal to the one I imagined I'd just been wearing myself. He reached up and gently licked the side of my head, right underneath my eye, where a tear had apparently slipped away from me.

I knew he was suffering just as much as I was at the sudden realization that what we had considered home for so long was now gone forever, the only proof that it had been real was through our memories.

I collected myself and fought the tears back once again, muzzling my head into his and nodded silently at Amelane, who still hadn't gotten an answer yet. "**Ae (yes), it is true, Amelane.**" I confirmed for her. "**The Dragon Realm… Is gone forever.**" I said with a voice that warned me and everyone else that I could break out crying anytime.

But I wasn't the first one to let loose on the waterworks, it was our dear Water Dragon. She looked at me with wide eyes, as if she didn't believe what I was saying. She quickly looked to the others, in search of reassurance that what I was saying wasn't true. But the expression of the other Dragons around me probably told her otherwise.

Her legs trembled under her for only a moment, before she collapsed on the ground, beginning to sob silently. I wiggled my way out of Acnologia's nuzzling - even though it was beyond comfortable - and slowly made my way towards the hurting Water Dragon.

I lay down on the ground next to her and pressed my side into hers, giving her the comfort she apparently needed. She turned her head towards me and put her head over my feet, facing what I guess could be called my chest. I was stunned at first, but quickly calmed down and began gently stroking the top of her head with my snout.

I heard the beating of wings approach us, two sets, but didn't pay it any mind, even as it landed right with us. I focused on calming Amelane down, muttering what was supposed to be comforting words to her, while trying to ignore the mutters of Dragons around us.

It probably looked weird for the two of us to be doing this, but to be all honest I didn't really care. I did begin to care when another Dragon made itself comfortable on the other side of Amelane though.

I looked up to come face-to-face with the pair of pale, ivory eyes of a black and purple Dragon. I smiled a little at Skyadrum, knowing that she had also been given the message.

I knew that Shadow Dragon wasn't one for tears, which of course was also confirmed when said Shadow Dragon began speaking to the still sobbing Water Dragon. "**Amelane, the loss of the Dragon Realm is tough and it will continue to be, but there is nothing to do but looking forward and make our homes here in Earthland.**" She told her, drawing Amelane's teary attention. "**We just gotta suck it up and continue.**" She said with a determined nod.

I smiled at Skyadrum. While she sure didn't sugarcoat anything, her words were oddly good at cheering you up. I nodded at her, agreeing with her words. "**She's got a point.**" I agreed.

I knew it would be much easier for me to settle here, because I'd lived most of my life here already, so I'd already be used to how things went here. All these Dragons on the other hand…

Amelane nodded, a smile gracing her feminine features. "**Thank you, I think I'm good to go now.**" She reassured us as she got to her feet, shaking her head, as if shaking the sadness out of it.

I smiled at her and got to my four feet as well, already making my way towards my mate, who met me halfway. I glanced around at my friends and found one to be missing. In that moment Acnologia and I reached each other and I quickly nuzzled into him, enjoying the smell of his scent and letting it comfort me.

I closed my eyes and leaned a little into him, simply enjoying being close to him. But still, I couldn't help but ask where my at times rude friend could have gone. "**Where's Metallicana?**" I finally asked him.

Acnologia grunted in displeasure at the mention of the Iron Dragon's name. "**That rusty, old bastard?**" He asked rhetorically. "**He said he went to see if there were any other Dragons whose 'asses' he could beat. And he took the Fire Idiot with him.**" He sighed and shook his head. "**Jeez, didn't they get enough fighting the boss of everything?**" He asked, probably already knowing he'd be getting no answer.

The sound of a big group of Humans approaching caught my ear. "OI! WHICH OF YOU IS LUCE?!" A familiar voice yelled from down below.

I looked down to see all of Fairy Tail standing down there, Natsu with his hands on his hips and looking around at the Dragons present.

I could hear Acnologia's throat rumble gently as he forced himself to keep in a growl as he also stared at the bunch.

I smiled by myself. Somehow it felt weird seeing them from above like this. Usually I'd at their height or under them too, the perspective had changed completely. I decided I wanted to tease them a little. In a swift motion I'd moved my head right up to them, scaring almost all of them to fall back with a shriek or scream. Especially Natsu, who'd been standing at the front.

I smiled at all of them, seeing their shocked expressions. "**That'd be me.**" I told them and finally gave in to the giggling, which was forcing its way out.

Even though they obviously knew it was the truth, they were all gaping at me. Natsu was one of the first to recover and grinned widely. "You really _are_ a Dragon, Luce!" He said.

Wasn't that already obvious? He was also hit with a fist in the cheek only a second later. "Of course she is, dumbass! How slow can you be?" Gray asked him. He turned to me, now with a big grin, as Natsu sat on the floor rubbing his chin and sending glares at his rival. "So did everything work out for you guys?" He asked me.

I nodded at him and gave him the best smile I could manage. "**Of course! We beat who the guy behind it all**." I reassured him, feeling that pang of pain in my chest at the thought of who that enemy was. "**Did everything go well for you guys too?**" I asked him, suddenly worried that there might have been casualties. We - the Dragons - nearly had one after all…

Natsu jumped up and shook his head. "Yes! Of course!" He said happily, grinning from ear to ear. "It was easy!" He reassured me.

Gray glared at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Sure it was, but first after that army of Dragons came and annihilated those black ones." He said.

I nodded with a smile. Of course Dravola would make sure they all helped out one way or another. That was just how that old Earth Dragon was.

Suddenly a flash of black and blue flew past me and landed right behind me with a crash and familiar laughter and I turned around to see Basuril and Wendy laughing with each other. I sighed at the little Chaos Dragon and the even smaller Sky Dragon Slayer. They were so adorable together.

Apparently that wasn't the first thing Acnologia though about. He quickly took a pair of heavy steps towards the little Dragon, looming over him and wearing a glare. "**When will you learn not to go so fast when you have someone on you back? Remember what happened when you did it last time?**" He asked the Chaos Dragon, reminding him of the fiasco, where Basuril dropped Wendy.

The little Chaos Dragon looked up at Acnologia with a trembling lower lip. "**S-s-s-sorry!**" He quickly said and helped Wendy down with a sad expression.

Wendy looked up at Acnologia with lightly furrowed eyebrows and shook her head quickly. "Don't worry, Acnologia! Nothing happened, see?" She said and spread her arms as she was put safely back to the ground, letting the Chaos Dragon see she was indeed okay. Then she blushed lightly and looked to the side, away from everything and anything. "Don't blame him… I asked Basuril to do it…" She trailed off, looking up at Acnologia nervously.

I could smell the immediate fear leaking from the Fairy Tail mages and quickly glanced at them, seeing that they were looking up at my mate - as I had expected - in fear. He wasn't exactly making the best impression at the moment.

I sighed with a tiny smile and looked up at my mate. "**Give it a rest, Sweetie. No one's hurt, right?**" I asked him rhetorically, making him settle down instantly.

"BASURIL!" Natsu's voice rang out again, calling at the little Chaos Dragon, who looked back in adorable confusion. "You're a Dragon too?!" Natsu asked him.

Basuril sweat dropped at him. The little Chaos Dragon looked at the Ice Make mage of Fairy Tail with a deadpan expression. "**Should I break it to him, or do you want to?**" He asked Gray.

Gray breathed out heavily in exasperation at his friend's stupidity. Before anyone could do anything, Natsu was hit with a powerful uppercut. "WHAT KIND OF IDIOT _ARE_ YOU?!" Gray roared at the poor Dragon Slayer. The guy could have easily gone for a Dragon right at that moment. "Of course he's a Dragon! He's Acnologia's cousin, Ash for Brains!"

Natsu glared at Gray and quickly sprang up from the ground. "What did ya say, Ice Princess?" He asked the Ice Make mage, lighting his fist on fire. I sweat dropped. Nothing had really changed, I guess.

And just to confirm that, Erza landed two armored fists on top of the boys' heads. "Now, now, settle down boys." She told them. Suddenly a dark aura surrounded her as she glared down at Natsu. "Besides _Natsu_ don't you have something to say?" She asked the Fire Dragon Slayer with a promise of absolute doom if he didn't answer correctly.

Natsu looked up at Erza with fear shining in his onyx eyes. His gaze flickered to somewhere behind me, where Wendy was greeting her mother again. Natsu's face brightened as he looked up at me. "LUCE!" He yelled at me, drawing my attention, even though it was already his. "Do you know where Igneel is?!" He asked me cheerily.

I was just about to answer him, when Erza began beating him furiously. Looked like that was the wrong answer.

Once again I was interrupted, when I was just about to ask the Knight what was going on, as the Iron Dragon, who had disappeared before, made his presence known. "**Oi! Thquirt! I got a prethent for ya!**" He said with a muffled voice, as if having something in his mouth. I looked up at his approaching figure in confusion. It seemed he actually _had_ something in his mouth. He quickly landed on the ground next to me, scaring my guild shitless at his appearance, and throwing what he had in his mouth on the ground. "**Here ya go.**" He said with a grin and looked down at his 'present'. "**I found it at the edge of town. Gihi!**" The laugh of his son - who was on his back apparently - merging with his and sounding as one.

That 'present' of his made my eyes widen so much I doubted they'd ever go back to normal. What he'd had in his mouth was a living, breathing thing. Not only that, it was a Human. A Human I recognized all too well.

The man lying on the ground looked up from where he had face-planted. His black eyes surrounded by dark, blonde hair met mine. And he looked just as I had remembered him from so long ago. "L-Lucy?" He asked, fear evident in his eyes.

I nodded and put my face down in his height, looking at him in wonder, but hatred. "**Ae (yes) father, it's me.**" I told him, glaring fiercely at him, and making a point of being a Dragon - if it wasn't already obvious enough - by using the Dragon language. It may be childish, but I hadn't forgiven him for how he treated Mama. I could hear the growls of my Dragon friends and family backing me up.

He looked up at me with tears filling his eyes. "Y-you're okay." He stammered relieved. He scrambled to his feet and stood, facing me, with a more fatherly expression than I had ever seen his walk around with…

I narrowed my eyes at him. Just what was he playing at? "**Of course I am, not that it is any of your concern.**" I said sharply and pulled my head back, towering over him as the Dragon I was. What was he doing, trying to get back in my life? I didn't want to have anything to do with this guy. Nothing at all.

The human looked up at me with widened, confused eyes. And was that hurt in them? It had to be fake. "What are you talking about, Lucy? Of course it's something I'd be worried about!" He said matter-of-factly. I didn't get time to reply, when he continued ranting. "I heard that you had returned to Fairy Tail after these seven years, and that you were participating in these Games not long after." He explained. Not that I cared. "But when I was watching the Games from home, the screens suddenly blacked out. I feared the worst and hurried here. And when I finally arrived… The whole city was destroyed." He said, as he relieved everything he had experienced. He looked up at me quickly. "I thought you had died!" He said fearfully.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "**Why would you? You don't give a damn about Dragons, now do you?**" I asked him, remembering the stories I'd been told.

He looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "What makes you think that?" He asked me obliviously.

I looked down at him with a scrunched up face. What the hell was he thinking?! Wasn't it obvious?! "**Oh, I don't know? Maybe because you **_**killed**_** Mama because of it!**" I growled, not paying any attention to the gasps of shock coming from the Humans all around us. None of them knew of what happened between Mama and Jude.

Jude looked up at me with a hurt expression. He quickly averted his gaze to the ground and closed his eyes. "Is that what you've been told?" He asked me, his voice wavering with emotion.

I nodded, narrowing my eyes even more at him, hearing the low mutter of the situation being explained to my guild behind me. I stuck my big head up close to him, in what was supposed to be an intimidating way. "**Of course it is! That was what happened!**" I said, feeling my anger rise with every word.

Jude's eyes met mine again and I saw pain and sadness filling them, but no fear. "I was only trying to protect her." He told me with a low voice.

That was pretty much when I exploded. "**FROM WHAT?!**" I roared at him. "**The only one she needed protection from was YOU!**" I yelled right into his face. I knew my mate and friends knew better than to interfere now, I might just seriously injure them in the fit of rage I was in now. I was Dragon Demon Lucy.

Jude flinched, but once again not because of fear. He carefully looked into my fiery eyes. "I know, in the end I made a mistake." He admitted and held a finger up before I could comment on that. "Please let me speak out this time." He asked of me.

Obviously, I was skeptical towards him. I didn't trust him the tiniest bit. I couldn't help wondering what he wanted to tell me, which he had to come all the way over here to tell me. What was so important he was acting this way?

With narrowed eyes, I nodded for him to continue. He sighed deeply and continued. "I wanted to protect her." He repeated what he had said earlier, much to my frustration. "I wanted to protect her from us. From Humans." He said and held a short pause, glaring at the ground. "I was afraid that if other people found out, they'd run test. They'd bring her to a lab and use her as a guinea pig. Afraid that because of my race.. I'd lose her." He explained.

My eyes widened. What…? This was… Had he been thinking things like this all the time? That was nothing like what I had imagined. That wasn't…

While I still struggled with understanding what was going on, Jude continued talking. "That was why I expanded our land so much that we'd essentially be living alone." He told me. "But still… I was still paranoid that one day we'd have visitors and they would see her as a Dragon. That was why I forbade her from changing. I didn't know it would - it would…" He trailed off, unable to say that it had killed her.

I looked down at my father, who was emitting sadness in gigantic waves. I was completely frozen, I didn't have any idea of how I should react to this. Who would? I could only stare at the Human as tears began spilling from his eyes. And it was contagious.

Jude looked up at me again, his eyes glistening with tears. It was first now I realized how ragged he looked. His hair was in disorder, pointing out in almost every direction - nothing like how proper it once was - and had grown longer. He'd grown his beard out, so it now covered his jaw and mouth. The clothes seemed like they were what they usually had been, except it was not worn properly, much more than what that single ride by Metallicana could do to him.

His teary eyes met mine, while I was still figuring out what to think. "When I found out those two were Dragons, I was afraid of losing you, Lucy. You are the only memento I have of your mother, the life as aristocrats never suited her. Or you for that matter and I'm sorry I forced you to stay. I'm sorry I wasn't the father you needed after she… Went to heaven." He apologized and breathed in heavily. "All I wanted was to protect my daughter from Humans and from disappearing out of my life, but by doing so, I forgot what was most precious to me. You. I worked so hard, did everything I could, to expand our area, so when the time came, there wouldn't be a chance of anyone seeing anything, when you were in your Dragon form." He admitted.

If I had thought my eyes had widened the most they could before, I now knew that was not the case. "**Y-you… R-really?**" I asked him, stammering from the meaning of his words.

He nodded. "I know it didn't seem like I wanted anything to do with you, but that wasn't the case. You were - and still ate - the best thing I've ever had in my life. After losing Layla and knowing why, I did everything I could to make sure the same fate didn't land on you. But I lost myself… I.." He trailed off again, the tears starting to fall much faster all of a sudden.

Without thinking much about it all, I immediately let myself be surrounded by my Peace magic, changed to my Human form, and wrapped my arms around the trembling man. He froze for a second, before his arms also locked around me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been hugging him like this, it was so,_ so_ long ago.

He rested his head on my shoulder as the salty scent of his tears hit my nose like a tidal wave. "I-I'm sorry Lucy." The man apologized.

I closed my eyes, fighting my own tears, but quickly figured there wasn't much to be done. "It's alright." I breathed out to my biological father. "I… I forgive you." I told him, first now realizing the truth in my own words. If that story wasn't one you could forgive, I didn't know which was.

That only made the man sob even more, his usual pride completely forgotten as well as the crowd around us. I had lost track of time when he finally settled down and pulled back. He cupped my cheeks with both of his hands as his eyes scrutinized me.

Suddenly a smile broke out on his old face. "You look so much like your mother." He told me with affection in his eyes and voice.

I smiled back at him, taking his words as a compliment and let him see the many emotions passing by in me. "Thank you, father." I thanked him, something I the last fifteen years of my life, never thought I would be doing ever again.

Another sudden approaching beat of wings drew my attention to the sky, where I saw a big black and blue Dragon approaching. Kurama.

The Dragon landed almost right next to his son, who had also seen the incoming Dragon. I smiled up at the former Chaos Head. "Kurama! You're awake!" I said excitedly and with a smile.

The Dragon looked at me and returned the smile. "**Yes, I'm perfectly fi-**" His friendly words quickly turned into fierce snarls when he recognized the man next to me. "_**You**_**.**" He simply growled at him.

It didn't take a genius to see where this was going and I quickly placed myself between the now angry Dragon and my father. "Kurama, it's alright, there's no reason to be mad at Jude any longer." I reassured him, looking straight into the blue eyes of the big Dragon.

It was as if Kurama looked right through me and directly at my father, whose fear I could smell behind me. Before Kurama could snarl a reply, Acnologia quickly intervened. "**Father, we'll talk about this later, let it go for now.**" He told his father.

The former Chaos Head turned his head to his son in a quick motion, bared his fangs a little, but didn't snarl at him. "**You know what that man did to Layla and Lucy, how can you be so calm around him?!**" He asked his son confusedly.

Acnologia sighed and shook his head. "**I'm not saying I don't want to rip his head off for what he's done-**" I glared sternly at him, making him give me a little smile. "**But if Lucy - my mate - has forgiven him, then there's no way I would do that.**" He told his father firmly.

Kurama looked alternatively at his son and me and Jude, giving my father a last hiss before turning to his son with a bit narrowed eyes. "**Fine, but you better explain this to me as quickly as possible.**" He told Acnologia before turning around and walking towards a group of Head Dragons chatting away.

I sighed. I had a feeling that those two would never really get a long, having loved the same woman and all. Argh, men were so complicated! But at the same time, just such simpletons.

Now it would just be awesome if I could get a little rest. Lately I'd been feeling a lot of people needed to talk to me or for me to help them a lot. A little too much, actually. All I needed was some rest, where I could just talk to my guild, family and friends calmly. Where I didn't have to be the one everyone talked about, although that was unrealistic, given the current situation.

And right as I were, I also soon after felt someone gently tapping my shoulder. I looked too the right, where the entire Fairy Tail guild stood, now at the same height as me. The one who'd tapped my shoulder was Lisanna.

I turned around fully and smiled at all of them. It seemed the bunch was lacking Wendy, Carla, Lily, Gajeel, Juvia, Laxus and Master. "What's up, guys?" I asked, wondering what the big group had planned. You never knew with Fairy Tail, after all.

But they did something completely unexpected. In manners unlike what Fairy Tail usually showed, they all bowed 90 degrees, their faces turned to the ground. "Sorry Lucy!" They all said in unison.

I looked at all of them in shock. At first I was confused with what they could be apologizing for, but then it quickly downed on me, that it was the weeks after Edolas.

I moved my hands to my mouth, as if that would help anything at all as I felt tears stinging at the back of my eyes. I had long since forgiven all of them, but since finding out that the human had been the cause of it, I didn't find anything about it all I had to forgive them for.

But still, it _really_ pulled at my heart-strings. I couldn't even say anything as Erza straightened her back and got up to stand in front of me, one armored hand on my shoulder, and her eyes swimming in emotion.

The Knight gave me a little, sad smile. "Lucy, everyone in the guild wants to apologize for what we put you through right after Edolas." She told me as the rest of the guild also slowly straightened their backs, giving me various different kinds of apologetic expressions. "It was unfair of us and we should have known what impact it would have had on you." She apologized and suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, which pushed all the air I had out of my lungs. Fortunately it was only a short one, leaving me gasping for air. The knight grabbed the collar of a familiar vest and pulled a similarly familiar top of salmon hair forward and gently pushed Lisanna forward as well. "These two especially."

Lisanna's sea-blue eyes met my brown, teary ones for only a moment, before she once again bowed deeply, facing the ground. "I'm so, so, SO sorry Lucy." She apologized. I could hear exactly how sad she was through her voice alone. I hadn't doubted her words in the first place, but now there was absolutely no reason to either. "I.. I don't know what came over me, but I acted irresponsibly and was horrible towards you. I will do anything to make it up to you, just nam-" That was where I cut her off.

I shook my head - even though I knew she wouldn't see it - and gently pushed her shoulder off. "Don't bow like that, Lisanna." I told her gently as her head once again tipped back up. A sea of apologies flooded her blue eyes, which watched as a stray tear fell from my eyes and traveled to my chin, where it hung a little before falling.

Without saying anything else, since I honestly had no idea what to tell the girl, I pulled her into a hug instead. I wrapped my arms around the girl tightly and buried my head at the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, as I calmed myself down.

It was near impossible though, as the girl snaked her arms around my back and hugged me back tightly, finally letting her tears take over for her, as she began crying. Right then, I knew this hug carried many more messages and words than I could put into words. And like her, I didn't give a damn who was watching, as I also just let go and let the tears fall.

But of course, my favorite Fire Dragon Slayer decided he should draw the teary attention to himself as he appeared next to Lisanna, an uncharacteristic apologetic expression on his face. "Luce…" He trailed off and looked into my eyes, not saying any more.

While I felt Lisanna beginning to calm down, I knew I couldn't yet, not with those black eyes locked on me and with that expression. I smiled a tearful smile at the Dragon Slayer and nodded. "I know, Natsu." I said, not even attempting to hold my tears back anymore. I'd accepted that was an impossible task.

I heard a heavy slam behind me and a familiar set of growls. I looked back to see Metallicana pinning Acnologia to the ground, sending me a wide grin. "**Go ahead, Squirt. Gihi!**" He laughed and kept putting his weight down on the Chaos Dragon.

I smiled back at the Iron Dragon, knowing what he was doing - and what risk it possibly could have - and knew I had to do it. I unhooked one arm from Lisanna and reached out towards Natsu, tears streaming down my face undisturbedly.

Natsu looked down at the arm dumbfounded. Oh so he was aware what the consequences could be? It seemed he'd lost the big battle against himself, as a tear finally slipped down his cheek as well. He looked up at me with the saddest but at the same time happiest expression I'd ever seen him wear as he moved to join Lisanna's and my hug.

When his strong and warm arm finally landed on my shoulders, I finally realized how long ago it really had been since I'd been hugged by that Fire Dragon Slayer. I squeezed my eyes shut, enjoying the moment while I could, knowing it'd have to be short, judging by the angry growls behind me.

I squeezed them both tightly one last time, before pulling back, watching both of their crying faces. They tipped their heads up at me, looking at me with big, wet eyes.

I couldn't resist as I reached out with both of my hands, cupping their cheeks - much to their surprise. "There's nothing to forgive." I told them and gave them the most happy, tearful smile I could muster at that moment.

Natsu and Lisanna looked at me with widened eyes for a second as my words sunk into them. It seemed like Natsu was about to say something to me, but he was easily cut off by a flash of blue. "LUUUSHYYYYYYY!" Happy yelled, crashing right into my chest with tears rolling off his cheeks.

I giggled at the blue cat and wrapped my arms around him. "Happy, I've missed you, you know." I told him, scratching that sot spot he had right behind his ears. "What about I get you a biiig fish once we get back to Magnolia?" I asked him with a smile.

The Exceed nodded quickly, his tears flying out in every direction possible. "AYE SIR!" He yelled happily, smiling his wide, cute grin again.

I heard Natsu's breath catch in his throat and looked up at him, seeing he was looking up at something, his eyes as wide as saucers and tears rolling down his face.

And judging by the sudden scent of ash and volcano, which came from behind, I kind of had an idea about who it could be. "**Oi, Lucy! Sacheba's made some new friends, they wanted to talk to you or something.**" Igneel told me, not having noticed his son yet, apparently.

I turned my head and smiled up at him. "Thank you Igneel." I thanked him. I nodded my head in the Fire Dragon Slayer's direction. "There's also someone here, who wants to meet you." I told him as he landed.

Igneel looked at me with a confused expression, before looking in the direction I had gestured, only for his coal-black eyes to widen as much as his son's had. "**Natsu…?**" He trailed off, making it sound like a question.

The speechless Dragon Slayer only managed to nod, looking up at his father. If he'd had any defenses against his waterworks before, they'd all been breached, as tears quickly fell down his cheeks faster and faster, keeping his gaze at the Fire Dragon in front of him.

Igneel's features softened as he looked at his son and his black eyes glistened with unshed tears. "**It's been a while…**" The Dragon said and lowered his head to Natsu's height, the two sets of black eyes staring right into each other. "**My son.**" The Fire Dragon ended his sentence off.

Natsu finally set into motion as he raced towards his father like an eager, little child, and crashed into the Dragon's snout, spreading his arms out wide, in his best attempt of a hug. "DAD!" He yelled, tears once again streaming down his face.

Even though it wasn't some which _actually_ had anything to do with me, I could still feel and smell all the feelings exchanged between the two of them. And they overwhelmed me, tugging at my own emotions and drawing tears to my face again. It was a wonder I hadn't run dry of them yet.

"Tch." I heard behind me. "Badass women don't cry, Lucy." A fairly familiar voice called behind me. I turned around not bothering to wipe my tears off, as I looked at the incoming group of one Poison Dragon and seven Humans. Cobra was looking at me with a brown raised and a grin.

I smiled at him - and the rest of the group - and wiped my tears, just 'cause. "After today, I think I deserve the freedom to let the waterworks loose." I told him, seeing his amused grin and hearing his short breath of laughter.

Midnight looked at Cobra with a bored expression, sighed and took a step forward, looking at me with equally bored eyes. "On behalf of Oración Seis, I'd like to thank you, girl. It wouldn't have been possible to escape without the help of your Celestial magic." He thanked me.

It was awkward, but I gave the guy a little smile. "Sure. No problem." I told him, and turned to all of them again. "So what are you going to do now?" I asked curiously.

The seventh Human of the group stepped forward, and I found myself genuinely surprised with the face I saw. "They're going to be going with me and form a new guild, Crime Sorciere." Jellal told me. How in the world had I missed his face?

I nodded, for a moment a little stunned with the people collected here. "I… See." I muttered. I looked at the former Council Member with lightly furrowed eyebrows. "But is that guild legalized?" I asked him.

Jellal sighed and shook his head. "It's impossible for a bunch of criminals like us - who have escaped prison no less - to form a legal guild, accepted by the Council." He told me with a defeated voice.

I furrowed my eyebrows even more. "How are you going to go about doing missions and such, then? And avoid the Council?" I asked him.

Hoteye was surprisingly the one who decided to speak. "We're going to repent for our sins! We're going to eradicate all evil! Break down the Balam alliance and take down Zeref! All with the power of love!" He proclaimed proudly.

I sweat dropped, not exactly sure how I was supposed to react to that. Jellal nodded. "Yes.. Well, that's a bit ambitious, but we're going to take down at least the smaller dark guilds and find Zeref's whereabouts." He told me.

See, that was more realistic. I nodded and smiled. "Sounds good." I agreed. That was really a good way to start over, finding redemption in doing something only they could do. Since they had all been part of the Balam alliance - one way or another - they most likely knew more about it than we, the light guilds, ever would. "I'm looking forward to possibly working with all of you sometime." I told them.

Cobra grinned at me. "If ya can't stand being alone, just call." He told me with what was supposed to be a flirtatious wink, but had no effect on me whatsoever.

I stuck my thumb out and pointed at the black and blue Dragon I knew stood behind me, growling at the Dragon Slayer at his suggestion. "I'd watch out with what I say, if I were you." I warned him.

It was kind of funny to see how he realized that it was first now he noticed the big Dragon standing behind me, and then seeing how intimidating that Dragon looked. Especially when he was angry. "The mate, I see." He commented, blanching as Acnologia growled a little deeper in confirmation.

Midnight turned around and began walking off. "We'll be on our way now." He said, not even bothering with a goodbye or anything. Well, that was just how he was, I guessed.

Jellal gave me a nod and a little smile. "We'll see each other some other time, Lucy." He said and turned to walk away. Just before he was about to follow the others, he looked at me over the shoulder, a light tint of pink dusting his cheeks. "Will you say hi to Erza from me..?" He asked nervously.

I nodded and smiled with a wave. "Sure, I'll remember to do that. See you all some other time!" I told them. It seemed Cobra had realized it'd be for the best if he didn't speak or do anything as he followed his guild, trying to act bored, but actually really tense, feeling the gaze of the Chaos Dragon at his back.

I giggled and leaned back, letting my back rest against the Chaos Dragon's leg. I looked up at him and him down at me. "I don't know about you, but I could seriously use some time to just sleep." I told him, with a tired smile. This day had been ridiculously long, to be all honest. The first stars were already showing at the dark evening sky.

Acnologia grunted and nodded, changing to Human form in an instant and catching me in his arms before I fell. "Yup, you're definitely not the only one." He told me and buried his nose at the crook of my neck inhaling my scent and placing a light kiss there. I closed my eyes and let myself fall back into his chest, enjoying the moment of silence between us and already looking forward to getting back to that wonderful cave back at Magnolia.

And it was indeed only a moment. An ear-splitting roar from a certain Fire Dragon filled the air, silencing everyone and everything. Before Metallicana could begin complaining about how loud he was, Natsu had already caught everyone's attention, standing on the Dragon's snout. "PARTY AT FAIRY TAIL! EVERYONE'S INVITED!" He yelled.

I looked at him with a lightly annoyed expression. "You've got to be kidding me…"I mumbled. But still, I couldn't hold in my laughter at the irony of it all and soon enough, Acnologia also joined in on it.

**A few days later, in Era, Magic Council~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Two days after everything in Crocus, the day after the party at Fairy Tail ended, Lahar from the Magic Council had appeared at Fairy Tail's doorstep and told us that the Magic Council demanded we - Lucy and I - show up, as they apparently had something they wanted to talk to us about, so here we were. That and he had also told us he had put Ivan in jail, although it didn't mean much to us.

Both of us were suffering from hangovers after the day-long party too. My head was pounding away and my body felt heavy. And Lucy had it even worse. But somehow, we'd still made our way here. Now it was just to not let them see just how tired and hungover we were, if that was even possible. And it was awesome I knew nothing of any of them too. Not even their names or faces.

We flew towards the big building at the top of a mountain, overlooking the whole city of Era majestically. How cheesy, letting them stay on top of the mountain there, as if they could see the whole world from there and keep track of it all.

We landed in front of the large - in Human size, of course - Gates of the Magic Council building, where an army of twelve frogs and Lahar stood, waiting for us. I could smell the fear he felt towards us already and saw the sweat trailing down his forehead as he fought against his own instincts to run away.

The Human in the white clothes stepped forward and looked up at the two of us. "Please change into your Human forms." He asked of us, pretty much saying we were too big to get into the building. Jeez, what you didn't do for the sake of Humans nowadays. I quickly let my Chaos magic surround me and transform me, knowing that Lucy was doing the exact same thing. The two of us reappeared in front of the Human, now at his size. Lahar nodded, visibly more relaxed now. "Thank you. Please follow me." He said and turned around, towards the building.

The frogs stood rigidly and didn't bat an eye as we walked past them into the big building. If you could even call it that. It looked more like a castle, really.

Lahar guided us through several hallways, all the same, white stones and with windows. It didn't take long before I was lost in the place, unable to find my way out again if I had to. But finally, we reached our destination.

Four-eyes stopped up in front of another set of big, wooden doors, almost the same size as the ones outside. Only these were bigger and with golden hinges and lining. He glanced at us, seeing if we were ready, before he pushed the doors inwards.

The room was big and was set up with the Council Members sitting at the very back, arranged in a way that made it feel like they were accusing us of some kind of crime and were about to tell us where we were going and what our punishment was. Not that we'd willingly do anything like that, we hadn't done anything wrong.

I took Lucy's hand gently, sending her a smile, and pulling her with me as I approached the place where we were supposed to stand, almost right underneath those Humans, who apparently thought they owned the world.

What struck me as odd, for just a moment, was the fact that none of these people were young. They were all old farts with wrinkled faces. Typical this kind of thing, honestly.

Lucy took a little step forward, drawing their attention. "Excuse me for asking, but Acnologia and I would very much like to know why you requested an audience with us." Lucy asked them, turning completely aristocratic-mode.

I had only ever seen it a few times, and it surprised me every time. It was just so far from the bubbly and happy woman I loved, another person in her skin, almost. And I didn't like it. But I guess it was appropriate, considering the situation.

The one who looked like the boss, with the long gray beard and the wizard's hat looked down at us with what I could only call an arrogant expression. "Yes, I guess you would." He simply said. Already now I wanted to tear him to pieces. "I apologize for calling you on such short notice, but there is something important we have to discuss immediately." He told us, his gaze alternating between me and my mate. "It is of course about all these… Dragons, which have invaded Earthland." He told us.

I furrowed my eyebrows. The pause he'd made before saying the word 'Dragons' wasn't lost on me. He seriously needed to think about what to call us? Had he been considering calling us beasts? It was also obvious he saw us as nothing more than things, if his 'which' was anything to go by. It took everything it had in me not to growl at him.

Lucy, on the other hand, seemed like it didn't affect her at all, but I knew she was just as angry about it as I was. It was the same as with her Spirits. "Yes, I know my _family_ has all of a sudden appeared with no warning, and I am sorry for whatever inconveniences it may bring to you. I promise I will find a place where they can stay, so that they will not be of any trouble to you." She promised them, glaring a little.

I smiled at her. Way to go. She let that guy know exactly how much it pissed her off that he didn't show us Dragons the proper respect we deserve, without directly saying it. That was exactly why I loved this woman so much.

The old man looked down at her with a levelling gaze. If I wasn't wrong - which was entirely possible I was - he seemed to think about the underlying message of her words and whether he should acknowledge them or not.

Before he got to say anything else, someone else also with long beard, although white, and without a top hat, took over. "Regarding these Dragons-" He said, drawing our attention. "How can we be sure they will not slay us Humans?" He asked us.

I was about to burst out in outrage over his words. Of _course_ we wouldn't! But Lucy fortunately saved me, squeezing my hand a little and giving me a look that told me to just leave the talking to her. I agreed that that was probably the most clever decision, taking my hot-bloodedness into consideration.

Lucy gave me a little smile, then turned her gaze to the next old man. "I see where you are coming from, Org-san, and I would also have doubted this situation myself, if I had not stayed with these exact Dragons for seven years." She admitted. Well, it made sense, even though I didn't like the sound of it. Most Humans would fear Dragons. "But I have been around them, even when I could only be in my Human form and never did I see or hear of anyone ever considering to attack me because of it." She told him.

A lady with blonde, a little spiky hair spoke up. "That may be true, but you are also special, Lucy." She reminded us. "Even if you did not have the ability to be a Dragon yet, you were still one. And not only that, you were also protected by the strongest of Dragons, your boyfriend included." She commented.

Lucy nodded. "I am aware of that, and I realize I myself am a bad example to use, since I indeed am a special case." She agreed. "But what makes you think that these very same Dragons will not protect other Humans too? I need not remind you that several of these Dragons have Human children of their own, am I correct?" She asked the lady.

The boss once again took the word. "We are aware that some of these Dragons have bred with Humans and made Human children. But that does not reassure us that they will take other people - such as people from other guilds - into consideration and will refrain from hurting them." He said.

Lucy looked at the old man sternly. "Let me ask you a question then, if I may, Gran Doma-san?" She asked him. He gave her a curt nod, asking her to continue. "If we presume my people only really care for themselves and their children, then how do you explain what happened at the capital, Crocus?" She asked him. But before he could answer, she continued. "My family, the Dragons, played a very active part in first collecting the unconscious mages spread widely around the city and gathering them at the arena, so that they would not be hurt by the Raven army. Next, when the mages had gone out to fight, these very same Dragons also escorted the Humans - those without magic or any other way to protect themselves - out of the city, where they would be in safety." She explained to him.

The old man waited patiently for her to finish, before answering. "That is simple. If they had not had the assistance of all the mages - which they would gain from protecting the people of Crocus - they would have never succeeded, having to both fight the Dragons and the Humans at the same time." He told me. That was a funny way to interpret it.

Lucy looked up at him with a raised brow. "With all due respect, Humans, not even Dragon Slayers, stand a chance against a Dragon. The only one who actually defeated a Dragon, was Shi Kōhai, otherwise known as DD, who resorted to powerful dark magic to do this, the likes of which ordinary mages would not be able to acquire." Lucy told him. "If we would have had to fight the Human mages too, it would not have made any difference." She told him.

The lady with the spiky, blonde hair was the one to speak this time around. "Then why _did_ you Dragons make the mages fight the Raven Tail mages, if you so easily could have done it yourselves?" She asked Lucy.

Lucy gave the woman some kind of smile. "So they would not die, of course." She said, much to all of their surprise. Lucy decided she'd have to elaborate on the topic. "See, if we were to fight Humans in the Dragon form we were stuck in, and with our magic running wild as it were, there was little chance of the Humans surviving. A simply poke from us could have been lethal." She told them, then realized her mistake. She'd basically just told them how dangerous we could be.

A weird man with the hood of his cape pulled over his head and wearing sunglasses made his presence know. "That is exactly where our problems lie! You beasts know not how to hold back!" he exclaimed. I could already smell the anger flowing off of him all the way over here. And if his words hadn't already been enough, that scent of anger towards us made me involuntarily bare my fangs at him and hissing lowly under my breath.

Gran Doma - as the old man with the weird hat was apparently called - quickly turned to the one, who had pretty much insulted us. "Leiji!" He scolded the member.

Lucy shook her head. "No, it is quite all right, I understand his uneasiness." She told Gran Doma and turned to the a-hole member. "Leiji-san, if we poke to Humans with our claws, it is essentially the same as you poking a fly with a pointy stick." She said. "You cannot put much force into it, before the fly dies." She told him.

Leiji seemed to move out to the edge of his seat as he looked down at Lucy in frustration. "Why would you do that in the first place?" He asked her. What were we supposed to do, if we were fighting if not that? "Why can you not just restrain yourselves?!" He asked us. "I could feel you two approaching miles away."

Lucy nodded and squeezed my hand tightly. I looked at her with a worried expression. It was quite obvious it was hard for her not to explode in these Council Members' faces, they were all being so disrespectful, and she was out of training with her aristocratic manners. But still, if it had been me, they were all dead now, it wouldn't have helped the case though.

My mate sighed deeply, calming her temperament down, before she replied to Leiji. "So am I to understand that you believe we lack the ability to suppress our magic?" She asked the Council Member. Leiji nodded. "I see. First of all, I would like to remind you that when we change to our Dragon form, we naturally leak more magic than in our Human form, simply because we are that much bigger." She told him. "Right now, how is our magical pressure?" She asked the Council Member.

Leiji took a moment to feel our magical pressures out before answering. "Well, they are heavy, a strong S-Class, if I have to compare it to anything." He told her.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, that's what we were told." She told him, much to his surprise. She looked up at me. "Would you mind letting your magic out?" She asked me softly.

I smiled a little and shook my head. I'd been feeling a little useless, not being able to control myself, if I were to speak, and could only stand next to her and look pretty. If I had to be her guinea pig, to show these idiots just what they were dealing with, I'd gladly do it. "Just give me the sign." I told her.

She nodded and smiled at me gratefully, before once again turning to the Council Members. "As it is right now, both Acnologia and I are keeping our magical pressures at the lowest level possible. We simply can't suppress our magic any more than this." She told them all, looking around to see if they were following what she was saying. "When we are in Dragon forms, we release about double as much as now." She said, squeezed my hand and looked at me, giving me a little nod to go ahead.

It was easy to just release a fourth of the barrier I had put on myself, and let the magic run through my veins. It was always a comfortable feeling to just let go and let the magic free, but it was unfortunately something we rarely did.

I looked up and found myself amused with the expressions of the Council Members. Even though we had just landed outside the building and changed to our Human forms, I guess this room somehow weakened the feeling of the magical pressures outside the room or something, because these guys looked surprised.

Lucy once again began explaining. "This is about the amount of magic we release when we are in our Dragon forms, and are keeping it down to a bare minimum." She told them. "And it is also only half the amount of magic we have in our Human forms, while a fourth of what we have in our Dragon forms." She told them.

The lady with spiky, blonde hair's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open a little. "This cannot be true…" She mumbled mostly to herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear it perfectly fine.

Lucy shook her head. "No, it is quite true, Belno-san." She told her, looking around at all of them. "If we release another fourth-" She squeezed my hand, telling me to do just that. "It would be about the amount we would use to battle most of the mages in the Grand Magic Games, such as Sting, Rogue, Gray and even some S-Class mages as well." She told them.

As I released the next fourth of magic, and felt the comfortable rush of it once again flowing through my body - the perfect way to cure a hangover too I found out - I watched as the Council Members had increasing difficulty sitting straight in their chairs with amusement and glee. They deserved it so much I couldn't even put it into words.

Lucy gave me a smile, letting me know she also thought this was quite funny, watching them struggling, but she turned serious again as she faced them. "And at last, in our Human forms, we would go all out, if we were to fight the strongest of S-Class mages - such as Gildarts or Minerva -, the 10 Wizard Saints or others with that kind of strength." She said.

This time I didn't need to be told to release my magic, as it was quite obvious that was what she wanted me to do. The final barrier was always the easiest to take down, but also the most exciting, as it let us relax completely, not needing to worry about holding suppressing ourselves.

And it also made it really hard not to actually laugh when the Council members, who had been so high on their horses before, now barely could lift their heads off the table under the weight of my magical pressure.

Lucy looked around at all of them, as they fought to not look as weak as they did right now. "As you can feel, this is quite a heavy magical pressure." She stated. Probably the most obvious thing in the world right now. "Thing is.." She trailed off, once again capturing their attention. "This is only half the magic we have in Dragon form." She told them dramatically.

The jackass of a Dragon I had would be rolling around in laughter if he had been here. He would have _loved_ seeing those stunned expressions, that did not believe what they were hearing. Their eyes were as wide as they could be, as they tried to comprehend just how big that magical pressure would be. But I guess that was impossible if you hadn't experienced it yourself.

"In addition to that, back when we were forced to stay in our Dragon forms, the level our magic was running at was above what we could do ourselves, simply by letting out magic flow freely." She told them and squeezed my hand, telling me I could begin building my defenses up again, much to my dissatisfaction. I quite enjoyed watching them like this. But I knew to do what she said, otherwise we might get on the wrong side of this Council and that wouldn't be pretty. "Our magical pressures were so high, it even made the Wizard Saints present lose consciousness under its pressure at long distances." She told them.

As I gradually built my barriers up again, the Council Members slowly got back to sitting straight in their chairs again, acting as if that hadn't just happened, much to my amusement. But even so, it was still pretty obvious that they were shaken by it.

Lucy waited for them all to be properly seated again before speaking. "So, Leiji-san, do you still believe that we lack the ability to suppress ourselves?" She asked him in quite the challenging way, daring him to say yes.

The Council Member sat rigid for a moment, not moving a muscle, before finally shaking his head. "No, it is obvious you have enough skill to suppress yourselves to an appropriate level." He admitted.

While I partied inside in victory, Lucy only acknowledged his admittance with a little nod. "Good then, other questions?" She asked them, looking all around at them all.

Belno - the lady - nodded her head. "Yes. There is one thing that is still unclear to me." She admitted. "How can we be sure these Dragons of yours won't become like the ones you fought in Crocus?" She asked Lucy.

Lucy nodded. "That is because those Dragons are nothing like the ones we are discussing." She told them, her expression turning solemn. "I do not know the exact details, but one way or another, those Dragons have been given a dark magic, which took away their minds and only let them go on their primal instincts. That is to fight anything that stands against them." She said and looked at them with a determined expression. "That will never happen to my friends and family, they are not people who would do something as pathetic as that." She told the Council members.

Gran Doma nodded. "I see, I did not actually know that they had succumbed to dark magic like that." He said in an _almost_ apologetic tone. "The one who was the leader behind that was your grandfather, Sahyragino Mau'Te Rongo, correct?" He asked Lucy. Shit! I could see where this was going, and it wasn't looking good.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, although I am not very proud of what he has done, I cannot deny that I am a descendant of his." She admitted. These jackasses could say what they wanted, she was nothing _like_ her grandfather, no matter how you twisted or turned it.

Gran Doma looked down at her with that annoying, arrogant expression, as if he'd just figured something out, which would trap her. Which he probably also had. "He was not corrupted by dark magic like all of his underlings, was he?" He asked, to which Lucy just shook her head, realizing we were screwed. "How can you say that there is no possibility of that happening?" He asked Lucy.

Lucy sighed, knowing she'd been caught on that one. "I cannot." She stated, making Gran Doma smile a tiny smile at his victory, but at the same time narrowing his eyes at her. "I cannot give you any proof that it is not possible that that will happen again, there is just no way I can do that." She admitted, then looked at all of them with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes at them. "But how is it any different than the mages in the Balam alliance? They are exactly the same." She defended the Dragons.

Gran Doma shook his head. "No. It is one thing if a single mage turns to the dark guilds, but if a Dragon does, it will wreck so much more havoc and destruction." He told us. "And then if all of you are somewhere else, what will that Dragon not be able to do?" He asked us.

We couldn't deny that. It was true. But it was just unfair - not to sound like a child - that different rules counted for Dragons than they did for Humans, simply because we were stronger. But as they say, with greater strength comes greater responsibility. I agreed with that quote wholly, but what if you hadn't chosen that strength for yourself? Then why should such a heavy responsibility be placed upon someone?

There was a heavy silence in the room as both Lucy and I wondered what we could say in this situation, which would sound desperate, but logical. Somehow…

Luckily, an Angel literally fell from the roof to save us. She appeared in a bright, silver light in between us and the Council, in the middle of the air. Out of the silver light appeared a little girl, not much taller than Basuril and didn't look a day above 16 either.

She was currently facing the Council, so it was limited how much of her I could actually see. But from what I _could_ see, she wore a beautiful, white dress, which sat semi-tightly, with ruffles all over the place. The dress seemed to be longer in the back than it was in the front. Where the back reached her heels, the front reached just underneath her knees. But somehow, it was a natural transition. Around her waist sat a purplish silver silk belt, with a bow at the side, which's ends fell to the mid of her thighs.

She had long, wavy, platinum blonde hair, which fell almost all the way down to her feet, and curled a little up in the ends. It flowed freely in the air around her, almost as if it had life of itself. Two big wings, just about the size of herself, sprouted out from her bag, appearing behind her hair and spread out to both sides, showing us exactly how long and magnificent they were, and at the same time keeping her in the air. They were true angel's wings, with silky, white feathers covering every inch of them. But most importantly, what really gave away that she was an Angel was the halo floating above her head peacefully and in a silver light.

Everyone were stuck somewhere in between shock at her sudden arrival or awe at her beauty. Although I knew one woman her beauty couldn't even compete with, there was no doubt this girl was beautiful.

While still having her back to us, she began to speak to the Council members. "I request that you accept the Dragons into Earthland, despite what happened a few days back." The Angel asked of the Council members, her voice as soft as silk, but still heard clearly by everyone.

Belno was the first to recover from the shock and she looked at the angel hovering in the air in front of her. "On what basis should we do this?" She asked the Angel, for the moment not caring that she didn't know who that Angel was.

The Angel quickly answered her. "That is simple. The Dragons once gave up Earthland and created a Realm of their own, just so you humans would not have to fear being attacked or eaten by them. They sacrificed themselves, so that you could live a peaceful life, without having to worry about your lives constantly." She told the female Council member. She looked around at them all, still not letting us see her face, as she made sure to get _their_ attention. "That would be wise for all of you to remember." She said and flew a little back, creating a little distance between them. "At any moment in time, the Dragons could have come from the Dragon Realm and attacked you without any mercy. They would have easily reconquered Earthland again, you would be no more than flies to them, but because they do not wish hostility between Humans and Dragons, they refrained from doing so, even though this was their home long before it was yours." The Angel reminded them.

This left Belno speechless, it would have left anyone speechless. A sixteen-year old Angel, appearing out of the blue and suddenly speaks word like that, which hit every mark. That's not something you see every day.

But it was already obvious who this Angel was. Obviously it was the last key of the Dragon keys, the only one Lucy didn't own yet. Angelis, the Angel, user of Peace magic. There was not a better time or place for her to appear. Her whole aura just screamed calmness and comfortableness.

Gran Doma also recovered from his stupor, surprisingly. "If we assume that all Dragons are as kindhearted and good as you are implying they are, then what are we going to do with them? Let them fly around freely?" He asked her sarcastically. I didn't even think Council Members were able to do such a thing.

The Angel nodded, acknowledging his question. "I have an idea about that, will you hear me out?" She asked him, to which he nodded. "It is very simple, all we have to do is treat them like Human mages." She said. And that obviously caused the Members to begin chatting with each other, wondering if that really was a good idea. "If we integrate them in guilds and teach them the Human ways, clearing missions and earning reward Jewels, which is what they are supposed to earn to make a living, I am sure they will agree. You have not known, but ever since the Dragon Realm was created, the Dragons have regularly come by Earthland, twice every month, to see how everything is progressing and fighting down any troubles that have anything to do with themselves. They have always protected the Humans and have always been interested in what is going on down here." She told them.

The Council couldn't disagree to this. And Gran Doma knew this. But still, he wasn't the one to stand up and nod. "If what the Angel is saying is true, who knows how many conflicts and wars that have been deflected, simply by those Dragons and without our knowledge?" Org asked his fellow Councilmen. " I say, instead of making the Dragons our enemy, let us make them our allies, by helping them adapt to Earthland and living with Humans in guilds, as the Angel suggests. This cannot do anything than good." He commented.

Leiji nodded in agreement. "Yes, as Acnologia and Lucy showed us, Dragons are much stronger than Humans, they can take much harder missions, ten year, one hundred year missions, like ordinary mages takes their missions." He added.

Belno stood up and hammered a hand into the desk, which apparently was in front of her. "What if the Dragons have a Class of their own? Or Classes? Then there can be missions, for example the one hundred years, which only the Dragons may take." She suggested. "Back seven years ago, it was made clear that one hundred year-missions are a little too hard for Humans, since Fairy Tail's ace, Gildarts Clive, couldn't even complete one." She reminded everyone.

I sweat dropped and scratched the back of my head. I guess no one had to know that the only reason that guy didn't complete his mission was probably because I'd been there to bite his arm off… Ah well. Now was not the time to bring that up.

Gran Doma nodded and stood up. "Then it is decided. The Dragons will be permitted to join guilds, or make ones of their own, if that is what they wish. We will make a Class specifically for Dragons, where only the hardest missions are included." He stomped his staff into the ground, where he'd gotten it from I'd never know. "That is all. Thank you for showing up, Acnologia, Lucy-" His gaze locked on the Angel. "… Angel?" He said in a questioning manner.

The Angel giggled. "My name is Angelis and you're welcome." She said, with a smile, as the Council Members began making their way out the back doors of the room. Angelis turned around, facing Lucy and I. Finally, she let us see her face. And it was cute, just like Wendy's, with big, silver eyes. I noticed that even within those silver eyes, there was enchanting strings of white, going from the pupil and out. She landed on the ground in front of us and bowed deeply for Lucy. "I am delighted to be of your service, Mistress Lucy-sama." She said and held out the familiar golden piece of metal.

What the Angel wasn't prepared for - or I was for that matter - was that Lucy let go of me and pulled the little girl, who didn't even reach Lucy's shoulder, into a tight hug, bending her knees and resting her chin on top of the platinum golden hair. "Thank you so, so, _so_ much for your help, Angelis." She thanked the Spirit.

The Spirit stood rigid and confused for a moment, before smiling and wrapping her arms around the back of the silver haired woman. "It was my pleasure, Mistress Lucy-sama." She said.

Lucy giggled and pulled a little away from the girl and looked at her with a smile, taking the key from her hand. "Please don't call me Mistress, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth." She said kindly.

Angelis smiled up at Lucy with the brightest smile I'd ever seen a girl her age wear. It was almost as if it lit the room up. "You really are as Onii-sama told me, kind and loving." She praised Lucy, to which my mate blushed a little. "I too shall call you Princess-sama then." She told Lucy. She looked a little around, then nodded to herself. "You have all the other keys, so you must know which magic I use and that I am an Angel, it should not be hard to guess." She said and giggled as she rustled her wings for emphasis. "I must take my leave now, Princess-sama, I hope you will call me, I am free at any time." She said and disappeared with a smile and a bright, golden light.

I wrapped my arms around Lucy from behind, looking down at her new key. It was very simple, actually. The bottom was a hollow ring, symbolizing the halo Angelis had been having over her head, and the handle were two Angel wings folded neatly by each other. They even went so much into detail as to make the feathers of the wings too.

Lucy smiled and put the key down into the pouch with all the others. I could already feel her joy of a new friend to her already big bunch and basked in it myself. I kissed the side of her cheek, happy with how this meeting had turned out. "Ready to go home, Lucy?" I asked, whispering.

She nodded. "Mhm, I seriously need to sleep. This has been some tiring days." She told me. I nodded, placing a kiss on her lips and grabbed her hand, the two of us beginning to walk out towards the big doors again. I hoped with everything I had that four-eyes was standing out there, ready to take us back to the entrance.

Luckily, he was, he even opened the gate-like doors for us even before we reached them. "Are you two ready to head home?" He asked us.

I nodded. "Yeah, would you mind showing us the way out?" I asked him, knowing I could never possibly find out of here on the life of me. Lucy might, since she was fairly used to walking in so many winding hallways, having lived in the Heartfilia Konzern once. But it was still easier just having four-eyes here show us the way.

Lahar nodded and pushed his glasses up. "Follow me, please." He asked us and began walking back down the hallways. "I am glad everything worked out well for you in there." He said to us, after we had walked down some hallways in silence.

Lucy giggled at him. "Oh? Were you listening?" She asked him in a teasing way. "I didn't know it was all right to eavesdrop on Council meetings." She said amusedly to Four-eyes walking in front of us.

Lahar's shoulders shot up to his ears and he sweat dropped. "Well… It isn't." He said, making all three of us laugh a little. "But this was such a rare case, you know, I just couldn't help myself." He admitted, looking at the both of us with a smile over his shoulder.

I grinned back to him. "Thank you Four-eyes!" I said, which I knew pissed him off, if his bulging veins and the way he pushed his glasses up was anything to go by. "I didn't do much though, it was all Lucy." I said, pulling the girl close with an arm around her waist.

Lucy blushed with a giggle. "Well… I was brought up in that kind of environment after all…" She trailed off, her head turning even more red as she didn't have any idea of what to say.

"Yes, I must admit you did admirably in there, Lucy-san." Someone said from behind us. All three of us turned our heads around to see Org from the Magic Council standing there behind us.

Lucy turned fully around, wiggling herself out of my arm in the process. She bowed 45 degrees to him in a greeting, while he did the same. I never understood that kind of royalty-thing, it was nonexistent with Dragons. "Org-san." She said and looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you for your help in there, being the first to agree." She thanked him. "I was surprised though, I had heard rumors about you not being too fond of Fairy Tail." She said with a little laugh.

Org shook his head with a smile. "Well, if you don't look at all the destruction you cause, you do some good in between it all." He said with a laugh. "But that was not what I originally came here to say." He said. He looked kinda grandfatherly with that smile of his. A nice old grandpa.

Lucy tilted her head a little in that cute way she had a habit of doing. "Huh? What did you wish to say, then?" She asked him, as confused as I was.

Org just continued his smiling. "I just wanted to say good job in there, you did really well." He complimented her. He glanced at me for a moment, before returning it to Lucy again. "And then I want to congratulate the both of you too." He said, now with a weird, soft smile.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. What was he talking about now? "Congratulate us? On what?" I asked him confusedly. These Councilmen, I tell you, they were the most confusing creatures I'd ever met in my life.

Org nodded, still adorning that weird, soft smile. "On the little one, of course." He said matter-of-factly. As if we already knew what he was talking about.

Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, moving a hand to her stomach. "Don't tell me… Do you mean…?" She trailed off, for some reason unable to finish her sentence.

Org looked at her with a confused expression. "You did not know?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Ah, sorry if I spoiled it then." She shook her head again, a smile quickly growing on her face. I was still confused as to what was going on. "Would you mind giving my regards to Makarov, next time you see him?" He asked. Lucy nodded, her smile wider than what I felt was necessary given the situation. What was going on…? "Well, the best of luck to the two of you then." He said, turned around and began walking off.

When Org disappeared out of sight Lucy quickly whipped towards me, jumped up and threw her arms around my neck, squealing like a teenage-girl, I just barely managed to catch her. "What's up with you, Lucy?" I asked her.

I could smell the scent of her tears in the air and became genuinely worried that something was wrong, but when she whispered the next words in my ear, my world turned brighter than it had ever been. "Acnologia… You're going to be a father!"

**A few years later~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It had only been a few years since the attack of Sahyragino, my grandfather, but because of it, Earthland had changed completely. Dragons were now freely walking and flying among people, Humans and Dragons on better terms with each other than what you'd have imagined possible, every Dragon had somewhere to stay, people they could call their family and everything was working out perfectly in Fiore..

As the Magic Council had promised, the Dragons indeed did get a Class for themselves, where the especially hard missions, the ones which had been ten and hundred year-missions back in the day, were put instead. And so far, no Dragon had done anything bad, rather they had helped bringing the Balam alliance to an end.

All of our friends had been spread out all over Fiore. Dravola and Glanasile - as well as other mainly elder Dragons - were working in the Magic Council, as the main members, where they represented the Dragons and helped making the wisest decisions. On top of that, hundreds of Dragons were working side by side with the Rune Knights in exterminating any and all criminality they bumped into.

Crime Sorciere had of course also played a very big role in exterminating the Balam Alliance, starting out with the smaller guilds. Already a few months after Acnologia and I had been at the Magic Council, Sacheba, Shi and 464 joined Crime Sorciere and helped the old Oración Seis members and Jellal with redemption - as well as getting some themselves in Shi's case. Crime Sorciere had been legalized right after the Balam alliance had been brought down, where it was revealed that they played a big part in it all, and was now a steadily growing guild.

Deamunas and Chylirobi had joined Lamia Scale and we often went on missions together with them. Lyon had also found a friend in one of the many Ice Make Dragons flying around. Her name was Dellawe and also had Dynamic Ice Make magic, just like Lyon. Apparently, she had taught him a lot of things - and the same the other way around - and they had both grown a lot, from what I hear. he funny thing about it all though, Gray had also become friends with an Ice Make Dragon. His name was Nirabeto and he was a Static Ice Make Dragon. The most hilarious thing was that Dellawe and Nirabeto had been rivals forever. So the competition between the four was ever growing.

Skyadrum and Weisslogia had of course joined Sabertooth, since their two sons were members of that guild. We also saw them very often, going on missions with them and the two Dragon Slayers. Noriaki had also joined that guild, following after Skyadrum wherever he went.

Amelane had rather surprisingly joined Mermaid Heel. But on the other hand, it wasn't really a surprise after all. She really fitted in there with all those girls. Her mate had joined Quatro Cerberus as well, the all-man guild.

Simakan stood out among our old group of friends. He had gone and made a guild himself, where he was the Guild Master, much to everyone's surprise. Dragon Soul, he'd named it. It was a wonder that guild could function at all with such a lazy person as a Guild Master, but it had gotten members pretty fast, those mainly being Lightning Dragons, who followed their former Head, since now the Dragon Community had been split up and all. Simakan had made his guild an all Dragon's guild, and they weren't the only one.

At last, Metallicana, Igneel, Grandine, Alodiculis, Silvia and Kurama had all joined Fairy Tail, where Acnologia, Basuril and I were.

Fairy Tail hadn't changed at all, it was still as noisy and rambunctious as it had always been, filled with hooligans. Except now the noise mainly stemmed from all the small people running around in the guild. Among those were Acnologia's and my baby girl, Aurora. She was a rare type of Dragon with both Chaos and Peace magic, there had been so few of her kind - naturally - that you could count it on one hand.

She was both a Chaos and a Peace Dragon, but because of the two opposite sides, she couldn't learn all the other elements under those two. Not that it mattered, she was the most brave girl I'd ever met at her age.

She had mid-back length hair, which was slightly spiky. It was black by its roots, but gradually ended out in a beautiful silver color. She had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen, they had both my and Acnologia's colors. Brown and the bottom and fading out into Acnologia's blue.

She wasn't old enough to have gotten her Dragon form yet, but she was eagerly looking forwards to it, and so were we. Just as eagerly as all of us were waiting for the younger sibling she would get in just a few months.

Master Makarov had stepped down as the Guild Master a pair of years back and had given the job to none other than Laxus, of course. And he was doing a really good job with it too, with Mira Jane by his side and their two small children running around. And my father - Jude - helping with the paperwork, now he didn't have to focus on the Heartfilia Konzern and didn't care about it any longer.

Almost everyone in the guild had found someone, the weirdest couple being Cana and Freed, but at the same time the most natural one. Opposites attract after all. My all-time favorite couple was Basuril Wendy, though. Not long after the battle, they'd actually gotten together. Who asked who, I didn't know.

Many Dragons had joined Fairy Tail, both because many of the former Heads were here, but also because it was the most known guild and the one with the longest history with Dragons. Actually, so many both mages and Dragons had joined, we had to expand the guild, so there was space enough for everyone.

And of course, Fairy Tail - as the guild with most Dragons - was without a doubt the strongest guild in Fiore and would remain there for many years to come.

** _END_**

**So here we are guys, this is the end of the story. I can't believe I actually finished this thing. A year, I've been working on it for one long year. I'm already feeling restless, not knowing what to do with myself _ DAMN I FEEL EMPTY!**

**I have one thing to tell all off you though, thank you, thank you so very much. There was absolutely no chance I would have finished this story, had it not been for you guys continuously reviewing and following it, pushing me (not in a bad way) to finish the story. I'll admit, I was really running dead in it all right after Lucy returned, but I'm SO happy I finished it! It's all thanks to you!**

**Anyway, I feel I need to say something about this cover. When I say I 'made' it, I mean that I found to pictures on Google and edited them with Paint and Adobe Photoshop Express XD Two most lame and basic programs ever, but it worked out.  
So many of you had been saying that you wanted to see Lucy with silver hair, so there she is. I'm actually a little proud of my work, even though it isn't anything special, but please tell me what you think!**

**Oh yeah, about that bug. It was Obra. You had no way of guessing that, of course, but still I wanted to see if there were any of you who could actually guess it. Unfortunately, there weren't XD  
Anyway, I'd originally planned to let Lucy go back to her Human form before healing Alodiculis, because I thought that to use the Ngaro Tois (Secret Arts) she had to be in Human form, but then found out that wasn't the case. Horrible, **_**horrible**_** memory _ Afterwards, I was too lazy to delete it~**

**I'm going to be feeling so empty now, not knowing what to do without this thing… Jeez ^_^"  
I'm planning a pair of new stories, but I don't know when I'll be writing them, since I maybe or maybe not won't be having so much time in June, July and August, but if I do, I will definitely begin on something. Funny thing is, they're all crossovers…**

**Can't believe it's the last time I'm doing this with this story, but thank you rotenviper, 31, StrongGuy159, The King Of Dragons, aristofthemind, Shewolf1010, Trelia (Guest), Nicole (Guest), fanficreaderAilmin1107, MoonStar1312, clumzybeans, Aira0906, ButterTARDIS36, Darkverger1, Acnologia Prime, ANG3LBL00M, Moonlight Starlove, YukikoAi, The A (Guest), Yolbert, abcd (Guest), guest abcd 1234 (Guest), some guest (Guest), Alaina Kuski, tvman24, Jumpingtiger, LaurenSmithxox, Fairytaillyre (Guest), FairyTailNaluFan, MisticCelestialDragon, QueenMacieChan and EVERYONE (Seriously, **_**everyone**_**) out there, who have somehow managed to pull through with this story all the way! Just know, that like every other time, I LOVE YA!**

**Now look at me getting sidetracked! All I really wanted to say was thank you to you all! I had a fan-**_**tas **_**\- tic time writing this story with you guys and thanks those of you who have followed from the beginning to the end and those who have helped me with it! I am ever grateful!  
I'll see you guys with my new story! C'ya~**

**~Line464d**


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